Circular No. 2025-03 of the Central Bank of Tunisia dated January 31, 2025

Tunis, January 31, 2025
CIRCULAR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF TUNISIA No. 2025-03 Subject: Operating Conditions of the Unique Electronic Cheque Platform.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia,
Having regard to Organic Law No. 2004-63 of July 27, 2004 on the protection of personal data, Having regard to the Commercial Code as amended and supplemented by subsequent texts, notably Article 410 ter, Having regard to Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016 establishing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia, notably Articles 8 and 17, Having regard to Law No. 2016-48 of July 11, 2016 on banks and financial institutions, Having regard to Decree-Law No. 2023-17 of March 11, 2023 on cybersecurity, Having regard to Circular No. 2008-06 of March 10, 2008 on the Information Centre, Having regard to Circular No. 2019-09 of October 14, 2019 on procedures for consulting data recorded in the Central Bank of Tunisia's Information Centre, Having regard to Circular No. 2024-14 of November 21, 2024 on Banks' Obligations regarding Cheque Transactions, Having regard to the opinion of the Compliance Control Committee No. 2025-03 dated January 30, 2025, as provided for by Article 42 of Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016 establishing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Decides:

TITLE I: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1: This circular aims to establish the obligations and procedures applicable to the manager, members, and users of the Unique Electronic Cheque Platform hereinafter referred to as the "Platform".
Its objectives are to:

• Provide clear rules to ensure fair admission of authorized institutions and universal access for users;
• Delimit the responsibilities of the various stakeholders and the relationships between participants;
• Define control and assurance mechanisms to guarantee reliable and secure platform operation.

Article 2: In addition to account-related information consultation, the platform enables cheque reservation operations. Its essential objectives are to:

• Centralize and standardize, in particular, consultation and reservation operations for cheque amounts, enabling more efficient and secure management;
• Strengthen economic operators' confidence by reducing rejection and fraud risks, ensuring better security and traceability of operations;
• Support financial inclusion by broadening access to banking services.

Article 3: For the purposes of this circular, the following terms shall mean:

• Manager: The legal entity that technically manages the platform.
• User: Any natural or legal person accessing the platform's services to benefit from the services provided, who may be a drawer or payee of a cheque or a holder of a bank or postal account.
• Member institution or member: The Central Bank of Tunisia, banks, and the National Office of Posts.
• Cheque: Any instrument considered a cheque under the Commercial Code, excluding certified provision cheques and direct counter withdrawal cheques.

TITLE II: ADMISSION AND USE OF THE PLATFORM
CHAPTER I: ADMISSION TO THE PLATFORM
Article 4: Admission to the platform is mandatory for all banks and the National Office of Posts. The member must beforehand satisfy the following conditions:

• Compliance with the technical-functional and security prerequisites necessary for platform integration;
• Signing the admission terms drafted by the platform manager and approved by the Central Bank of Tunisia;
• Meeting the economic model required by the manager, following the opinion of the Central Bank of Tunisia.

Article 5: The Central Bank of Tunisia regularly publishes the list of members of the Platform.

CHAPTER II: USE OF THE PLATFORM
Article 6: To benefit from the platform's services, each user must create an account in accordance with the platform's terms of use. This account may be linked to their bank and/or postal accounts and used directly by the user or by the legal representative or their authorized agent when dealing with a legal person.

Article 7: Use of the platform's services is free and conditional upon the express acceptance of the general terms of use made available to the user during the registration procedure.

TITLE III: PLATFORM SERVICES
Article 8: The platform enables the user to access online information regarding their own account, notably the available balance and transactions performed, and enables the payee of a cheque to verify instantaneously, notably:

• The existence of a prohibition on the use of cheque forms against the drawer;
• The existence of a stop-payment order due to theft or loss;
• The closure of the account on which the cheque is drawn;
• The existence of sufficient and available provision at the time of verification.

Article 9: The platform enables the instant and secure reservation of the provision for the benefit of the payee, after verification of cheque-related information and confirmation of the operation by the drawer and the payee.

Article 10: The platform enables notifying users and members of essential information useful for issuing or accepting cheques, including the following notifications:
o Notification to the drawn financial institution: Request to reserve the cheque amount for the benefit of the payee. o Notifications to the drawer, notably:

• Allocation of the provision for the benefit of the payee;
• Notice of cheque rejection;
• Prohibition on the use of cheque forms and the obligation to return cheques in their possession to the concerned financial institution;
• Certificate of Non-Payment in cases provided for by law.
  o Notifications to the payee, notably:
• Information regarding the approval or refusal of the reservation requested for their benefit;
• Notification of provision replenishment.

