Electronic Banking and Financial Operations

Central Decision No. 13338

For Banks, Financial Institutions, and Institutions Engaging in Financial and Banking Operations via Electronic Means

We enclose a copy of Central Decision No. 13338 dated June 21, 2021, amending Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000 (Financial and Banking Operations via Electronic Means) attached to Basic Circular No. 69.

Beirut, June 21, 2021
Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon
Riad T. Safieh

Central Decision No. 13338
Amending Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000 Concerning Financial and Banking Operations via Electronic Means

The Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon,
Pursuant to the Monetary and Banking Law, specifically Articles 70 and 174 thereof, Pursuant to Law No. 133 dated October 26, 1999, concerning the functions of the Central Bank, Pursuant to Law No. 81 dated October 10, 2018, concerning electronic transactions and personal data, specifically Article 64 thereof, Pursuant to Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000, and its amendments concerning Financial and Banking Operations via Electronic Means, Pursuant to the decision of the Central Council of the Central Bank taken at its meeting held on June 4, 2021,

Decrees as follows:

Article One: The text of paragraph (a) from item (4) under "secondly" in Article 3 of Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000 is repealed and replaced with the following text:
"(a) An amount of 1,000,000 LBP daily and 10,000,000 LBP monthly for transactions conducted in Lebanese Lira."

Article Two: The text of paragraph (a) from item (5) under "secondly" in Article 3 of Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000 is repealed and replaced with the following text:
"(a) An amount of 2,000,000 LBP daily and 20,000,000 LBP monthly for transactions conducted in Lebanese Lira."

Article Three: The text under "thirdly" in Article 3 of Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000 is repealed and replaced with the following text:
"Thirdly: Service providers for banking or financial operations via mobile or fixed electronic devices through applications (Applications) or electronic programs, in accordance with the provisions of 'secondly' above, may include an 'Electronic Wallet' (Wallet Electronic) service within this application or program, subject to the following conditions:

1. Compliance with all conditions stipulated in 'secondly' of this Article.
2. Maintaining a capital of no less than 5,000,000 LBP.
3. Depositing the total value of 'Electronic Wallets' opened on the application or electronic program into a dedicated and independent bank account opened for this purpose in the name of the service provider, and taking necessary measures to ensure the deposited amounts remain in said account.
4. The 'Electronic Wallet' service provider verifies the identity of each person benefiting from this service and the source of funds that will feed the 'Electronic Wallet'.
5. Setting a limit for available funds in each 'Electronic Wallet', provided that their total does not exceed 10,000,000 LBP or 1,000 USD at any time.
6. Enabling the user to top up the 'Electronic Wallet' and/or withdraw cash through cards, bank accounts, and/or another 'Electronic Wallet'.
7. Granting the user the ability to transfer 'Electronic Wallet' funds to their bank account and/or withdraw cash.
8. Granting the 'Electronic Wallet' user the ability to reject any incoming fund transaction and fully block any other user.
9. Conducting all transactions on the 'Electronic Wallet' without any deduction/charge, such that all operations are conducted in the currency used to fund the 'Electronic Wallet'.
10. Ensuring that the commission charged by the 'Electronic Wallet' service provider does not exceed 0.5% (half a percent) of the value of each transaction conducted on the Wallet.
11. Sending a notification (Notification) to the user immediately upon conducting any transaction on the 'Electronic Wallet'.
12. Providing the Payment Systems Directorate at the Central Bank monthly with Form -1IP attached to this decision and any additional documents required for monitoring this type of transactions, along with their values."

Article Four: The following text is added to Article 3 of Basic Decision No. 7548 dated March 30, 2000 under "fourthly":
"Fourthly: The issuance of electronic money (Electronic Money) by anyone, and its handling in any form, is prohibited in accordance with the provisions of decisions issued or to be issued by the Central Bank."

Article Five: This decision takes effect upon its issuance.
Article Six: This decision is published in the Official Gazette.

Beirut, June 21, 2021
Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon
Riad T. Safieh

Form No. -1IP

Institution Name: _________________________________________ Number of E-Wallets: _______________________________________ Currency: LBP / USD (or other foreign currency) Date: ________________________ Signature: ____________________

To be sent to the following addresses:

• mbounassar@bdl.gov.lb
• MElhassanieh@bdl.gov.lb

Month / Year	Number of transactions on E-Wallets	Value of transactions on E-Wallets	Total
Month / Year	Number of transactions on E-Wallets	Value of transactions on E-Wallets	Total