Instruction No. 58 on the Interoperability of Electronic Payment Systems and Participation in the National E-Payment Switch

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BANQUE CENTRALE DU CONGO

THE GOVERNOR

INSTRUCTION NO. 58 ON THE INTEROPERABILITY OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL E-PAYMENT SWITCH

The Bank of Congo,

Having regard to Organic Law No. 18/027 of December 13, 2018 on the organization and functioning of the Bank of Congo, particularly Articles 8(2)(6) and 11;

Having regard to Law No. 18/019 of July 9, 2018 on payment and securities settlement systems, particularly Articles 53, 108, 110, and 112;

Having regard to Law No. 22/069 of December 27, 2022 on the activities and supervision of credit institutions;

Having regard to Law No. 22/068 of December 27, 2022 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;

Considering the need, on the one hand, to promote the deepening and development of the financial system and the integration of the national economy in payment matters, and on the other hand, to resolve the issue of fragmented payment markets and contribute to implementing the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023–2028;

Enacts the following provisions:

TITLE I: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter 1: Object and Scope

Article 1:

The present Instruction aims to define the rules regarding the interoperability of card payments or any other electronic payment instrument in the Democratic Republic of Congo and participation in the National E-Payment Switch.

Article 2:

The present Instruction applies to the following institutions, hereinafter referred to as "regulated entities":

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• credit institutions and financial companies offering payment services as defined in Article 168 of Law No. 22/069 of December 27, 2022 on the activities and supervision of credit institutions;
• financial services of the Post Office;
• payment system operators approved by the Bank of Congo;
• aggregators;
• any other institution designated by the Bank of Congo.

It also applies to the entity managing the National E-Payment Switch.

The provisions of Article 8 of this Instruction also apply to operators of regional or international payment systems.

Chapter 2: Definitions

Article 3:

For the purposes of this Instruction, the words, acronyms, and expressions below, used interchangeably in singular or plural, are understood as follows:

• accepteur : party that has entered into an agreement with an acquirer to accept electronic money in exchange for a good or service rendered;
• acquéreur : financial institution that provides the acceptor with acquisition channels to carry out card payments or any other electronic fund transfer method;
• API (application programming interface) : software interface that enables connecting a software or service to another in order to exchange payment data and functionalities;
• compte de règlement : account opened by a participant with the Bank of Congo and used for settling transactions in the SAREC system;
• émetteur : credit institution or financial company that provides users with electronic payment instruments, enabling payments and other associated services;
• EMV : Europay Visa Mastercard;
• Gestionnaire : managing entity of the National E-Payment Switch;
• instrument de paiement électronique : any device that enables electronic or digital payments;
• interopérabilité : property of the exchange rules of two networks being compatible with each other, allowing them to exchange data or operations;

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• monnaie électronique : monetary value that is:
  • loaded electronically and represents a claim on the issuer;
  • issued against the remittance of funds for payment operations;
  • accepted by a natural or legal person other than the issuer of the electronic money.
• OHADA : Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa;
• participant : regulated entity that connects to the National E-Payment Switch;
• PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standard) : data security standard of the payment card industry, developed by major international card associations;
• SAREC : Automated Settlement System of Congo;
• système de paiement monétique : system governed by standardized formal procedures and common rules for the processing and clearing of electronic payment operations.

Chapter 3: Interoperability of Electronic Payment Systems

Article 4:

Any electronic payment instrument issued by a regulated entity must be accepted for payment by all regulated entities.

Any payment service platform established by a regulated entity must be interoperable with those of all other regulated entities.

Interoperability is organized around a payment system managed by a third party, to which the regulated entities referred to in Article 2 participate.

TITLE II: IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL E-PAYMENT INTEROPERABILITY

Chapter 1: Establishment of the National E-Payment Switch

Article 5:

The National E-Payment Switch is the common technical platform designed to ensure interoperability between payment systems established or operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Article 6:

The regulated entities referred to in Article 2 are obligated to connect to the National E-Payment Switch.

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Article 7:

The National E-Payment Switch is subject to the regulation and supervision of the Bank of Congo.

Article 8:

The National E-Payment Switch is the designated integration platform for the participation of regulated entities in interoperability operations by card or any digital means within regional or international payment systems.

The connection of the National E-Payment Switch to regional or international payment systems is subject to a prior risk analysis, the conclusions of which are made available to the Bank of Congo.

Foreign-established payment systems wishing to have a regulated entity participate must first connect to the National E-Payment Switch.

Chapter 2: Governance of the National E-Payment Switch

Article 9:

The National E-Payment Switch is managed by an economic interest group named "Groupement Monétique Interbancaire du Congo", abbreviated GMIC, constituted in accordance with the OHADA Uniform Act on commercial companies and economic interest groups.

Article 10:

Regulated entities are required to participate in the co-ownership of the Groupement Monétique Interbancaire du Congo.

Chapter 3: Clearing and Settlement of Electronic Payment Operations

Article 11:

Electronic payment operations routed through the National E-Payment Switch are cleared on a multilateral basis.

Private payment systems ensuring transaction routing transmit them to the National E-Payment Switch for clearing purposes.

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Article 12:

The settlement of interoperable payment orders by card or any other electronic payment instrument is carried out within the Bank of Congo's SAREC system, by transferring a unique clearing file generated by the National E-Payment Switch.

