Circular No. 3815 — Amends the Regulation attached to Circular No. 3,682 of November 4, 2013, Governing Payment Services in the Brazilian Payment System (SPB)

The Collegiate Board of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on December 7, 2016, based on the provisions of Articles 9, item I, and 15 of Law No. 12,865, of October 9, 2013, and Resolution No. 4,282, of November 4, 2013,

R E S O L V E S:

Art. 1. The Regulation attached to Circular No. 3,682, of November 4, 2013, shall henceforth be in effect with the following alterations:

“Art. 5. In the execution of its activities, the payment arrangement arranger must act in a neutral manner, so as not to use its position to:

I - obtain undue competitive advantage for itself or for a participant of the arrangement; or

II - harm competition among the participants of the arrangement.” (NR)

“Art. 13. .......................................................

I - possess authorization, granted by the Central Bank of Brazil, for operation, in the case of payment institutions, or to provide payment services, in the case of financial institutions, excepted:

a) authorization exemption scenarios applicable to financial institutions;

b) specific provisions governing the provision of payment services by payment institutions and financial institutions until the conclusion of the authorization process referred to in item I;

............................................................” (NR)

“Art. 16. .......................................................
..................................................................

§ 1. The Central Bank of Brazil, during the authorization process, may call for technical interviews, conduct inspections, or request any documents and additional information it deems necessary to demonstrate the arranger's capacity to fulfill its corporate purpose, considering the technical-operational, organizational, administrative, and financial aspects.

§ 2. The authorization referred to in the main text is conditioned on verification by the Central Bank of Brazil of the arrangement's capacity to be operationalized in conformity with the rules and procedures established by it.

§ 3. The Central Bank of Brazil, considering the circumstances of each specific case, may exceptionally waive full compliance with the condition set forth in § 2, provided that a schedule for implementing solutions for the deficiencies found is presented, to be approved by the Central Bank of Brazil, and a commitment to comply with the deadlines indicated therein is signed.

§ 4. Unjustified non-compliance with the schedule referred to in § 3 may imply:

I - the application of preventive measures referred to in Circular No. 3,735, of November 27, 2014; or

II - the cancellation of the authorization.” (NR)

“Art. 21. .......................................................

§ 1. Among other information and documents referred to in the main text, the Central Bank of Brazil may request:

I - statistics regarding the use of the payment service regulated by the arrangement;

II - list of participants and activities performed by them;

III - fraud records;

IV - dispute resolution records; and

V - audit reports.

§ 2. The Central Bank of Brazil, in the exercise of supervision, may request information from participants of payment arrangements regarding the functioning of these arrangements and the performance of their respective arrangers.” (NR)

“Art. 24-A. Payment arrangement arrangers in operation that do not fall under at least one of the items of the main text of Article 15 must adopt the following measures related to the opening of participation in these payment arrangements, regardless of the conclusion of the authorization process currently underway at the Central Bank of Brazil:

I - submit to the Central Bank of Brazil and any legitimate interested party wishing to become a participant of the arrangement, by February 17, 2017:

a) the alterations to the regulations and other current documents that include the criteria and minimum conditions for participation;

b) the contracts and all necessary documentation, including regarding procedural and technological issues, to become a participant;

c) the homologation procedures for new participants, with the steps and maximum deadlines for the arranger's manifestation at each step;

II - be capable of initiating the homologation procedures referred to in item I by March 24, 2017, without prejudice to the homologation procedures already underway at the date of publication of this Circular.” (NR)

“Art. 24-B. Payment arrangement arrangers covered by Chapter VI of this Regulation must implement the centralized clearing and settlement, referred to in Article 26, by September 4, 2017, regardless of the conclusion of the authorization process currently underway at the Central Bank of Brazil.

Sole Paragraph. The determination in the main text does not cover the provisions of § 3 of Article 26, the implementation of which must occur by March 5, 2018.” (NR)

“Art. 24-C. For the purposes of the provisions of Circular No. 3,735, of 2014, the implementation of the open participation structure and centralized clearing and settlement, within the deadlines defined in Articles 24-A and 24-B, are considered minimum operational aspects to comply with the current regulation.” (NR)

“Art. 24-D. Non-compliance with the provisions of Articles 24-A and 24-B, without prejudice to the eventual application of preventive measures referred to in Circular No. 3,735, of 2014, subjects the payment arrangement arranger, its administrators, and the members of its statutory or contractual bodies to the following penalties:

I - warning;

II - monetary fine of up to R$250,000.00 (two hundred and fifty thousand reais);

III - temporary disqualification.” (NR)

“Art. 27. Payment arrangements that establish rules and procedures that generate liquidity or credit risk to their participants, with the aim of ensuring that the receiving user has the settlement of accepted transactions, must provide for failure containment mechanisms among participants, in the form and extent approved by the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 1. The mechanisms referred to in the main text must include centralized management of liquidity and credit risks, considering the safety, efficiency of the arrangement, as well as the guarantee of competition in participation.

§ 2. The mechanisms referred to in the main text may use the rules and procedures for handling these failures already defined in the regulation of the clearing and settlement system established in the arrangement.

§ 3. The management of the failures referred to in the main text must extend until the settlement of transactions with the home institution chosen by the receiving user, and it is not the responsibility of the arrangement to guarantee the financial soundness of the home institution.” (NR)

“Art. 29. .......................................................
..................................................................

Sole Paragraph. The rules and procedures referred to in the main text must prohibit:

I - the stipulation, by participants, of differentiated treatment, whether more advantageous or more disadvantageous, to other participants of the arrangement; and

II - the establishment, among participants, of other forms of tariff or remuneration other than those expressly provided for in the arrangement's regulation, as stipulated in Article 17, item XIV, of this Regulation.” (NR)

Art. 2. This Circular enters into force on the date of its publication.

Art. 3. § 2 of Article 2 of Circular No. 3,682, of November 4, 2013, is hereby revoked.

                Reinaldo Le Grazie  
                       Director of Monetary Policy