Normative Instruction BCB No. 317 — Establishes operational procedures for maintaining cash resources at the Central Bank of Brazil corresponding to the value of electronic currency balances held in payment accounts

INSTRUÇÃO NORMATIVA BCB Nº 317, DE 4 DE NOVEMBRO DE 2022

Establishes operational procedures relating to the maintenance at the Central Bank of Brazil of cash resources corresponding to the value of the balance of electronic currencies held in payment accounts.

The Head of the Department of Banking Operations and Payment Systems (Deban), in exercise of the powers conferred by art. 23, item I, letter “a” and art. 111, item XIV, of the Internal Regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil, annexed to Ordinance No. 84,287 of February 27, 2015, based on art. 22 of BCB Resolution No. 80 of March 25, 2021 and BCB Resolution No. 237 of August 24, 2022,

R E S O L V E S:

Art. 1º The provisions of this Normative Instruction apply to institutions issuing electronic currency and to holders of Reserve Accounts, Clearing Accounts, and Instant Payment Accounts (Instant Payment Account), except clearing houses and providers of clearing and settlement services.

Art. 2º To comply with the obligation to maintain, at the Central Bank of Brazil, cash resources corresponding to the value of the balance of electronic currencies held in payment accounts and in transit between payment accounts within the same payment institution, as set forth in art. 22 of BCB Resolution No. 80 of March 25, 2021, institutions issuing electronic currency must observe the operational procedures established in this Normative Instruction.

CHAPTER I

DEFINITIONS

Art. 3º For the purposes of this Normative Instruction, the following are considered:

I - electronic currency issuing institution (IEME): institution that manages a user’s pre-paid payment account and makes available payment transactions based on electronic currency deposited in that account;

II - payment institution: legal entity part of the Brazilian Payment System (SPB), defined in art. 6, item III, of Law No. 12,865 of October 9, 2013;

III - Electronic Currency Correspondent Account (CCME): specific account maintained at the Central Bank of Brazil, owned by payment institutions, financial institutions, and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil, when issuers of electronic currency, intended exclusively for the maintenance of cash resources corresponding to the value of the balance of electronic currencies held in pre-paid payment accounts managed by them, plus the balances of electronic currencies in transit between payment accounts within the same payment institution; and

IV - cash resources: balance in reais maintained in an account at the Central Bank of Brazil.

CHAPTER II

MOVEMENTS OF RESOURCES IN THE ELECTRONIC CURRENCY CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT

Section I

Use of SME and LPI Service Groups

Art. 4º Movements of resources in the CCME are carried out through messages from the SME and LPI Service Groups, of the SFN Service Catalog, observed that:

I - the sending of messages from the SME and LPI Service Groups by STR participants is done through the National Financial System Network (RSFN) or the internet, using the STR-Web application, according to the main form of access to the STR used by the participant, during normal or contingency operation; and

II - IEMEs that are not STR participants use the STR-Web application to command transfers to the debit of their own CCME and to the debit of the Instant Payment Account to the credit of the CCME, both owned by them.

Section II

Allocation of Resources

Art. 5º The credit transfer to the CCME is carried out through the message “SME0001 - IF requests transfer for deposit in specific account” or through the message “LPI0004 - PSPI requests transfer for withdrawal from Instant Payment Account and deposit in CCME”, contained in the SFN Service Catalog.

Section III

Withdrawal of Resources

Art. 6º The debit transfer from the CCME must be commanded exclusively by the holder of the said account through the message “SME0002 - IEME requests transfer for withdrawal from specific account” or through the message “LPI0002 - IF requests transfer from CCME account to deposit in Instant Payment Account”, contained in the SFN Service Catalog.

Sole Paragraph. The system will verify, for each debit request in the CCME, the available balance in the requester's said account and reject requests in case of insufficient balance.

Section IV

Returns of Resources Received Improperly

Art. 7º The return of a transfer involving the CCME must be carried out through the message “SME0004 - IF or IEME requests transfer for return of improper posting in SME”.

§ 1º The return must occur in a single command and correspond to the total value originally received.

