General Guidelines for Opening Deposits in Simplified Requirements Savings Accounts

CD - 28/2016
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE OPENING OF DEPOSITS IN SIMPLIFIED REQUIREMENTS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS Approval: 27/06/2016 Validity: 25/07/2016 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF RESERVE OF EL SALVADOR, AGREES, to issue the following:
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE OPENING OF DEPOSITS IN SIMPLIFIED REQUIREMENTS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS Object 1.- These guidelines aim to regulate the opening of deposits in Simplified Requirements Savings Accounts, in accordance with what is provided in the Law for Facilitating Financial Inclusion, which are mandatory for subjects that offer the public this type of financial product. The guidelines will be considered in the collection norms that each subject elaborates, which must be approved by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador regarding the transfer or negotiability and the term. Subjects 2.- Subjects of these Guidelines and who may receive deposits through the opening of Simplified Requirements Savings Accounts are the following financial entities:
a) Banks. b) Cooperative banks. c) Savings and credit societies.
Terms
3.- For the purposes of these Guidelines, the terms indicated below have the following meaning:
a) Central Bank: Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador. b) Board of Directors: Board of Directors of the Central Bank. c) Simplified Account: Deposit in a Simplified Requirements Savings Account. d) DUI: Unique Identity Document. e) Financial Entity: Banks, Cooperative Banks, and Savings and Credit Societies. f) Channels or Electronic or Digital Means: Tools made available to the public to enable or carry out operations with the Simplified Account, including, but not limited to, debit cards, automated teller machines or ATMs, electronic kiosks, point of sale terminals or POS, telephony in any modality and other communication networks, internet and others that are made available to the public in the future. (1)(3) g) Superintendence: Superintendence of the Financial System. Considerations for the opening of Simplified Accounts 4.- Financial entities interested in receiving deposits through the opening of Simplified Accounts may do so provided they comply with what is established in articles 20, 20-A, 20-B and 20-C of the Law for Facilitating Financial Inclusion; likewise, they must comply with the following: (3) a) Only natural persons may be holders of a Simplified Account and there cannot be more than one holder per account; likewise, minors between 16 and 18 years of age may also open a Simplified Account. (3) b) Its opening may be managed through channels or electronic means, financial correspondents, bank agencies, and the agencies of savings and credit societies. (3) c) The Simplified Account is for use through channels or electronic or digital means or through automated teller machines, including even the use by means of a debit card. The account may also be used through agencies when the client requires it. The entity must generate the conditions for the use of channels or digital means, withdrawal of money through electronic channels or through automated teller machines; likewise, the consent of the Account Holder for the debit card must be obtained, complying with what is established in letter l) of article 56 of the Banks Law and letter h) of article 37 of the Cooperative Banks and Savings and Credit Societies Law. d) Deposits in Simplified Requirements Savings Accounts are subject to balance and transaction limits as established in the Law for Facilitating Financial Inclusion and updated by the Central Bank, through its Norms Committee. The update of the maximum limit allowed for each type of simplified account must be informed to each holder of this type of accounts; failure to inform about the update constitutes a breach by the financial entity. (2). (3) e) Not subject to transaction limits are credits for salary payments, receipt of remittances, pension payments, and disbursements of credits from the same financial institution when they are less than three or six minimum salaries of the commerce and services sector, depending on the type of savings account with simplified requirements. (3) f) By its nature as a deposit, the amount
of this Simplified Account is guaranteed by the deposit guarantee granted by the Institute of Deposit Guarantees, according to article 154 of the Banks Law. (3) g) The Simplified Account will have a liquidity reserve equal to that established for deposits in savings accounts in accordance with what is provided in the Banks Law and the Cooperative Banks and Savings and Credit Societies Law, according to applicable technical norms. (3) h) Complete a customer profile form, for accounts greater than three monthly minimum salaries up to six monthly minimum salaries of the commerce and services sector, as established in the Law for Facilitating Financial Inclusion. (3) Information Requirements 5.