2024-01-01 | JPRF-F-2024-0109The Financial Policy and Regulation Board of Ecuador issued Resolution JPRF-F-2024-0109 to establish the regulatory framework for the constitution of Specialized Societies for Deposits and Electronic Payments (SEDPES). The resolution mandates that SEDPES must be incorporated as anonymous societies or foreign branches domiciled in Ecuador, with a minimum paid-in capital of USD 500,000 and a single corporate purpose limited to facilitating electronic payments and financial transfers. These entities are required to obtain operational authorization from the Central Bank of Ecuador and a license from the Superintendence of Banks before commencing activities.
Address: Av. Amazonas between Pereira and Unión Nacional de Periodistas Government Financial Management Platform. Red Block, 8th floor | Postal Code: 170507 | Quito - Ecuador | Resolution No. JPRF-F-2024-0109 THE FINANCIAL POLICY AND REGULATION BOARD CONSIDERING: That Article 132, number 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador determines that a law will be required to: “6. Grant public control and regulatory bodies the authority to issue general norms in matters within their competence, without altering or innovating legal provisions.”; That Article 226 of the Magna Carta mandates that state institutions, their bodies, dependencies, public servants, and persons acting by virtue of a state power shall exercise only the competencies and faculties attributed to them in the Constitution and the law; That Article 227 ibid establishes that the Public Administration constitutes a service to the community governed by the principles of effectiveness, efficiency, quality, hierarchy, coordination, participation, and others; That Article 308 of the Fundamental Law prescribes that financial activities are a matter of public order; That Article 309 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador indicates that “The National Financial System is composed of the public, private, and popular and solidary sectors (…)”. Each of these sectors will have specific and differentiated control norms and entities, which will be responsible for preserving their security, stability, transparency, and solidity; That Article 13 of the Organic Monetary and Financial Code, Book I, created the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, part of the Executive Function and as a legal entity of public law, responsible for the formulation of credit, financial, securities, insurance, and prepaid comprehensive health care services policy and regulation; That Article 14, number 2 of the aforementioned Code stipulates that it corresponds to the Financial Policy and Regulation Board “2. Issue regulations that allow maintaining the integrity, solidity, sustainability, and stability of the national financial, securities, insurance, and prepaid comprehensive health care services systems in accordance with what is provided in article 309 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador (…)”; That Article 14.1 of the aforementioned Organic Code orders the Financial Policy and Regulation Board to fulfill the following faculties, among which are: “1. Regulate the creation, constitution, organization, activities, operation, and liquidation of financial entities; (…) 27. Exercise the other functions, duties, and faculties assigned to it by this Code and the law.”; That Article 150 of the aforementioned Code prescribes that entities of the national financial system will be subject to the regulation issued by the Financial Policy and Regulation Board; That Article 160 of the aforementioned Organic Code determines that the financial system is integrated by the public financial sector, the private financial sector, and the popular and solidary financial sector;
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Address: Av. Amazonas between Pereira and Unión Nacional de Periodistas Government Financial Management Platform. Red Block, 8th floor | Postal Code: 170507 | Quito - Ecuador | That Article 162, number 5, of the Organic Monetary and Financial Code, Book I, provides that among the entities that make up the private financial sector are the Specialized Societies for Deposits and Electronic Payments, “whose sole object is the receipt of resources for the exclusive purpose of facilitating payments and transfers of resources through authorized electronic payment means; and, sending and receiving financial transfers in accordance with the regulation issued by the Monetary Policy Board. The requirements for their constitution will be regulated by the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, controlled by the Central Bank of Ecuador, who will be responsible for issuing the corresponding information in case of requiring supervision or sanction intervention by the Superintendence of Companies, Securities and Insurance with the Superintendence of Banks, Superintendence of Popular and Solidary Economy, as appropriate, and