Instruction No. 15/2023 of 21 November

INSTRUCTION NO. 15/2023 of 21 November
SUBJECT: PAYMENT SYSTEM

• Instant Transfers – KWiK Payment Arrangement
• Management, Adhesion and Participation

Given the need to adjust the management, operation, adhesion and participation rules in the KWiK Payment Arrangement and the Instant Transfer System, with the aim of ensuring greater transparency and promoting the massification of the KWiK payment instrument; Under the combined provisions of points (a) and (d) of Article 6 of Law No. 40/20, dated 16 December, the Angolan Payment System Law, of Article 36 of Law No. 14/21, dated 19 May, the General Regime of Financial Institutions Law, and of Article 21 and paragraph 1 of Article 98 both of Law No. 24/21, dated 18 October, the Bank of Angola Law; I DETERMINE:

1. Object
   The present Instruction defines the rules for management, adhesion and participation in the KWiK Payment Arrangement, operationalized through the Instant Transfer System, hereinafter referred to as ITS.

2. Scope
   The present Instruction applies to Payment Service Providers.

3. Definitions
   For the purposes of this Instruction, the following terms are understood as:

(a) Beneficiary: final entity or user, natural or legal person, to whom the funds resulting from a payment operation are destined; (b) ITS Registration Account: account held by the participant, maintained in the ITS, which records debits and credits relating to settlement movements (pre-financing) and to movements carried out by its clients, whose balance corresponds to the participant's available balance in the ITS; (c) ITS Technical Account: account dedicated to the KWiK Payment Arrangement in the SPTR, held by the Bank of Angola and managed by EMIS, whose balance corresponds to the sum of participants' balances in the system; (d) Ordering Party: entity or user, natural or legal person, with the power to move the payment account and who issues a transfer order debiting that account and crediting a different account; (e) Participant: institution authorized under the rules of a system to transact, clear and settle through that system with other Participants; (f) Beneficiary Participant: participant who, as the supporting entity for the beneficiary's payment account, is the recipient of an instruction inserted into the system for its client; (g) Ordering Participant: participant through which, as the supporting entity for the ordering party's payment account, allows the latter to initiate an instruction in the system; (h) Surcharge: additional commission applied by the payment service provider to the client, in domestic inter-participant operations; (i) Credit Transfer: electronic payment or fund transfer from one person or entity to another, carried out electronically, regardless of the medium or technology used, provided it is initiated by the ordering party, aiming to credit the funds in the beneficiary's account; (j) Domestic Transfer: inter-participant transfer carried out through Financial Institutions within the same country; (k) Instant Transfer: credit transfer in which the transmission and availability of funds to the beneficiary occur in real time, within a maximum period of 10 seconds; (l) Intra-participant Transfer: transfer carried out between accounts of the same Institution; (m) Inter-participant Transfer: transfer carried out between accounts of different Institutions; (n) KWiK Transfer: any instant transfer within the KWiK arrangement, initiated by a KWiK account identification key (KWiK Key), whose value does not exceed the KWiK operation limits defined in the KWiK Payment Arrangement, and may be intra-participant or inter-participant, domestic or cross-border; (o) Cross-border Transfer: inter-participant transfer carried out through Financial Institutions of different countries.

4. KWiK Transfer
   4.1. The KWiK transfer may be executed at any time.
   4.2. For the purposes of the preceding sub-point, the ITS and participants' systems must operate continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

5. KWiK Account Identifiers
   5.1. The main and unique identifier of an account operated within the KWiK Payment Arrangement is the IBAN.
   5.2. Without prejudice to the preceding sub-point, payment service providers may use alternative account identifiers, namely mobile phone number, email address and nickname (nickname), which may be associated with more than one payment account used within the KWiK Payment Arrangement.
   5.3. The IBAN and the authorized alternative account identifiers referred to in point 5.2 are collectively referred to as "KWiK Key".
   5.4. The different types of KWiK Keys are defined in the respective KWiK Arrangement Regulation.
   5.5. It is the responsibility of the ITS operator to implement a Central Addressing Module - CAM, which establishes the relationship between KWiK Keys, i.e., between the main identifier of each account and its alternative identifiers.
   5.6. The provision of KWiK Key Management operations must be ensured by all participants, so that, through the KWiK payment arrangement, users have full autonomy in managing their accounts.

