Notice No. 09/2019 of 6 November on Payment Services – Operational Rules for Value Remittances

PUBLICADO NO DIÁRIO DA REPÚBLICA, I SÉRIE, N.º 131, DE 6 DE NOVEMBRO DE 2019 NOTICE NO. 09/2019 SUBJECT: PROVISION OF PAYMENT SERVICES - Operational Rules for Value Remittances Considering the need to amend the operational rules and procedures related to payment services; Given the need to consolidate foreign exchange policy measures, as well as adjust regulatory instruments regarding the new exchange rate regime, in light of the current macroeconomic context, aiming to achieve a market-determined exchange rate regime based on foreign currency supply and demand; Under the combined provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 28 of Law No. 5/97 of 27 June – Foreign Exchange Law, paragraph (d) and (f) of paragraph 1 of Article 21, and paragraph (d) of paragraph 1 of Article 51, both of Law No. 16/10 of 15 July – Bank of Angola Law, and paragraph 1 of Article 65 of Law No. 12/15 of 17 June – Framework Law for Financial Institutions. I DETERMINE:

CHAPTER I - General Provisions Article 1. (Subject Matter) The present Notice establishes the operational rules for value remittance services provided by Financial Institutions, hereinafter referred to as payment service providers, under the supervision of the Bank of Angola, within the framework of the Angolan Payments System.

Article 2. (Scope) The present Notice applies to payment service providers authorized to provide value remittance services, whose activity of receiving funds from senders and/or delivering them to beneficiaries takes place within the Republic of Angola.

Article 3. (Definitions) For the purposes of this Notice, the following terms are understood as: a) Beneficiary – the recipient of funds subject to a remittance. b) BIC – International Bank Identifier Code. c) Payment or Deposit Accounts – accounts held in the name of the sender or beneficiary with a Banking Financial Institution, used for executing fund transfer operations. d) Sender – an individual, over 18 years of age, who issues a value remittance order. e) International Remittance Sender – an individual, Angolan or foreign, holder of a resident card. f) National Remittance Sender – an individual, Angolan or foreign. g) Payment Service Companies – Non-Banking Financial Institutions authorized by the Bank of Angola, under the Framework Law for Financial Institutions and the Angolan Payments System Law, to exercise value remittance services. h) Value Remittances – all sendings or receipts of small amounts that do not involve: i. the creation of payment or deposit accounts by the sender or beneficiary, and/or; ii. the counterparty provision of goods and services by the recipient of the operation. i) International Remittances – unilateral transfers of small amounts in foreign currency to or from abroad, aimed at facilitating low-value cross-border transfers for periodic family support, and may not be used for payment of goods or services. j) National Remittances – sending or receipt of funds where the sender and beneficiary are located within national territory. k) Remittance System – the set of technical and operational instruments, rules, and procedures that enable remittances to be executed.

CHAPTER II - Remittances Initiated within National Territory Article 4. (Access Conditions to Value Remittance Services)

1. Remittances abroad may only be: a) Initiated within national territory by Angolan individuals or foreign holders of resident cards, over 18 years of age; and, b) Paid in national currency, through the following payment methods: i. Cash; ii. Banking payment cards; and, iii. Bank checks.
2. National remittances may be initiated by individuals over 18 years of age and paid as referred to in paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this article.
3. Remittances received from abroad for beneficiaries in national territory must be paid to those beneficiaries in national currency at freely negotiated exchange rates and commissions.

Article 5. (Information to be Provided to the Sender)

1. Prior to executing operations, payment service providers must make the following information available to the sender: a) Regarding the Remittance Service: i. Description of the main service characteristics; ii. Information to be provided by the sender for adequate execution of the remittance; iii. Timing of receipt of the remittance order; iv. Method and procedures for cancelling the remittance order; and, v. Maximum timeframe for executing the remittance. b) Regarding Charges and Exchange Rates: i. All charges payable by the sender; and, ii. Exchange rate, where applicable. c) After Acceptance of the Remittance Execution: i. The Money Transfer Control Number (“MTCN”) enabling the beneficiary to withdraw funds, when the remittance is not executed via bank transfer.
2. The information referred to in paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 must be provided through a contract containing all terms and conditions of the value transfer service (the “Service”) and must be signed by the sender.
3. The contract must be drafted in Portuguese, clearly and simply worded, allowing easy reading by a person with average visual acuity.

Article 6. (Rates and Commissions)

1. For initiated remittance operations, the exchange rate applied by payment service providers is freely negotiated.
2. Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, commissions and any other charges, whether fixed or percentage-based on the operation value, must be charged exclusively in national currency (NC), as defined in specific regulations.

