2025-07-03
Added · Updated
The Central Bank of Uruguay modifies Article 2.4 of Book I of the Compilation of Payment System Rules to define rapid accounts as current accounts used exclusively for the settlement of rapid payment clearing operations, granting the rapid payment clearing administrator exclusive authority to issue fund transfer and withdrawal instructions for these accounts. The Bank also adds a final paragraph to Article 2.5, authorizing the Payment System Management to establish justified restrictions on the administrator's powers or grant specific powers to the holding institutions. These changes aim to mitigate risks associated with unprogrammed credit or debit transactions and ensure the availability of sufficient funds for clearing operations.
Montevideo, July 3, 2025 Ref: Compilation of Payment System Rules, modification and incorporation – Book I
It is brought to your attention that this Central Bank adopted, on July 2, 2025, Resolution No. D/204/2025, which is attached.
MARCELO VIDONI PAYMENT SYSTEM MANAGEMENT (Exp. No. 2025-50-1-00474) Diagonal Fabini 777 - C.P. 11100 - Tel.: (598 2) 1967 - Montevideo, Uruguay - www.bcu.gub.uy
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CIRCULAR No. 2482
DIRECTORATE - RESOLUTION Montevideo, July 2, 2025.
DIRECTORATE
VISTO: The proposal from the Payment System Management to modify articles 2.4 and 2.5 of Part One of Book I of the Compilation of Payment System Rules.
RESULTING: I) that the Central Bank of Uruguay incorporated into its Payment System Roadmap for the period 2023-2025, an activity related to the promotion of the implementation of a rapid payment system, in line with international best practices;
II) that by resolution D/385/2023 of December 6, 2023, the current regulations were updated with the objective of considering the particularities of the operational framework and technological infrastructure of the rapid payment system, providing, among other things, the creation of specific current accounts for the settlement of operations arising from the Automated Clearing House of Rapid Payments;
III) that by resolution D/196/2024 of July 3, 2024, a new payment method named Transfer Payment was approved and Urutec S.A. was authorized to operate as the Automated Clearing House of Rapid Payments, in accordance with what is established in Book VII of the Compilation of Payment System Rules.
CONSIDERING: I) that from the implementation process of the accounts referred to in Resulting II), it was considered convenient, for operational reasons, that only Urutec S.A. be authorized to make debit and credit movements to the account, on behalf and order of its holder, in order to ensure the settlement of the aforementioned clearing house and to be able to confirm at all times the available balances in the participants' rapid current accounts;
II) that in order to mitigate the risk linked to the possibility that holders of rapid accounts instruct unprogrammed credit or debit transactions, the Payment System Management considers it appropriate to establish by regulation that all instructions for the provision or withdrawal of funds from rapid accounts be carried out exclusively by the administrator of the Rapid Payment Clearing House.
ATTENTIVE: to the above, to what is provided by letter B) of article 3 of Law No. 16.696 of March 30, 1995 with the modifications introduced by Law No. 18.401 of October 24, 2008, to articles 19 to 21 of Law No. 18.573 of September 30, 2009, to resolutions D/385/2023 of December 6, 2023 and D/196/2024 of July 3, 2024, to the opinion of the Legal Advisory No. 2025/0134 of April 22, 2025, to what was reported by the Payment System Management on June 27, 2025 and other antecedents that appear in file No. 2025-50-1-0474,
RESOLVES:
Article 2.4 (RAPID ACCOUNTS). Rapid accounts are current accounts for exclusive use in the settlement of operations arising from the rapid payment clearing house. The resulting balances from the rapid payment clearing house operations shall be credited and debited in these accounts.
The opening of a rapid current account implies the full acceptance by the holding institutions of the faculty of the administrator of the rapid payment clearing house to issue, exclusively on behalf and order of the respective holding institutions:
a. the instructions for the transfer of funds from the rapid current account to the common current account of the institution that corresponds according to the balances resulting from the clearing.
b. the instructions for the withdrawal of funds from their common current account, for the necessary amount and with exclusive destination for the provision of sufficient funds in the rapid current account of that institution, to enable the operations of the rapid payment clearing house.
Without prejudice to the above, the holding institutions of the participant accounts of the rapid payment operations will maintain at all times and without limitations access to queries of movements and balances of their rapid current accounts in the management systems of the Central Bank of Uruguay.
The administrator of the rapid payment clearing house will be responsible for the exercise of the faculties conferred in the second paragraph, within its strict scope and purposes.
Article 2.5 (EXCEPTIONS). The Central Bank of Uruguay may establish restrictions on the use of common current accounts, as well as allow holding institutions of restricted current accounts to carry out particular operations different from those determined in accordance with article 2.2.
Within the framework of what is provided in article 2.4, the Payment System Management may establish, on justified grounds, restrictions on the faculties granted to the administrator of the rapid payment clearing house or grant faculties to the holding institutions of the rapid payment current accounts.
(Session of today - Minutes No. 3774) (File 2025-50-1-0474)
Jorge Christy General Secretary
Aar/am/ds
Publishable Resolution
Signatory: Jorge Eduardo Christy Davies Date: 02/07/2025 16:12:00
CIRCULAR No. 2482
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