6. KWiK Payment Arrangement and Instant Transfer System
   6.1. The KWiK Payment Arrangement is owned by the Bank of Angola, which is the entity responsible for defining the guidelines regarding its operation.
   6.2. Without prejudice to the preceding sub-point, EMIS – Interbank Services Company, S.A., is the entity responsible for managing the KWiK Payment Arrangement, in accordance with the provisions of Notice No. 05/22, dated 3 February, on Payment Arrangements.
   6.3. The ITS is operated by EMIS - Interbank Services Company, S.A., the entity responsible for managing and operating the said system, in accordance with Notice No. 03/2022, dated 2 February, on Rules and Operational Procedures Applicable to Financial Market Infrastructures.
   6.4. Participation in the KWiK Payment Arrangement implies participation in the ITS, which constitutes a Financial Market Infrastructure also operated by EMIS.
   6.5. Participants of the KWiK Payment Arrangement and ITS must ensure service levels and availability that enable interoperability in compliance with Notice No. 03/22, dated 2 February, on Rules and Operational Procedures Applicable to Financial Market Infrastructures and Notice No. 05/22, dated 3 February, on Payment Arrangements.

7. KWiK Payment Arrangement Participants Committee
   7.1. The KWiK Payment Arrangement Participants Committee (CP-KWiK) is a consultative body of the KWiK Payment Arrangement, with the objective of ensuring participatory management aimed at its continuous improvement.
   7.2. The CP-KWiK is chaired by the Bank of Angola, with technical coordination ensured by EMIS.
   7.3. All participants in the KWiK Payment Arrangement are effective members of the CP-KWiK.
   7.4. Without prejudice to the preceding sub-point, whenever necessary, the CP-KWiK may invite other entities.
   7.5. The CP-KWiK is governed by its own regulation, approved by the Bank of Angola.

8. Interoperability
   Participants in the KWiK payment arrangement must ensure a direct connection with the ITS operator, adopting adequate functional and technical requirements, as well as ensuring compatible service and availability levels that guarantee interoperability between both systems.

9. Identification of the KWiK Payment Arrangement
   9.1. The KWiK Payment Arrangement is identified with a unique brand, in accordance with Instruction No. 10/2022, dated 25 August, on the Brand of the Instant Transfer System Arrangement, whose adoption aims to ensure interoperability and universal acceptance of the KWiK payment instrument.
   9.2. For the purposes of the preceding sub-point, payment service providers must ensure the universalization and interoperability of the KWiK payment instrument, aiming to guarantee that different participants and final users identify the new KWiK payment instrument unequivocally.
   9.3. It is prohibited for any participant of the KWiK Payment Arrangement to offer payment services based on a KWiK transfer that do not use the "KWiK Transfer" brand in their identification, regardless of the channel and technology used.
   9.4. The KWiK brand is managed by EMIS under the supervision of the Bank of Angola, which defines, publishes and ensures compliance with the rules for using the KWiK Payment Arrangement Brand.

10. Ordering User Principle
    10.1. A client commission for payment services provided within the KWiK Payment Arrangement is permitted.
    10.2. Price discrimination or the practice of discounts for payment services provided within the KWiK Payment Arrangement, based on the Ordering and Beneficiary parties, client location, account identifiers used or any other reference or characteristic, is prohibited.
    10.3. The application of surcharges in the client tariff is prohibited.
    10.4. The Beneficiary Participant may not charge the Beneficiary for the received transfer transaction.
    10.5. Client commissions depend on each participant's policies, respecting the provisions of this Instruction and other applicable regulations, and must be subject to approval by the Bank of Angola.

11. Interoperability Tariff
    A moratorium of 3 years is established on the application of the ITS processing tariff to all participants of the KWiK Payment Arrangement, with the Bank of Angola assuming the respective interoperability cost during said period.

