CMN Resolution No. 5069 — Regulates the Local Currency Payment System (SML) and establishes guidelines for bilateral agreements among SML participants within Mercosul

CMN Resolution No. 5,069, of April 20, 2023

Regulates the functioning of the Local Currency Payment System (SML) and establishes guidelines for the regulation of bilateral agreements between participants of the said system celebrated within the scope of Mercosul.

The Central Bank of Brazil, in accordance with Article 9 of Law No. 4,595, of December 31, 1964, makes public that the National Monetary Council, in a session held on April 20, 2023, based on Articles 3, item V, and 4, items V and VIII, of the aforementioned Law, and on Article 10, item I, of Law No. 9,613, of March 3, 1998, and considering the provisions contained in Article 9 of Law No. 11,803, of November 5, 2008, and Decree No. 6,374, of February 18, 2008,

RESOLVES:

Article 1. This Resolution regulates the functioning of the Local Currency Payment System (SML) and establishes general guidelines for the celebration of bilateral agreements between participants of the said system within the scope of Mercosul.

Article 2. For the purposes of this Resolution, the following definitions are adopted:

I - business day: any day of the year when banking institutions are open for business simultaneously in Brazil and in the other contracting country;

II - recipient: any beneficiary of funds originating from the SML;

III - sender: any person responsible for the payment of a banking order in the SML;

IV - authorized institution: institution authorized to operate in the SML by the Central Bank of Brazil;

V - SML rates: rates that will be used to convert the value of operations between the local currencies of the contracting countries;

VI - SML: international payment system within the scope of Mercosul.

Sole Paragraph. The authorized institution cannot be classified as a recipient or sender, except when operating in its own name in the SML.

Article 3. International fund transfers are intermediated by authorized institutions, which are responsible for:

I - registering the payment order requested by a sender resident, domiciled, or headquartered in Brazil;

II - receiving funds and immediately fulfilling the payment order originating from a country whose central bank is a contracting party, observing the provisions of Article 8;

III - canceling the registration of the payment order referred to in item I;

IV - returning the funds referred to in item II.

Article 4. To operate in the SML, interested institutions must request authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 1. Institutions authorized to operate in the foreign exchange market by the Central Bank of Brazil, in accordance with Law No. 14,286, of December 29, 2021, and its regulations, as well as savings banks and banks holding a Bank Reserves account, may request the authorization referred to in the main text.

§ 2. To obtain authorization, the information technology systems of the requesting institution must be in compliance with the technical standards for electronic data communication within the National Financial System (SFN) established by the Central Bank of Brazil, applicable to the SML.

Article 5. Financial movements between the Central Bank of Brazil and authorized institutions, and between these and their clients, will be processed exclusively in Brazilian reais.

Sole Paragraph. Financial movements between authorized institutions and the Central Bank of Brazil will be processed exclusively through accounts maintained therein.

Article 6. The receipt of funds by recipients will occur in fulfillment of the payment order received by the Central Bank of Brazil from the counterparty central bank.

Sole Paragraph. The Central Bank of Brazil is not responsible for discrepancies of any nature between the values informed by a foreign financial institution participating in the SML and those agreed upon between this institution and its clients.

Article 7. The funds to be transferred by senders through the SML must be delivered to the Central Bank of Brazil by the authorized institutions on the business day following the registration of the operation.

§ 1. The authorized institution will charge its client and transfer to the Central Bank of Brazil:

I - the amount stated in the payment order, without applying a conversion rate, if the operation is denominated in Brazilian reais;

II - the value in Brazilian reais equivalent to the quantity of currency of the country of the other contracting central bank, calculated based on the SML rate, published daily by the Central Bank of Brazil, if the operation is denominated in foreign currency.

§ 2. In the case referred to in item II of § 1, while the SML rate is not published, a value calculated based on the SML rate published on the immediately preceding business day may be charged to the sender, which must be adjusted at the time of publication of the new rate.

§ 3. The failure to deliver the funds by the authorized institution to the Central Bank of Brazil will result in the rejection of the registered orders.

Article 8. Authorized institutions must observe the legality of the operation, its economic justification, and the norms related to the prevention of money laundering and the combating of terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Article 9. To process operations in the SML, authorized institutions must:

I - identify the client (sender or recipient, as appropriate);

II - observe, where applicable, the limits of modality and value of the operation established in accordance with Law No. 14,286, of 2021, and its regulations.

Sole Paragraph. Savings banks and banks holding a Bank Reserves account that do not operate in the foreign exchange market are equated to banks authorized to operate in this market by the Central Bank of Brazil, for the purposes of the provision in item II of the main text of this article.

Article 10. The value in national currency regarding the payment by the sender or the receipt by the recipient must be debited or credited to the account held by them in the authorized institution.

Article 11. It is the exclusive responsibility of the authorized institution to correctly process and execute operations with its clients and with the Central Bank of Brazil.

Sole Paragraph. In case of indications of irregularities or illegalities, authorized institutions must carry out the diligence applicable to the case, including requesting documentary support for the operation.

Article 12. Financial settlement in Brazilian reais within the scope of the SML will observe, subsidiarily, the rules applicable to the Brazilian Payments System (SPB).

Article 13. The Central Bank of Brazil is authorized to issue the necessary norms for the fulfillment of the provisions of this Resolution, without prejudice to the provisions expressed in the agreements celebrated and the content of the norms related to money laundering and supervision applicable to authorized institutions.

Article 14. Resolution No. 4,331, of May 26, 2014, is revoked.

Article 15. This Resolution enters into force on October 1, 2023.

Otávio Ribeiro Damaso

President of the Central Bank of Brazil substitute