Circular 1/2007 of the Bank of Spain on Information to be Provided by the Spanish Payment Systems Society and Approval of Its Regulations

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Circular 1/2007, of January 26, of the Bank of Spain, on information to be provided by the Spanish Payment Systems Society, Joint Stock Company, and approval of its regulations. (BOE of February 6)

Law 41/1999, of November 12, as amended by Law 2/2004, of December 27, on the General State Budgets for the year 2005, in its Chapter V, establishes the nature, functions, and supervision of the Spanish Payment Systems Society, Joint Stock Company, as well as its legal regime.

This Law entrusts the Spanish Payment Systems Society with the management of the National Electronic Clearing System. The Society shall act under the principle of financial balance, and its exclusive purpose shall be to facilitate the exchange, clearing, and settlement of fund transfer orders between credit institutions, as well as the distribution and processing of payment instruments and the provision of other technical and operational complementary or ancillary services related to the foregoing.

For its part, the Bank of Spain is responsible, according to the aforementioned Law, for the supervision of the Society, which must authorize its articles of association and their modifications prior to their adoption by the corresponding bodies of the Society, as well as the basic operating rules of the systems and services it manages. Regarding rules concerning complementary or ancillary services, it is provided that they be communicated to the Bank of Spain as soon as possible, and may enter into force, if the Bank of Spain does not object, within the period determined by the Bank of Spain itself. On the other hand, Article 16, paragraph 2, of Law 13/1994, of June 1, on the Autonomy of the Bank of Spain, entrusts this institution with the monitoring of the functioning of clearing and payment systems.

To carry out this supervisory task, as well as the authorization of the aforementioned regulations by the Bank of Spain, it is necessary to specify the exercise of the powers attributed to it by the provisions contained in Chapter V of Law 41/1999, of November 12.

Likewise, this Law provides in paragraph 2 of its Second Transitional Provision that, as long as the Spanish Payment Systems Society does not establish other provisions, the provisions and decisions governing the National Electronic Clearing System will remain in force. Therefore, once the new operating regulations for the National Electronic Clearing System are authorized and adopted, it is necessary to repeal all Circulars in force to date relating to said System, which must coincide with the date of entry into force of the new regulations, in order to maintain the necessary coordination in the replacement of the previous regulations as indicated in the aforementioned paragraph 2 of the Second Transitional Provision of Law 41/1999, of November 12.

Consequently, in exercise of the powers granted by Article 17 of Law 41/1999, of November 12, in its paragraph 3, and by Article 16 of Law 13/1994, of June 1, in its paragraphs 1 and 2, the Bank of Spain has issued this Circular.

First Provision.

Authorization of the statutes and basic operating regulations.-

The Spanish Payment Systems Society shall submit to the authorization of the Bank of Spain, prior to their adoption, both the modification of its articles of association and the basic operating regulations of the systems and services it manages.

The Bank of Spain must resolve the authorization request within one month from its receipt at the Bank of Spain. If this period elapses without a resolution being notified, the authorization may be deemed granted.

The authorization may be denied if the modification of the statutes or the basic operating regulations do not comply with the principles contained in Law 41/1999, of November 12, or if they harm the proper functioning, efficiency, or security of the payment systems.

Second Provision.

Communication of regulations regarding complementary or ancillary services and instructions regulating operations.-

The basic regulations regarding complementary or ancillary services and the instructions regulating the operations of the systems and services managed by the Spanish Payment Systems Society must be communicated to the Bank of Spain as soon as possible after their adoption. The Bank of Spain may object to them within a period of 10 business days from their receipt. If, after this period, the Bank of Spain does not communicate its objection on any of the grounds provided for in the First Provision, the aforementioned regulations may enter into force.

Third Provision.

Submission of the Society's annual accounts and the report of external auditors.-

The Spanish Payment Systems Society must submit to the Bank of Spain the annual accounts and management report, as well as the report of the external auditors, within the month following their approval.

Fourth Provision.

Composition of the Board of Directors and shareholding and level of activity.-

The Spanish Payment Systems Society shall submit to the Bank of Spain information regarding the composition of the Board of Directors and its shareholding at the close of each fiscal year, as well as the corresponding information on the level of activity of the participating entities.

Fifth Provision.

Other information.-

The Bank of Spain may request relevant information from the Spanish Payment Systems Society regarding the systems and services it manages, as well as regular statistical information for monitoring their functioning, completion of questionnaires directed at evaluating their efficiency and security, or information regarding its service providers that is considered fundamental for the functioning of the systems.

