Notice No. 09/2015 of April 20: Execution and Fund Availability Deadlines for Current Account Deposits, Transfers, and Value Remittances

Published in the Diário da República, I series, No. 53, of April 20

NOTICE No. 09/2015

SUBJECT: PAYMENT SYSTEM

• Execution Deadlines and Fund Availability Applicable to Current Account Deposits, Transfers, and Value Remittances

Given the need to promote effectiveness and transparency in the provision of payment services, contributing to increased confidence among users of the Angolan Payment System (SPA), and considering the provisions of Notice No. 05/12 of March 29, which defines consumer protection rules for financial products and services in Angola;

In the exercise of the competence conferred upon me by Article 7(2) of Law No. 5/05 of July 29 – Law of the Angolan Payment System, in conjunction with Article 4(2) of Law No. 13/05 of September 30 – Law of Financial Institutions.

I DETERMINE:

Article 1. (Object) This Notice establishes the deadlines for the execution of transfers and value remittances, as well as for the availability of funds to the beneficiary, resulting from cash and check deposits, transfers, or value remittances.

Article 2. (Scope)

1. The following are covered by the provisions of this Notice: a) Cash and standardized check deposits; b) Intra-bank and inter-bank transfers; c) Value remittances.
2. Except for the situations provided for in paragraph 1(a) of Article 4 and in Article 7, this Notice applies to operations conducted in national currency.

Article 3. (Definitions)

1. For the purposes of this Notice, the following terms are understood as: a) Beneficiary – the final recipient of a deposit, transfer, or value remittance, to whom the monetary amount is made available; b) Standardized Check – the payment instrument defined by Notice No. 24/12 of June 01; c) Availability Date – the moment from which the account holder may freely move deposited or transferred funds in their current account, without being subject to the payment of interest or other charges for the mobilization of these funds; d) Cash/Check Deposit – the delivery of banknotes and/or coins/standardized checks, for credit to a current account in an institution authorized by the BNA to carry out said operation; e) Business Day – a day of the week, from Monday to Friday, excluding national holidays; f) Execution of a Value Remittance – the realization, by the ordering institution's financial institution, of the received instruction, through account credit or the availability of funds in cash or bank check to the beneficiary; g) Execution of a Transfer – the realization, by the ordering institution's financial institution or by the Multicaixa network operator, of the received instruction, through credit in the beneficiary's account for intra-bank transfers, or the forwarding of the instruction to the beneficiary's financial institution, in the case of inter-bank transfers; h) Ordering Party – any natural or legal person who orders the execution of a transfer or value remittance in favor of a beneficiary; i) Value Remittance – all fund transfers that do not necessarily involve the use of current accounts by the ordering party and/or the beneficiary. j) Value Clearing Service (SCV) – a subsystem of the Angolan Payment System that ensures inter-bank clearing of checks. k) Real-Time Payment System (SPTR) – a subsystem of the Angolan Payment System that allows inter-bank settlement of payment instructions in real time and on a gross basis (transaction by transaction). l) Credit Transfer Subsystem (STC) – a subsystem of the Angolan Automated Clearing House that ensures inter-bank clearing of electronic credit transfers. m) Transfer – an operation of moving funds between current accounts, initiated by an ordering party and intended to make monetary amounts available to a beneficiary, which may be the same person holding the qualities of ordering party and beneficiary; n) Inter-bank Transfer – a transfer involving two different financial institutions; o) Intra-bank Transfer – a transfer carried out between accounts domiciled in the same financial institution.

Article 4. (Execution of Transfers)

1. Financial institutions must execute transfer instructions received from their clients within the following maximum deadlines: a) On the day the instructions are validated, in the case of intra-bank transfers, in national or foreign currency; b) In the STC clearing session that settles on the same day, in the case of inter-bank transfers whose instructions are received by 11:00 a.m. on a business day or after 3:00 p.m. on the previous business day, excluding those ordered through the Multicaixa network; c) In the immediate STC clearing session that settles on the following business day, in the case of inter-bank transfers whose instructions are received between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on a business day, excluding those ordered through the Multicaixa network.
2. The instructions referred to in paragraph 1(a) must be validated on the same day.
3. The operator of the Multicaixa subsystem must include transfers ordered in this subsystem by 3:00 p.m. in the same day's clearing, or in the case of transfers ordered after 3:00 p.m., in the next day's clearing.
4. Inter-bank transfers that have an urgent character may be settled in the SPTR, provided that such settlement does not imply execution deadlines longer than those of using the STC.

Article 5. (Availability of Transfer Amounts)

1. The value of intra-bank transfers must be made available to the beneficiary at the moment it is debited from the ordering party, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1(a) and paragraph 2 of Article 4.
2. The value of inter-bank transfers must be made available to beneficiaries by the end of the day of the inter-bank settlement of clearing balances.
3. For transfers settled individually in the SPTR, the amounts must be made available to the beneficiary within 30 (thirty) minutes after the settlement of the operation.

Article 6. (Value Remittances) The ordering institution's financial institution must execute value remittance instructions received from clients in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of Article 4, and the financial institution that must make the funds available to the beneficiary must do so in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 5, with due adaptations.

Article 7. (Cash Deposits)

1. Cash deposits made at the counter imply the immediate availability of the credit balance to the beneficiary.
2. The provisions of the previous paragraph also apply to deposits in foreign currency.

Article 8. (Standardized Check Deposits)

1. Deposits of standardized checks drawn on an account domiciled in the depositary financial banking institution imply the availability of the respective credit balance to the beneficiary on the day of deposit, provided that the drawn account has sufficient funds to cover the check.
2. Deposits of standardized checks drawn on an account domiciled in a financial institution distinct from the depositary imply the availability of the respective credit balance to the beneficiary by the end of the day corresponding to the end of the respective return deadline.

Article 9. (Movement of Available Funds) The debit of interest or other charges for the movement of funds made available under the terms of this Notice is prohibited.

Article 10. (Force Majeure Cases)

1. Without prejudice to provisions regarding the protection of the financial system against money laundering, which prevent or limit the execution of operations regulated in this Notice, institutions are released from the obligations provided therein due to force majeure, namely, by circumstances beyond their control, abnormal and unpredictable, the consequences of which could not have been avoided despite all efforts made.
2. Any insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding, according to which, through a collective restructuring or liquidation measure of the entity that is its subject, the fulfillment of obligations is limited, suspended, or ceased, is not considered a force majeure reason.

Article 11. (Control and Internal Processes) Financial banking institutions and the Multicaixa subsystem operator must implement control systems and internal processes that allow validating instructions and deposits received with adequate levels of security, and ensure compliance with the deadlines defined in this Notice.

Article 12. (Offenses) Violations of the provisions of this Notice are punishable, under the terms of Law No. 05/05 of July 29, Law of the Angolan Payment System, and Law No. 13/05 of September 30, Law of Financial Institutions.

Article 13. (Revocation) Notice No. 02/12 of March 26 is revoked.

Article 14. (Doubts and Omissions) Doubts and omissions that arise in the interpretation and application of this Notice are resolved by the Bank of Angola.

Article 15. (Entry into Force) This Notice enters into force on the date of its publication.

PUBLISH. Luanda, April 13, 2015.

THE GOVERNOR JOSÉ PEDRO DE MORAIS JÚNIOR