Central Bank of Bolivia

Board of Directors

BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 197/2015

SUBJECT: FINANCIAL ENTITIES MANAGEMENT – APPROVES MODIFICATIONS TO THE DIGITAL SIGNATURE REGULATION FOR THE PAYMENTS SYSTEM

VISTOS:

• Law No. 1670 of October 31, 1995, of the Central Bank of Bolivia.
• Law No. 393 of August 21, 2013, on Financial Services.
• Law No. 164 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies of August 8, 2011.
• The Statute of the Central Bank of Bolivia of October 21, 2005, approved by Board Resolution No. 128/2005 and its subsequent modifications.
• The Regulation on Payment Services, Electronic Payment Instruments, Clearing and Settlement, approved by Board Resolution No. 134/2015 of July 28, 2015.
• The Digital Signature Regulation for the Payments System approved by Board Resolution No. 086/2004 of June 22, 2004, and modified through Board Resolutions No. 116/2005 and No. 149/2009 of September 20, 2005, and December 8, 2009, respectively.
• The Report from the Financial Entities Management BCB-GEF-SSPSF-DVSP-INF-2015-77 of October 14, 2015.
• The Report from the Legal Affairs Management BCB-GAL-SANO-INF-2015-437 of October 15, 2015.

CONSIDERING:

That Articles 2, 3, and 30 of Law No. 1670 provide that the Central Bank of Bolivia has as its objective to ensure the stability of the internal purchasing power of the national currency, for the fulfillment of which it formulates policies of general application in monetary and payments system matters, with all financial intermediation entities and financial services authorized by the Superintendency of Banks and Financial Entities, currently named the Financial System Supervisory Authority, being subject to its regulatory competence.

That Article 8, paragraph III of Law No. 393 on Financial Services establishes that the Financial System Supervisory Authority will issue specific regulation and supervise its compliance within the framework of the regulation issued by the Central Bank of Bolivia in the area of the payments system.

That Article 124 of the aforementioned Law establishes that operations carried out within the framework of the services provided by financial entities may be performed through electronic means.

That Article 78 of Law No. 164 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies establishes that acts or transactions carried out by natural or legal persons in digital documents and approved by the parties through digital signature celebrated by electronic means or other of greater technological advancement, the electronic data message and the digital signature have legal and probative validity.

That Article 11, numeral 13 of the Statute of the Central Bank of Bolivia establishes as an attribution of the Board of Directors of the Issuing Entity to approve the rules for the functioning of the payments system.

That Article 49, paragraph II of the Regulation on Payment Services, Electronic Payment Instruments, Clearing and Settlement establishes that operations of Clearing and Settlement Chambers, Securities Depository Entities, and Payment Service Companies may be processed through electronic means.

That the Digital Signature Regulation for the Payments System contains definitions and references prior to the issuance of the Law on Financial Services and the Law on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies.

That the Report from the Financial Entities Management states that it is necessary to update the Digital Signature Regulation for the Payments System considering the definitions and references established in Law No. 393 on Financial Services and in Law No. 164 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies.

That the Report from the Legal Affairs Management states that there is no legal impediment for the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia to consider the approval of the modifications to the Digital Signature Regulation for the Payments System and recommends its consideration.

THEREFORE,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA

RESOLVES:

Article 1.- Modify Article 2 of Board Resolution No. 086/2004 that approves the Digital Signature Regulation for the Payments System, in the following terms:

IT SAYS:

Article 2. (Scope of Application).

This Regulation applies to the exchange of electronically signed documents digitally in the Payments System, which comprises the High-Value Payments System administered by the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), the Electronic Clearing Chambers, and the operations in entities that provide clearing and settlement services, defined in the Regulation on Electronic Clearing Chambers and Clearing and Settlement Services approved by BCB Board Resolution No. 138/2003.

IT MUST SAY:

“Article 2. (Scope of Application).

This Regulation applies to the exchange of electronically signed documents digitally in the Payments System, which comprises the Integrated Payments Settlement System administered by the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), the Clearing and Settlement Chambers, the Securities Depository Entities, and the operations in entities that carry out settlement activities, defined in the Regulation on Payment Services, Electronic Payment Instruments, Clearing and Settlement approved by Board Resolution No. 134/2015.”

Article 2.- Modify Article 12 of the aforementioned Board Resolution in the following terms:

IT SAYS:

Article 12. (Probative Effect of the Digital Signature).

The Digital Signature that meets the characteristics indicated in this Regulation, binds the participant and its signatory to the digitally signed electronic document and attributes authorship of it, with the same validity and probative efficacy that the Law grants to the handwritten signature, under the provisions of the Unified Text of Law No. 1488.

IT MUST SAY:

“Article 12. (Probative Effect of the Digital Signature).

The Digital Signature that meets the characteristics indicated in this Regulation, binds the participant and its signatory to the digitally signed electronic document and attributes authorship of it, with the same validity and probative efficacy that the Law grants to the handwritten signature, under the provisions of Law No. 393, on Financial Services and Law No. 164 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies.”

Article 3.- The Presidency and the General Management are charged with the execution and compliance of this Resolution.

La Paz, October 20, 2015

Marcelo Zabalaga Estrada
Reynaldo Yujra Segales
Álvaro Rodríguez Rojas
Abraham Pérez Alandia
Ronald Polo Rivero
Sergio Velarde Vera