Article 7. (Remittance Limits)

1. In executing international remittance operations, payment service providers must comply with limits established in specific regulations, ensuring operational conditions to guarantee compliance.
2. Payment service providers are responsible for establishing limits for national remittances based on their risk management criteria, with the Bank of Angola able to define limits in specific regulations whenever deemed necessary.

Article 8. (Verification of Participant Identity and Information Registration) Payment service providers must ensure: a) Identification of senders, as provided in Notice No. 21/2012 of 25 April on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; b) Identification of beneficiaries and country of residence to verify inclusion in lists provided by specialized entities regarding money laundering and terrorist financing; and, c) Registration of collected information in a dedicated computer system, archiving copies of documents proving the identity and address of senders.

CHAPTER III - Remittances Received within National Territory Article 9. (Payment Conditions) Remittances received from abroad for beneficiaries in national territory must be paid to those beneficiaries in national currency at freely negotiated exchange rates.

Article 10. (Rates and Commissions)

1. For received remittance operations, the exchange rate applied by payment service providers is freely negotiated.
2. Commissions for received remittances must be charged exclusively in national currency (NC), as defined in specific regulations. Disputes and omissions resulting from the interpretation and application of this Notice are resolved by the Bank of Angola.

Article 11. (Procedures for Paying Funds to the Beneficiary) Upon making remittance funds available, payment service providers for the beneficiary must: a) Ensure payment only to the entitled beneficiary by verifying photographic identification documents and validating data provided by the beneficiary, namely the transferred amount, sender’s name, correct MTCN, and country of origin of funds. b) Refuse payment in case of well-founded doubt regarding the authenticity of the identification document or if relevant information provided by the beneficiary is incorrect, especially the MTCN. c) Provide the following information to the beneficiary: i. Amount and breakdown of commissions borne by the beneficiary; and, ii. Exchange rate, where applicable.

Article 12. (Verification of Participant Identity and Information Registration)

1. Payment service providers must ensure: a) Identification of senders and country of residence, and beneficiaries in Angola, to verify inclusion in lists provided by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other similar entities; and, b) Registration of collected information in a dedicated computer system, archiving copies of documents proving the identity and address of beneficiaries.

CHAPTER IV - Operation Processing Article 13. (Timeframes for Processing) Payment service providers for the sender must execute the received order on the day of instruction receipt, or by the start of the next business day.

Article 14. (Issuance of Receipt) In executing value remittance operations, payment service providers must: a) Issue receipts for executed operations, including elements stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 292/18 of 3 December (Legal Regime for Invoices and Equivalent Documents), plus additional relevant elements specific to the type of operation executed; and, b) Include in receipts summarized information that the customer is subject to money laundering and terrorist financing rules, as per current legislation.

Article 15. (Complaint Management)

1. Payment service providers must comply with regulations on consumer protection for financial products and services.
2. Payment service providers must provide senders and beneficiaries with a telephone helpdesk for clarifying doubts and resolving issues related to their services.
3. The helpdesk must operate in Portuguese and maintain business hours compatible with service usage.

CHAPTER V - Conditions Applicable to Value Remittance Service Providers Article 16. (Purchase of Foreign Currency Values)

1. Payment service providers dealing in foreign currency may only purchase foreign currency (forex) from banking financial institutions, as defined in specific regulations, and are prohibited from purchasing foreign currency from any other individual or corporate entity.
2. Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, payment service providers are prohibited from trading foreign currency banknotes or travel checks.

Article 17. (Computer Application)

1. The computer system of payment service providers must be compatible with the chart of accounts of Financial Institutions and allow receipts to directly impact their accounting.
2. The computer system referred to in the preceding paragraph must enable obtaining information on operations per customer over a specific period, from all counters of the same payment service provider, for regulatory limit control and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Article 18. (Reporting to the Bank of Angola) Payment service providers must send the Bank of Angola information regarding their services, in the frequency and format established by specific regulations.

Article 19. (Accounting)

1. Payment service providers must record accounting entries for their operations, in accordance with the Chart of Accounts for Non-Banking Financial Institutions, established by Instruction No. 15/2019 of 6 September.
2. Payment service providers must submit their annual financial statements for the fiscal year to the Bank of Angola by 30 April of the following year.
3. Payment service providers must publish their annual financial statements in a widely circulated newspaper and on their institutional portal by 30 April of the following year.