- For the opening of the Simplified Account with limits up to three monthly minimum salaries of the commerce and services sector, the following requirements must be considered: (3) a) Full name of the natural person holding the Simplified Account. b) Identification number, according to Unique Identity Document (DUI), for natural persons of Salvadoran nationality. c) Passport number for natural persons of Salvadoran nationality abroad. (2) d) Identification number according to Passport or Temporary or Definitive Resident Alien Card, for foreign natural persons. e) For minors who have reached sixteen years of age, the identification documentation defined by the financial entity in their internal policies will be required. (3) f) Designation of beneficiaries and (3) g) Savings account opening form with simplified requirements, which may be in physical format, to be signed by the account holder, or in digital format, being the obligation of the Financial Institution to establish the electronic mechanism through which the consent of the account holder regarding the terms and conditions is expressed. (3) 6.- For the opening of the Simplified Account with limits greater than three monthly minimum salaries up to six monthly minimum salaries of the commerce and services sector, the following requirements must be considered: (3) a) Full name of the natural person holding the Simplified Account. (3) b) Identification number, according to Unique Identity Document (DUI), for natural persons of Salvadoran nationality. (3) c) Passport number for natural persons of Salvadoran nationality abroad. (3) d) Identification number according to Passport or Temporary or Definitive Resident Alien Card, for foreign natural persons. (3) e) For minors who have reached sixteen years of age, the identification documentation defined by the financial entity in their internal policies will be required. (3) f) Designation of beneficiaries. (3) g) Savings account opening form with simplified requirements, which may be in physical format, to be signed by the account holder, or in digital format, being the obligation of the Financial Institution to establish the electronic mechanism through which the consent of the account holder regarding the terms and conditions is expressed (3). h) Customer
profile format, which may be done through the digital means available to the institution, which must contain the holder's name, identification document as applicable, residence address, economic activity, source of monthly income, and name and residence address of the beneficiaries. 7.- The financial entity that offers this type of financial product must comply in the process of opening these accounts with the provisions of the current legal framework applicable to it, adhering to sound practices that promote the security of operations, ensure adequate attention to customers, and especially with what is established in their know your customer policies and anti-money laundering and asset prevention policies, terrorism financing, and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The simplification of requirements for the opening of savings accounts does not exempt financial entities from compliance with obligations arising from the Law Against Money Laundering and Assets, its Regulation, the Instruction for Prevention, Detection and Control of Money Laundering and Assets, Terrorism Financing and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Financial Investigation Unit of the Attorney General's Office, as well as the Technical Norms for the Management of Money Laundering and Asset Risks and Terrorism Financing issued by the Norms Committee of the Central Bank of Reserve. (3) Procedure for the opening of a Simplified Account 8.- To open Simplified Accounts, the following stages must be executed:
a) Capture of information of the applicant person. b) Contracting of the Simplified Account. c) Enablement of the Simplified Account.
9.- The capture of information of the applicant person may be carried out through channels or electronic means, financial correspondents, bank agencies, and the agencies of savings and credit societies. (3) With respect to the functions of the financial correspondent in this stage, what is provided in numeral 12 of these norms will be considered. (2) (3) 10.- For the contracting of Simplified Accounts, Adhesion Contracts on the conditions of the deposit must be drawn up, which must comply with the requirements and prior deposit in the Superintendence, in accordance with article 22 of the Consumer Protection Law. In said contracts, financial entities must establish in advance the commissions and surcharges, if any, which will be recorded in the adhesion contract. (3) The Adhesion Contract may be formalized in person at agencies, financial correspondents, or through the channels or electronic or digital means that the Financial Entity makes available to the public for such effect; in it, it must be stated that said contract will be deemed perfected when the client makes the first deposit in their simplified account. (2). (3) 11.- The enablement of the Simplified Account may be carried out directly from any channel or electronic or digital medium, according to the process established by each entity. Likewise, it may be carried out at agencies and financial correspondents. (1) (3) Entities must have policies that develop security measures that allow them to block said accounts, when the competent authority, ex officio or at the request of the financial entity, determines that the documents used for opening were false or the financial entity considers that they are being used for illicit purposes. (1) Likewise, they must have effective mechanisms implemented to guarantee the security of information, whether in storage, transit, or during processing, both of the signatory and related electronic documents, in such a way that the principles of authenticity, integrity, technological neutrality, and security are met. (3) 12.- When the application is made through financial correspondents, for the capture of information, the following will be considered:
