Instruction No. 15/2018 of November 19 – Foreign Exchange Policy: Sale of Foreign Currency to Money Changers and Payment Service Companies

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INSTRUCTION NO. 15/2018 of November 19
SUBJECT: FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICY

• Sale of Foreign Currency to Money Changers and Payment Service Companies

Whereas it is necessary to amend the procedures for the sale of foreign currency to Non-Bank Financial Institutions, namely Money Changers and Payment Service Companies that carry out value transfer activities (Value Transfer Societies); Pursuant to the combined provisions of Articles 64 and 94, both of Law No. 12/15 of June 17 - Framework Law of Financial Institutions, paragraph q) of Article 2 of Law No. 5/05 of July 29 - Payment System Law, and Articles 3 and 51, both of Law No. 16/10 of July 15 - Law of the National Bank of Angola. I HEREBY DETERMINE:

1. Access to the Purchase of Foreign Currency by Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies
   1.1. Access to the purchase of foreign currency by Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies is subject to the full and permanent compliance with the legislation and regulations in force applicable to them, during their activities.

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1.2. Whenever compliance with the provisions established in the preceding point is at stake, the National Bank of Angola shall instruct commercial banks to suspend the sale of foreign currency to the entities covered by this Instruction, until the reason for such decision is remedied.

2. Request for Purchase of Foreign Currency by Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies from Commercial Banks
   2.1. Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies must, whenever they wish to purchase foreign currency, submit their requests to the Commercial Banks with which they regularly maintain commercial relations, specifying the currency and amount sought.
   2.2. The total value requested per week by each Money Changer or Value Transfer Society from Commercial Banks must not exceed their Own Funds.

3. Sale Procedures by the NBA to Commercial Banks
   3.1. Commercial Banks must include the value requested by Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies in their weekly needs statement for the week in which they receive the request.
   3.2. The National Bank of Angola sells foreign exchange to Commercial Banks in accordance with the provisions established in the Instruction governing auction procedures, and Commercial Banks must allocate foreign currency to their clients, Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies, under the same terms as for their other clients reflected in the needs statements, under the conditions set out in number 4 of this Instruction.
   3.3. For reasoned market balance considerations, the National Bank of Angola may attend to the specific demand from Non-Bank Financial Societies that have been included in the needs statements.

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4. Sale Conditions by Commercial Banks to Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies
4.1. Commercial Banks may only make foreign currency available in physical banknotes to Money Changers, and must, at the time of sale, debit the national currency account of said Institutions against the delivery of physical banknotes.
4.2. Commercial Banks may only make foreign exchange available to Value Transfer Societies, which may be used exclusively for transfer to Foreign Payment Service Companies with which they work, to cover transfers executed at the request of their clients.
4.3. In the sale of foreign currency to Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies, Commercial Banks may charge a spread of up to 2% on the reference exchange rate published on the institutional portal of the National Bank of Angola.
4.4. The amounts for fees and commissions must be charged and paid in Kwanzas.
4.5. Commercial Banks may make banknotes available to Money Changers and foreign exchange to Value Transfer Societies in a currency different from the foreign currency purchased from the National Bank of Angola, when so requested by them.

5. Conflict of Interests
   Commercial Banks must implement processes for the identification, monitoring, and mitigation of conflicts of interest in their relations with Money Changers and Value Transfer Societies, as provided for in Notice No. 01/2013 of April 19.

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6. Sanctions
Violation of the provisions established in this Instruction constitutes an offense provided for and punishable, under Law No. 5/97 of June 27 - Foreign Exchange Law and Law No. 12/2015 of June 17 - Framework Law of Financial Institutions, including the temporary exclusion from the market by offenders.

7. Doubts and Omissions
   Doubts and omissions in the interpretation and application of this Instruction are resolved by the National Bank of Angola.

8. Revocation
   Instruction No. 17/2015 of August 20 and Directive No. 2/2011 of March 31 are hereby revoked.

9. Entry into Force
   This Instruction enters into force on the date of its publication.
   PUBLISHED.
   Luanda, November 20, 2018.

THE GOVERNOR
JOSÉ DE LIMA MASSANO