Article 20. (External Audit)

1. Payment service providers must submit their financial statements annually to external audit, conducted by an independent auditor.
2. The independent auditor must issue an audit report to be sent to the Bank of Angola, together with the financial statements, as referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 19 of this Notice.
3. For the purposes of this article, the independent auditor may be a duly authorized audit firm, certified public accountant, or chartered accountant duly registered with the Order of Accountants and Certified Public Accountants.

Article 21. (Archiving Duty)

1. Documents requested in value remittance operations must be photocopied by payment service providers and attached to receipts proving the operation, for archiving purposes.
2. Payment service providers must maintain physical or digitized copies of documents and elements related to their operations, separated by branches, for a period of 10 (ten) years.
3. The information archiving system described in the preceding paragraph must ensure protection, confidentiality, and retrieval of said information.

Article 22. (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing)

1. For money laundering and terrorist financing prevention, payment service providers must apply the provisions of Notice No. 21/2012 of 25 April.
2. The scope of identification, due diligence, internal control, and training duties must be proportional to the nature, size, and complexity of each payment service provider and its activities, considering characteristics and specific needs of smaller entities.
3. Payment service providers are prohibited from performing acts that may result in involvement in money laundering or terrorist financing, and must ensure adoption of all necessary measures to prevent such involvement.
4. Payment service providers must implement procedures deemed necessary to ensure the authenticity and veracity of documents presented by their customers.
5. Payment service providers must implement customer operation evaluation procedures, per customer and across multiple time periods (weekly, monthly, semi-annual, and annual), to detect limit exceedances or suspicions of money laundering/terrorist financing, suspending operations for clients exceeding regulatory limits and reporting suspicious operations as stipulated in Notice No. 21/2012, archiving evidence of evaluations and actions taken.

Article 23. (Compliance Officer)

1. Payment service providers must define, formalize, and implement the Compliance Officer function.
2. The head of the Compliance area is subject to special registration, upon prior authorization by the Bank of Angola, as per current legislation.

Article 24. (Information Disclosure)

1. Payment service providers must display, in a highly visible and easily accessible public location, the table of commissions and expenses applicable to sent and received remittance operations (national and international), and exchange rates applied in international remittances.
2. Payment service providers must also establish a freely accessible public institutional internet portal containing, at minimum: a) Identification of governing bodies; b) Head office and counter addresses; c) Financial statements and audit reports for the last 5 years; d) Code of ethics and conduct; e) Money laundering and terrorist financing prevention policy; f) Exchange rate and commission table; and, g) Offered products and services and access conditions.

Article 25. (Operational Responsibilities)

1. Payment service providers are responsible for submitting to the Bank of Angola the Manuals of Standards and Procedures (MSP) and Internal Procedure Manuals (IPM), relating to payment services they propose to provide and payment subsystems they propose to administer, as well as risk management policies and processes, respectively, in accordance with regulations for clearing houses and payment subsystems of the Angolan Payments System, with necessary adaptations.
2. Relationships between payment subsystem operators and their clients are established based on contract templates, which must be included as annexes to the MSP mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article.
3. Payment subsystem operators must monitor and attest compliance with participant obligations defined in the MSP.
4. Payment service providers must observe good practices and general principles applicable to their activity, emanating from international reference institutions, namely the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) - International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), World Bank (WB), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
5. Payment service providers may act in Angola as representatives of foreign payment service providers or payment subsystems, fully assuming responsibilities and obligations determined by this Notice and complementary regulations.
6. For liquidity and credit risk mitigation, payment service providers must, in services involving foreign exchange operations, present to the Bank of Angola a payment transfer clearing intermediary, as stipulated in Article 11 of Law No. 05/05 of 29 July – Angolan Payments System Law.

CHAPTER VI - Final Provisions Article 26. (Information Confidentiality) Information collected by payment service providers regarding their users is confidential and must not be used for other purposes or disclosed to third parties without prior and explicit authorization.

Article 27. (Sanctions) Violation of the provisions of this Notice constitutes a regulatory offense, stipulated and punishable under Law No. 05/05 of 29 July – Angolan Payments System Law, and Law No. 12/2015 of 17 June – Framework Law for Financial Institutions.

Article 28. (Repeal) Notice No. 11/18 of 29 November on Operational Rules for Value Remittance Services is hereby repealed, as well as any legislation contrary to the provisions of this Notice.

Article 29. (Disputes and Omissions) Disputes and omissions resulting from the interpretation and application of this Notice are resolved by the Bank of Angola.

Article 7. (Entry into Force) The present Notice enters into force on the date of its publication.

PUBLISH. Luanda, 6 November 2019. THE GOVERNOR JOSÉ DE LIMA MASSANO