a) The person must complete a customer profile form described in numeral 6, in the case of opening the Simplified Account with limits greater than three monthly minimum salaries up to six minimum salaries of the commerce and services sector. b) A savings account opening form with simplified requirements must be completed, which may be in physical format, to be signed by the account holder, or in digital format, being the obligation of the Financial Institution to establish the electronic mechanism through which the consent of the account holder regarding the terms and conditions is expressed. Failure to fill out the form generates responsibility for the Financial Institution, clarifying that in this case the responsibility is that of the financial entity and not of the Financial Correspondent. (3). c) The financial correspondent will collect and send to the financial entity the information detailed in letters a) and b) above (3). d) The financial entity will verify the information through the physical or digital means made available to the financial correspondent; if there are no inconsistencies, it may proceed to enable the account. (2) e) Information capture may be carried out by physical means or in the electronic or digital means that the financial entity makes available to the public. (2) Opening Amount and Cost of Services 13.- The Simplified Account may be created without a minimum opening amount and will not have administration costs that have not been generated and previously agreed upon with the titular person, commissions, or surcharges, if any, which will be recorded in the adhesion contract. If a minimum amount is requested for the opening of the account, it constitutes a breach of the Law for Facilitating Financial Inclusion, according to numeral 1 of article 20-E of the Law. (3) 14.- The financial entity must provide through the channels or electronic or digital means it makes available to the client, the information that the client requires regarding their Simplified Account. (1).(3) Designation of Beneficiaries 15.- The holder of the Simplified Account may designate beneficiaries of the monetary value deposited therein, so that upon their death, the deposited value is delivered to them, providing for this purpose the name and contact address of the same. 16.- The titular person will indicate the proportion in which the balance of the Simplified Account must be distributed among its beneficiaries, and in case they do not do so, it will be understood that the distribution will be in equal parts. 17.- The rights corresponding to the beneficiary persons of a Simplified Account will be subject to what is provided in article 1334 of the Civil Code. Prescription of Balances 18.- Deposit balances in these accounts that have remained inactive for five years will prescribe in favor of the State. Banks, cooperative banks, and savings and credit societies must use the means they consider appropriate, even using communication and electronic
notification media to avoid prescription, which must be made known to and considered by the Superintendence. Such communication and notification must be made to the holder of the simplified account, at least one year in advance, indicating the risk of prescription; otherwise, it constitutes a breach by the financial entity, according to numeral 5 of article 20-E of the Law. Reclassification of the Account 19.- Financial entities subject to these guidelines may evaluate the client's transactional profile to determine if the account requires classification into a higher-level simplified requirements savings account or a traditional savings account subject to different regulation than that established in the Law for Facilitating Financial Inclusion, for which they will comply with what is stated in the eighth clause of article 20-B of said Law, which must be defined in their respective internal policies. (3) The entity, based on sound market practices, will make available simple, agile, and easily accessible mechanisms to perform the reclassification of the account, using electronic means or doing so at any agency, branch, or financial correspondent. For the purposes of these Guidelines, it will be considered contrary to sound market practices to establish a specific agency or financial correspondent to carry out this type of procedure or restrict service hours. (3) The entity is obligated to make available to the account holder the simple and agile means for them to give consent for the reclassification. (3) Fostering the Financial Ecosystem 20.- The history, behavior, and use of holders of savings accounts with simplified requirements in any of the banks, cooperative banks, and savings and credit societies, may be considered for the provision of other financial products, which they make available to their clients. These products will have the limits that entities define in their internal policies, in accordance with the type of product or service made available. (3) Validity 21- The provisions established in these Guidelines will enter into force starting September 19, two thousand twenty-two. (1) Modifications approved by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador, in Session No. CD-21/2017, of June 5, 2017, with validity starting July 3, 2017. (2) Modifications approved by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador, in Session No. CD-38/2020, of November 24, 2020, with validity starting November 30, 2020. (3) Modifications approved by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador, in Session No. CD-20/2022, of September 14, 2022, with validity starting September 19, 2022.