Normative Instruction BCB No. 597 — Establishes the Regulation of Homologatory Testing Cycles for Bookkeeping, Registration, and Centralized Deposit of Bookkeeping Bills of Exchange

INSTRUÇÃO NORMATIVA BCB Nº 597, DE 26 DE março DE 2025

Establishes the regulation of the homologatory testing cycles to be observed by authorized institutions, or those in the process of authorization, by the Central Bank of Brazil*, for the exercise of activities of bookkeeping, registration, and centralized deposit of bookkeeping bills of exchange.

The heads of the Financial System Regulation Department (Denor), the Market Competition and Structure Department (Decem), the Strategic Management and Specialized Supervision Department (Degef), and the Cooperatives and Non-Banking Institutions Supervision Department (Desuc), in the exercise of the powers conferred upon them by art. 23, item I, letter "a", of the Internal Regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil, annexed to Resolution BCB No. 340, of September 21, 2023, and based on arts. 35, 36, and 41 of Resolution BCB No. 339, of August 24, 2023,

R E S O L V E:

CHAPTER I
OBJECT AND SCOPE OF APPLICATION

Art. 1. This Normative Instruction establishes the regulation of the homologatory testing cycle to be observed by authorized institutions, or those in the process of authorization, by the Central Bank of Brazil, for the exercise of activities of bookkeeping, registration, and centralized deposit of bookkeeping bills of exchange.

CHAPTER II
DEFINITIONS

Art. 2. For the purposes of this Normative Instruction, the following are considered:

I - convention: document prepared and signed by the participating institutions in the homologatory testing cycle, in accordance with Chapter VII of Resolution BCB No. 339, of August 24, 2023;

II - signatory: institution participating in the homologatory testing cycle, signatory of the convention;

III - individual homologatory tests: tests to be carried out by the signatories to homologate their electronic bookkeeping system and their electronic registration or centralized deposit system, including connection with their participants and with electronic platforms and/or other computational resources necessary for the operation of their electronic systems;

IV - integration homologatory tests: tests to be carried out between the electronic systems of signatories to ensure the proper functioning of the interoperability environment, including the validation of operational procedures established in the convention;

V - homologatory tests: set of tests formed by individual and integration tests, to be carried out completely and successfully by the signatories to instruct the authorization processes to exercise:

a) the bookkeeping activity; and

b) the registration or centralized deposit activities of bookkeeping bills of exchange; and

VI - homologatory testing cycle: iteration of procedures characterized by the sequential execution of:

a) individual homologatory tests;

b) preparation of a reasonable assurance report, based on the results of individual homologatory tests;

c) integration homologatory tests; and

d) preparation of a reasonable assurance report, based on the results of integration homologatory tests.

Art. 3. The signatories shall submit:

I - by March 28, 2025, to the Market Competition and Structure Department (Decem), the operational technical manuals referred to in art. 35, § 1, item I, of Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023; and

II - by April 28, 2025, to the Cooperatives and Non-Banking Institutions Supervision Department (Desuc), the indication of the director designated in the bylaws or social contract responsible for carrying out the homologatory tests and the joint testing plan referred to, respectively, in art. 35, § 1, item II, letters “d” and “e”, of Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023.

CHAPTER III
PREMISES FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE JOINT HOMOLOGATORY TESTING PLAN

Art. 4. The premises that shall guide the execution of the joint homologatory testing plan are:

I - the electronic platforms and other computational resources necessary for the functioning of the interoperability environment must be completed;

II - the electronic systems of the signatories and the integration of these systems with electronic platforms and other computational resources necessary for their operation and for the operation of the interoperability environment must be completed;

III - contracts with third-party service providers involved in the operation of the electronic system and the interoperability environment must be concluded, duly formalized, and compliant with current regulations;

IV - the operational procedures necessary for the proper functioning of the electronic systems of the signatories and the interoperability environment must be defined and implemented; and

V - the development or acquisition of any systems and/or computational resources necessary for the operationalization of these procedures must be completed.

§ 1. Included among the electronic platforms referred to in item II, with which the electronic systems of the signatories must integrate, are electronic invoice issuance systems and platforms for message transmission and control.

