Circular No. 3989 — Establishes transparency of information for end-users and participants of payment arrangements under Law No. 12,865/2013 and Circular No. 3,682/2013; sets minimum period for participant manifestation

The Collegiate Board of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on March 11, 2020, based on the provisions of Articles 9, item I, and 15 of Law No. 12,865, of October 9, 2013, and in view of the provisions of Resolution No. 4,282, of November 4, 2013,

R E S O L V E S:

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

“Art. 2º ......

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IX - Quick Response Code (QR Code): a two-dimensional barcode capable of carrying a larger amount of information compared to traditional barcodes, whose use aims to facilitate the initiation of a payment transaction;

X - BR Code: a quick response code standard determined by the Central Bank of Brazil for the purpose of initiating payments.” (NR)

“Art. 3º ......

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§ 2º-A The period for submitting opinions by participants of open payment arrangements, regarding changes to the arrangement’s regulation, according to the mechanisms referred to in § 2 of this article, must be adequate to the complexity of the subject matter of such opinions, and shall not be less than 15 (fifteen) days, except in cases of urgency duly justified to participants.

......” (NR)

“CHAPTER VIII

ON TRANSPARENCY

Art. 31. The process of initiating a payment transaction, through a payment instrument issued within the scope of a payment arrangement, must clearly identify to end-users, payers, and payees, the payment arrangement being used in that transaction, through the use of the brand or other available information.

Sole paragraph. The presentation of a brand or any other type of visual identification that makes it difficult for end-users to clearly identify the arrangement actually being used in that transaction is prohibited.

Art. 32. Payment arrangement sponsors must publish, on their website, with emphasis on easy location by all interested parties:

I - complete information regarding the rights and duties of end-users, resulting directly from the rules of the payment arrangement; and

II - information regarding the values of the fees to which the participants of the arrangement are subject, according to the fee structure referred to in item XIV of Article 17 of this Regulation, including, where applicable, the complete table of interchange fees practiced in the said payment arrangement.” (NR)

“CHAPTER IX

ON THE PROCESS OF INITIATING PAYMENTS THROUGH QUICK RESPONSE CODE (QR CODE)

Art. 33. The QR Code, as a payment initiation mechanism common to different types of payment arrangements, must be offered in a standardized manner, so as to facilitate interoperability, internationalization, and provide greater efficiency to retail payments.

Art. 34. The BR Code is the QR Code standard that must be used by payment arrangements offering the initiation of a payment transaction through this mechanism.

Sole paragraph. The adopted BR Code will follow the EMV QR Code Specification for Payment Systems standard.

Art. 35. The payment arrangement sponsors referred to in Article 34 have six months, from the publication of this Circular, to adapt the QR Codes currently used to the BR Code.” (NR)

Art. 2º This Circular enters into force on April 1, 2020.

                         João Manoel Pinho de Mello Director of Organization of the Financial System and Resolution