who will be responsible for proceeding in accordance with what the Law provides.”; That Article 5 of the Organic Law for the Development, Regulation and Control of Technological Financial Services (Fintech Law), enumerates Fintech Activities, among which are the Specialized Societies for Deposits and Electronic Payments; That Article 8 of the aforementioned Law states that fintech companies will be regulated by the Monetary Policy Board and the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, as appropriate; and supervised and controlled by the Central Bank of Ecuador, the Superintendence of Companies, Securities and Insurance, the Superintendence of Banks, or the Superintendence of Popular and Solidary Economy, within the scope of their competencies and according to the regulation issued for this purpose; That the Technical Secretary, in charge, of the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, through Memorandum No. JPRF-ST-2024-0058-M of May 8, 2024, sends to the President of the Board the Technical Report No. JPRF-CTSF-2024-004 and the Legal Report No. JPRF-CJF-2024-019, both dated May 8, 2024, as well as the respective draft resolution; That the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, in an extraordinary session held by technological means, convened on May 9, 2024, and carried out through video conference on May 10, 2024, learned of Memorandum No. JPRF-ST-2024-0058-M of May 8, 2024, issued by the Technical Secretary, in charge, of the Board; as well as the Technical Report No. JPRF-CTSF-2024-004 and the Legal Report No. JPRF-CJF-2024-019, both dated May 8, 2024, issued by the Technical Coordination of Policy and Regulation of the Financial System and by the Legal Coordination of Policy and Financial Norms, and the corresponding draft resolution; That the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, in an extraordinary session held by technological means, convened on May 9, 2024, and carried out through video conference on May 10, 2024, learned of and approved the following Resolution; and, In exercise of its functions, RESOLVES: ARTICLE UNIQUE.- Incorporate Chapter LXIII “Norm that regulates Specialized Societies for Deposits and Electronic Payments”, following Chapter LXII “Norm that regulates Entities of Technological Financial Services”, Title II “National Financial System”, Book I “Monetary and Financial System”, of the Codification of Monetary, Financial, Securities and Insurance Resolutions, with the following text:
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Address: Av. Amazonas between Pereira and Unión Nacional de Periodistas Government Financial Management Platform. Red Block, 8th floor | Postal Code: 170507 | Quito - Ecuador | “CHAPTER LXIII: NORM THAT REGULATES SPECIALIZED SOCIETIES FOR DEPOSITS AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS SECTION I: CONSTITUTION OF SPECIALIZED SOCIETIES FOR DEPOSITS AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS Art. 1.- Requirements for constitution.- Specialized Societies for Deposits and Electronic Payments (SEDPES) will be constituted as an anonymous society or branch of a foreign company, in accordance with what is provided in the current legal framework. In the case of branches of foreign companies, they must be domiciled in Ecuador. SEDPES must be constituted with the sole corporate purpose of receiving resources for the exclusive purpose of facilitating payments and transfers of resources through authorized electronic payment means; and, sending and receiving financial transfers in accordance with the regulation issued by the Monetary Policy Board. The minimum subscribed and paid-in capital for the constitution of these entities will be USD 500,000.00 (five hundred thousand United States dollars), which will be divided into registered shares. Art. 2.- Authorization.- SEDPES, once constituted, must obtain operational authorization from the Central Bank of Ecuador to provide their services, under the terms and conditions determined by the Monetary Policy Board and the Central Bank of Ecuador. Once the operational authorization is issued, the Central Bank of Ecuador will notify its decision to the requesting SEDPE and to the Superintendence of Banks, who in turn will issue the license. FINAL PROVISION.- This Resolution will enter into force from the present date, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Register, and will be published on the institutional website of the Financial Policy and Regulation Board within a maximum term of two days from its issuance. COMMUNICATE.- Given in the Metropolitan District of Quito, on May 10, 2024. THE PRESIDENT, Mgs. María Paulina Vela Zambrano The aforementioned Resolution was processed and signed by Master María Paulina Vela Zambrano, President of the Financial Policy and Regulation Board, in the Metropolitan District of Quito, on May 10, 2024.- I CERTIFY. TECHNICAL SECRETARY, IN CHARGE Mgs. Luis Alfredo Olivares Murillo