§ 2º All institutions holding a Reserve Account must be able to send the message SME0004 - IF or IEME requests transfer for return of improper posting in SME - for eventual need to return resources improperly credited to their account.

Section V

Authorization for Financial Movement in the CCME

Art. 8º The authorization to use the messages from the SME or LPI Service Groups, of the SFN Service Catalog, and the activation of the CCME are requested through a document forwarded by the IEME to Deban, clarified that the request must be forwarded by:

I - payment institutions that issue electronic currency, which opt to carry out allocations of cash resources: after the issuance, by the Central Bank of Brazil, of the authorization to issue electronic currency; and

II - financial institutions and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil providing payment services in the modality of electronic currency issuer: at any time.

§ 1º The request referred to in the main body may be part of the process of opening a Reserve Account or Clearing Account, or participation in the Instant Payment System (SPI), with the respective opening of an Instant Payment Account, at the Central Bank of Brazil, in the manner established by Deban.

§ 2º The release for use of the messages from the SME or LPI Service Groups by the institution and the activation of the CCME, in the production environment, are conditioned on the performance of tests established by Deban.

Art. 9º Financial institutions holding a Reserve Account that are not issuers of electronic currency may request, at any time, authorization to use the message “SME0001 - IF requests transfer for deposit in specific account” to command transfers on behalf of IEMEs that are not STR participants.

Sole Paragraph. The release of use of the message, in the situation mentioned in the main body, must be the subject of a specific request to Deban, which will indicate the test necessary for registration.

CHAPTER III

USE OF THE STR-WEB APPLICATION BY IEMES NOT PARTICIPANTS OF THE STR

Art. 10. The use of the STR-Web application by IEMEs that are not STR participants follows the technical and security requirements for access to STR-Web described in the Manual for Access to STR via Internet, available on the website of the Central Bank of Brazil (www.bcb.gov.br).

Art. 11. The request for access to STR-Web and for movement of the CCME must be made through a document forwarded to Deban, signed by the director responsible for compliance with regulations relating to the payment account, observed that:

§ 1º The request referred to in the main body must be forwarded, as the case may be, at the times described in art. 8, items I and II, of this Normative Instruction.

§ 2º The release for use of STR-Web by the institution in the production environment is conditioned on the performance of tests established by Deban.

Art. 12. IEMEs that are not STR participants must inform and keep updated, through a record in the “Responsibles” portlet of STR-Web, the name, CPF number, official identification document number, e-mail address, and at least two phone numbers in order of priority for contact:

I - of the director responsible for compliance with regulations relating to the payment account, as set forth in art. 18 of BCB Resolution No. 96 of May 19, 2021;

II - of at least two persons responsible for the management of the Electronic Currency Correspondent Account;

III - of at least three representatives for requests relating to the Contingency Telephone Operation regime.

Sole Paragraph. The responsibilities described in items I, II, and III may be assigned cumulatively.

Art. 13. The electronic currency issuing institution that is not a participant of the STR must inform Deban, through a document signed by the director responsible for compliance with regulations relating to the payment account, the banking data for sending the charge for the tariff for the use of the contingency service as set forth in art. 10 of BCB Resolution No. 237 of August 24, 2022.

Art. 14. The requests for activation and closure of the operation in the Contingency Telephone regime as set forth in art. 9 of BCB Resolution No. 237 of August 24, 2022, are made through telephone contact originating from one of the representatives cited in art. 12, item III, of this Normative Instruction, with the component of the Division of Management and Monitoring of Fund Transfer Systems of the BCB (Gemon) to which the requester is linked.

Art. 15. Normative Instruction No. 27 of October 13, 2020 is revoked.

Art. 16. This Normative Instruction enters into force on December 1, 2022.

Rogério Antônio Lucca

NOTE

It is understood that the requirement to prepare a Regulatory Impact Analysis (AIR) does not apply to this Normative Instruction, as it aims to consolidate existing regulations, without change of merit, in accordance with the provisions of art. 3, § 2, item VI, of Decree No. 10,411 of June 30, 2020.

Rogério Antônio Lucca

Head of the Department of Banking Operations and Payment Systems