TITLE IV: ROLES AND OBLIGATIONS OF STAKEHOLDERS
CHAPTER I: OBLIGATIONS OF THE PLATFORM MANAGER
Article 11: The manager is responsible for the hosting and operational management of the platform. They must take necessary measures for the efficient and secure operation of the platform and the integration of various actors.

Article 12: The manager must adopt necessary measures to:

• Guarantee platform security at all levels to prevent errors, losses, unauthorized modifications, or abusive use of stored information;
• Preserve the confidentiality and integrity of users' personal and financial data, in compliance with data protection regulations.

Article 13: The manager must ensure the continuous (24/7) provision of services offered by the platform.
The manager must develop a formalized business continuity plan regularly tested to enable business resumption in case of an incident.

Article 14: The manager must implement necessary devices to adapt to any significant increase in transaction volume and guarantee exhaustive traceability of exchanges, in compliance with the provisions of Law No. 2024-41.

Article 15: In the event of technical incidents, fraud attempts, or data alteration, the platform manager must immediately notify the concerned stakeholders, notably the Central Bank of Tunisia and member institutions, to enable rapid and appropriate intervention.

Article 16: The manager must implement an economic model that ensures the sustainability and viability of the platform.

Article 17: The manager must share periodic reports and statistics with the Central Bank of Tunisia, notably:

• Platform activity;
• Any updates affecting platform performance and security;
• Technical incidents and any security breaches, along with corrective measures implemented;
• Technical and security audit reports of the platform.

Article 18: The manager must, within the limits of their responsibilities, implement a complaint management system enabling prompt and effective handling and resolution of issues encountered by members and users.

Article 19: The manager must ensure secure archiving of data exchanged via the platform and retain it for a minimum period of ten years in accordance with applicable legislation.

CHAPTER II: OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS
Article 20: The member must guarantee the interoperability of their information system with the platform to ensure smooth data exchange. They must update their system to integrate new platform features and meet regulatory requirements.

Article 21: The member must guarantee the security and availability of their information system to ensure the availability of platform-related services. Preventive measures must be established to prevent any vulnerability or malfunction.

Article 22: The member must guarantee the reliability of information provided for platform operation, notably regarding fund availability and provision reservations. They must continuously and exhaustively declare to the Central Bank of Tunisia (Information Centre) any account opening or closure operation, in accordance with the declaration guide.

Article 23: The member must implement a complaint management system and designate technical contacts with the manager for prompt and effective resolution of issues encountered by users.

Article 24: The member must implement a communication plan to inform their clients about the services offered by the platform and its features, notably through adapted communication materials.

Article 25: The member must promptly inform the manager and the Central Bank of Tunisia of major technical incidents affecting their information system that impact platform operation and take corrective measures to resolve these incidents.

Article 26: The member must share with the Central Bank of Tunisia periodic reports and statistics on their activity via the platform, as well as on complaints and potential disputes.

Article 27: The non-member financial institution issuing cheques is required to settle any cheque without provision for an amount less than or equal to 5,000 dinars, in accordance with the provisions of Article 410 septies (new) of the Commercial Code.
The member financial institution is responsible for any failure to meet its obligations regarding service continuity, interoperability, or data reliability, in accordance with the provisions of Article 410 Ter, paragraph 9.

CHAPTER III: ROLE OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF TUNISIA
Article 28: The Central Bank of Tunisia monitors the implementation, management, and efficient and secure operation of the platform, as well as works related to its upgrading.

Article 29: The Central Bank of Tunisia ensures compliance with technical, security, and regulatory standards applicable to the manager and members.
The Central Bank of Tunisia conducts document and on-site inspections of the manager and platform members to ensure efficient and secure operation.
In case of non-compliance with regulatory requirements, the Central Bank of Tunisia invites the concerned financial institution to implement corrective measures or an action plan, according to the modalities it sets for this purpose. The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia imposes appropriate sanctions under Article 412 quater (new) of the Commercial Code against any financial institution that violates its legal obligations under the same Code.

Article 30: The Central Bank of Tunisia ensures the availability and continuous consultation of services provided by the Unpaid Cheques Centre within the consultation and reservation process.

Article 31: Any dispute related to the platform's operation between members or between members and the manager, excluding matters falling exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Central Bank of Tunisia as defined by applicable regulations, shall be resolved amicably or, failing that, by an Arbitration Committee composed of:

• A representative of the Central Bank of Tunisia, as president,
• A representative of each member concerned by the dispute,
• A representative of the manager, and
• A representative of the Banking and Financial Council (CBF).
  The arbitration committee is seized at the request of either party.
  The vote of the member representing the Central Bank of Tunisia is decisive in case of a tie.

Article 32: This circular enters into force from the date of its publication.

THE GOVERNOR,
FETHI ZOUHAIER NOURI