12. Interchange Commission
    12.1. The application of an interchange commission, paid by the Beneficiary Participant to the Ordering Participant for each inter-participant KWiK transfer, is permitted, whose value is agreed upon by all participants within the CP-KWiK and subsequently ratified by the Bank of Angola.
    12.2. The Interchange Commission, when applied, may not be passed on to the client of the Participant who pays said commission.

13. Processing and Settlement
    13.1. The settlement model adopted for the KWiK Payment Arrangement is of the pre-financed type, based on the existence of an ITS Technical Account, into which funds from all participants are received to cover operations in advance, with each participant holding the respective balance translated in its ITS Registration Account.
    13.2. The pre-financed model allows the operator to ensure immediate processing of payment operations between ordering and beneficiary participants.
    13.3. For the purposes of the preceding sub-point, participants' Registration Accounts involved must be moved after validation of all elements and verification of sufficient available balance in the Ordering Participant's Registration Account to cover each operation.
    13.4. Payment operations between ordering and beneficiary participants are considered final and irrevocable from the moment they are processed by the operator and reflected in their respective ITS Registration Accounts.

14. Adhesion and Participation
    14.1. Payment Service Providers authorized by the Bank of Angola adhere to the KWiK Payment Arrangement through adherence to a contract with the arrangement's managing entity and ITS operator.
    14.2. The preceding sub-point is mandatory for the following Institutions:
    a) Banking Financial Institutions; b) Non-Banking Financial Institutions that have a Banking Financial Institution as a partner or reference shareholder; c) Non-Banking Financial Institutions that have a telecommunications operating company as a partner or reference shareholder.
    14.3. Without prejudice to the preceding sub-point, adherence and participation in the KWiK Payment Arrangement is mandatory for Financial Institutions whose activity exceeds value-based criteria defined in specific regulation, based on the following indicators:
    a) Monthly average value of stored electronic money; b) Monthly average transacted value; c) Number of active client accounts.
    14.4. Participation in the KWiK Payment Arrangement follows the rules established in mandatory documentation, namely the STI Operator's Rules and Procedures Manual and the KWiK Payment Arrangement Regulation, as well as all underlying regulation.
    14.5. Financial Institutions that do not participate in the KWiK Payment Arrangement may only provide services to their users within their own payment arrangement, according to rules on closed payment arrangements as provided in Notice No. 05/22, dated 3 February, on Payment Arrangements.
    14.6. For the purposes of sub-point 14.2, Financial Institutions that constitute themselves as Payment Service Providers after the entry into force of this Instruction must formalize their adherence to the KWiK Payment Arrangement and consequently to the ITS within 180 (one hundred and eighty) days, counting from the date of authorization for their constitution by the Bank of Angola.
    14.7. Without prejudice to the preceding sub-point, Financial Institutions as Payment Service Providers may only make payment products and services available in the market after completing technical certification with the operator.

15. Statistical Information
    15.1. The KWiK Payment Arrangement Managing Entity must provide statistical information regarding the arrangement monthly, in compliance with requirements defined by the Bank of Angola.
    15.2. Payment service providers participating in the KWiK payment arrangement are obliged to inform the Arrangement Managing Entity about all intra-participant operations executed, in compliance with the format and period to be defined in the KWiK arrangement regulation.

16. Transitional Provisions
    Financial Institutions constituted as Payment Service Providers under point 14.2 of this Instruction must adhere to the KWiK Payment Arrangement and consequently to the ITS within 30 (thirty) days and complete technical certification within 60 (sixty) days, counting from the date of entry into force of this Instruction.

17. Sanctions
    Non-compliance with the provisions established in this Instruction constitutes an offense provided for and punishable under Law No. 40/20, dated 16 December, the Angolan Payment System Law, and Law No. 14/21, dated 19 May, the General Regime of Financial Institutions Law.

18. Doubts and Omissions
    Doubts and omissions resulting from the interpretation and application of this Instruction are resolved by the Bank of Angola.

19. Revocation
    Instruction No. 14/22, dated 14 December, and all regulation contrary to the provisions of this Instruction are revoked.

20. Entry into Force
    The present Instruction enters into force on the date of its publication.
    PUBLISH.
    Luanda, 21 November 2023.
    THE GOVERNOR
    MANUEL ANTÓNIO TIAGO DIAS