Likewise, the Spanish Payment Systems Society shall inform the Bank of Spain as soon as possible of any relevant incident that occurs in the systems and services it manages, as well as of the measures adopted for their resolution.

Sixth Provision.

Limits on the amount of fund transfer orders.-

The Bank of Spain shall set, when appropriate and through "Technical Applications" that will be communicated to the Spanish Payment Systems Society, limits on the amount of fund transfer orders that can be processed through the systems managed by the Society. Such setting will be made taking into account the risks involved in the processing and settlement of payments, establishing, where appropriate, the appropriate channels for them.

Seventh Provision.

Submission of information.-

The information and all types of communications related to the matter regulated in this Circular shall be directed to the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Spain.

Eighth Provision.

Transitional.-

Notwithstanding what is provided in the Ninth Provision, the following Circulars shall remain in force until March 15, 2007, on which date they shall be repealed:

Bank of Spain Circular 8/1988, of June 14. Regulations of the National Electronic Clearing System.

Bank of Spain Circular 1/1990, of February 2. Rules for the settlement of the Check and Promissory Note Exchange Subsystem.

Bank of Spain Circular 11/1990, of November 6. General Check and Promissory Note Subsystem.

Bank of Spain Circular 5/1991, of July 26. Improvement and development of the National Electronic Clearing System.

Bank of Spain Circular 13/1992, of June 26. Operating rules of the National Clearing System.

Bank of Spain Circular 1/1995, of June 30. General Check and Promissory Note Subsystem. Incorporation of new documents.

Bank of Spain Circular 4/1996, of March 29. General Check and Promissory Note Subsystem. New procedure for processing non-truncatable documents in the Subsystem.

Bank of Spain Circular 5/1996, of March 29. Rules on cryptography and security for transmissions between processing centers (SNCE-002 Standard).

Bank of Spain Circular 8/1996, of September 27. SNCE-005 Standard - General Direct Debit Subsystem.

Bank of Spain Circular 9/1996, of September 27. Modification of the minimum activity level value required from entities participating as associates.

Bank of Spain Circular 6/1997, of November 21. Modification of Circular 8/1988, of June 14, on Regulations of the National Electronic Clearing System.

Bank of Spain Circular 1/1998, of January 27. SNCE-007 Standard. General Commercial Paper Subsystem.

Bank of Spain Circular 2/1998, of January 27. Regulations of the National System and National Exchange System. Adaptation of the regulations of the National Electronic Clearing System for the incorporation of endorsed documents into the General Check and Promissory Note Subsystem.

Bank of Spain Circular 8/1998, of October 30. SNCE-006 Standard - General Check Subsystem for fuel and travel payments.

Bank of Spain Circular 9/1998, of October 30. Modification of the regulations of the National Electronic Clearing System for its adaptation to the third phase of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union.

Bank of Spain Circular 5/1999, of May 28. SNCE-004 Standard - General Check and Promissory Note Subsystem. Incorporation of documents with express order for notarial protest.

Bank of Spain Circular 6/1999, of May 28. Regulations of the National System and National Exchange System. Update of certain aspects of the regulations of the National System.

Bank of Spain Circular 2/2000, of March 28. National Exchange System. Communication Means.

Bank of Spain Circular 9/2000, of December 22. Member Entities of the National Electronic Clearing System. National Exchange System. SNCE-004 Standard: General Check and Current Account Promissory Note Subsystem. SNCE-007 Standard: General Commercial Paper Subsystem. Incorporation of new documents.

Bank of Spain Circular 5/2001, of September 24. Member Entities of the National Electronic Clearing System (SNCE). SNCE-008 Standard, General Diverse Operations Subsystem; modification of Circular No. 9/1998, of October 30, on the adaptation of the SNCE to the euro, and of Circular No. 8/1988, of June 14, on the Regulations of the SNCE.

Bank of Spain Circular 1/2002, of January 25. Member Entities of the National Electronic Clearing System. Representation of entities in the National Electronic Clearing System and modification of Circulars 8/1988, of June 14, which approves the Regulations of the National Electronic Clearing System, and 11/1990, of November 6, which approves the SNCE-004 Standard relating to the General Check and Current Account Promissory Note Subsystem of the National Exchange System.

Bank of Spain Circular 4/2003, of June 24, on Member Entities of the General Check and Promissory Note Subsystem; implementation of the new procedure for image transmission in place of facsimile delivery; incorporation of new documents (direct debits); Member Entities of SNCE-National Exchange System. SNCE-007 Standard General Commercial Paper Subsystem, incorporation of new documents (direct debits); Payment regime with Cuba.

Ninth Provision.-

Entry into force.-

This Circular shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official State Bulletin.

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