In the absence of a settlement account in the SAREC system, participants must conclude indirect participation agreements with the SAREC system for settling their transactions. In this case, they inform the manager of the National E-Payment Switch by transmitting a copy of the concluded agreement.

Article 13:

The manager of the National E-Payment Switch establishes a guarantee fund consisting of contributions from each participant, which may be used as a last resort to cover the default risk of a participant.

The establishment and management mode of this guarantee fund are agreed upon between the manager and participants, and subject to approval by the Bank of Congo.

Chapter 4: Fees

Article 14:

The fees, commissions, and other charges related notably to participation in the National E-Payment Switch, transaction processing and settlement, as well as their allocation, are agreed upon between the manager and participants.

Article 15:

Participation fees are notably based on the number of memberships and the operational cost of the interoperability system.

Article 16:

Commissions on transactions are billed as follows:

• the commission on cash withdrawal operations at an ATM/GAB/TPE or electronic money distribution agent is paid by the issuer on behalf of the client;
• the commission on transactions with an acceptor or merchant is paid by the acquirer on behalf of the merchant;

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• the commission on transfers between participants is paid by the client's issuing institution. This includes bank-to-wallet/wallet-to-bank operations or transfers between electronic money institutions.

Chapter 5: Obligations of the Manager of the National E-Payment Switch

Article 17:

The manager is obligated to:

• ensure fair and non-discriminatory access to its services for all participants;
• guarantee the continuous and uninterrupted operation of the National E-Payment Switch;
• establish a multi-format exchange platform capable of managing various payment modes, while allowing integration with local, regional, and international payment systems;
• take all necessary measures to prevent the network's use for money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
• make APIs and specifications available to participants enabling them to access its services;
• establish adequate security procedures to ensure the safety and security of information;
• have an approved business continuity plan by the Bank of Congo;
• provide participants with daily transaction statements and other statistics for reconciliation and strategic planning purposes;
• provide the Bank of Congo/Department responsible for payment system supervision with any useful information to ensure proper system operation, including its performance, participant conduct, and quantitative data such as transaction volumes and values, as well as other relevant information.

Article 18:

The manager must establish a risk management device for all risks inherent to the system's operation.

To this end, it must establish effective and clearly defined rules and procedures to manage a participant's default. These rules and procedures must enable it, in the event of a participant's default, to continue fulfilling its obligations towards participants that have not defaulted.

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The manager drafts an annual activity report for the Bank of Congo, in which it formulates recommendations and opinions on its management and the operation of the National E-Payment Switch. A chapter of this report must be dedicated to describing the complaint handling device, including the computer tool used to centralize and track complaints as well as activities carried out in this regard.

Chapter 6: Obligations of Participants

Article 19:

Participants are required to:

• ensure sufficient provision exists in their settlement accounts within the SAREC system to cover their payment orders and those of indirect participants under their responsibility;
• observe the operating rules established by the manager of the National E-Payment Switch, particularly those related to the financial default risk coverage mechanism;
• make required changes within their infrastructure for participation in the National E-Payment Switch under optimal security conditions;
• make necessary modifications to guarantee the acceptability of issued payment instruments;
• pay the fees, commissions, and other charges stipulated in the manager's tariff conditions for the National E-Payment Switch;
• display the brand of the payment scheme of the National E-Payment Switch on the terminal branding.

No participant may represent, through indirect participation agreements referred to in Article 12 of this Instruction, more than 25% of institutions not holding a settlement account in the SAREC system.

Chapter 7: Management and Settlement of Complaints

Article 20:

The manager is required to establish an internal control device dedicated to dispute management, driven at a sufficiently high governance level to resolve participants' claims as simply and quickly as possible.

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Article 21:

The device established by the manager must include, among others:

• a unit responsible for receiving, processing, and tracking complaints and/or claims;
• well-defined procedures for handling complaints and informing participants;
• a computer system enabling the centralization and tracking of complaint processing.

Article 22:

Any participant may file a complaint with the manager, who is required to provide a response within a period not exceeding thirty (30) calendar days.

If the participant is unsatisfied with the manager's response, they may refer the matter to the Bank of Congo for arbitration.

The Bank of Congo also has a maximum period of thirty (30) calendar days to respond to the concerned participant's claim.

Article 23:

If, for any reason, a payment operation generates a refund, the principal amount and fees are refunded to the client.

Chapter 8: Security Standards

Article 24:

The manager and participants must ensure that all devices/software used to transmit financial data within the network comply with EMV standards.

Article 25:

The manager and participants must at all times comply with PCI-DSS data security standards.

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TITLE III: TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 26:

Non-compliance by the institutions referred to in Article 2 with the provisions of this Instruction exposes violators to sanctions provided by applicable legal and regulatory provisions.

Article 27:

Regulated entities have a period of six (6) months to comply with this Instruction.

Regulated entities not yet connected to the National E-Payment Switch must finalize integration works with the Bank of Congo before the expiration of the aforementioned period.

The Bank of Congo acts as the operator of the National E-Payment Switch until the creation of GMIC.

Article 28:

This Instruction enters into force six (6) months after the date of its signature and repeals all prior provisions contrary to it.

Done at Kinshasa, on September 4, 2024

MALANGU KABEDI MBUYI
Governor

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