§ 2. The operational procedures described in item IV shall include, but not be limited to:

I - reconciliation of information on:

a) bookkeeping bills of exchange issued with those registered in registration systems or deposited in central depositories; and

b) the effects of acts and contracts on bookkeeping bills of exchange traded, in view of the information contained in registration systems or central depositories;

II - operational incident management;

III - fraud management;

IV - dispute management;

V - opening and closing of daily operations; and

VI - service to drawees, drawers, and financiers, through electronic interfaces, call centers, and other channels established by the signatories of the convention.

CHAPTER IV
JOINT HOMOLOGATORY TESTING PLAN

Art. 5. The joint homologatory testing plan shall encompass the activities of bookkeeping, registration, and centralized deposit of bookkeeping bills of exchange provided for in Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023, and shall be composed of:

I - execution schedule;

II - test preparation procedures;

III - production entry plan;

IV - individual homologatory testing plan; and

V - integration homologatory testing plan.

§ 1. The execution schedule, referred to in item I of the main text, shall provide for:

I - the duration of individual homologatory tests in each testing cycle;

II - the deadline for issuing a report with the analysis of the results of individual homologatory tests, from the completion of these tests;

III - the duration of integration homologatory tests in each testing cycle; and

IV - the deadline for issuing a report with the analysis of the results of integration homologatory tests, from the completion of these tests.

§ 2. The test preparation procedures, referred to in the main text, item II, shall include, but not be limited to:

I - definition of parameters for generating test data;

II - operational adjustments and parameterization of electronic systems; and

III - configuration of the environment to be used for executing the tests.

§ 3. The production entry plan, referred to in item III of the main text, shall:

I - provide for all technical and operational procedures necessary for the deployment in production of the interoperability environment and the electronic systems of the authorized signatories;

II - be tested during the execution of the integration homologatory testing plan; and

III - contain the definition of:

a) procedures for configuring and preparing the production environment;

b) data loading procedures;

c) procedures for starting operations;

d) communication procedures established with the objective of informing the market about the progress of the deployment of the interoperability environment; and

e) test scenarios for the production entry plan, encompassing the description of:

1. test scenarios established to validate the procedures provided for in item I of § 3, considering the expected flow and flows associated with all predicted error conditions; and

2. success criteria associated with each scenario.

§ 4. The individual homologatory testing plan, referred to in item IV of the main text, shall provide for the definition of:

I - functional test scenarios, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios for all activities associated with bookkeeping and registration or centralized deposit functions of bookkeeping bills of exchange provided for in current regulations and the convention, considering the expected flow and flows associated with all predicted error conditions; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

II - load and performance tests, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

III - tests to ensure the security of the signatory's electronic system, encompassing the description:

a) of the analyses to be executed to verify the security of the electronic systems, such as vulnerability analyses, penetration tests, among others; and

b) of the criteria for classifying identified vulnerabilities, with emphasis on those that are impediments to the deployment in production of an electronic system;

IV - tests of the established business continuity plans, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

V - tests of the operational procedures provided for in § 2 of art. 4, to be carried out with the objective of validating the electronic system and other computational resources of the signatory, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario; and

VI - requirements for collecting evidence to be considered in the analysis of the results of the execution of the individual homologatory testing plan.

§ 5. The integration homologatory testing plan, referred to in item V of the main text, shall contain the definition of:

I - functional test scenarios, containing the description of:

a) end-to-end test scenarios for all activities associated with bookkeeping and registration or centralized deposit functions of bookkeeping bills of exchange provided for in current regulations and the convention, considering the expected flow and flows associated with all predicted error conditions; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

II - load and performance tests to evaluate the interoperability environment, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

III - tests to ensure the security of the computational resources necessary for the operation of the interoperability environment, encompassing the description:

a) of the analyses to be executed to verify the security of the interoperability environment, such as vulnerability analyses, penetration tests, among others; and

b) of the criteria for classifying identified vulnerabilities, with emphasis on those that are impediments to the deployment in production of the interoperability environment;

IV - tests of the operational resilience mechanisms of the interoperability environment established, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

V - tests of the operational procedures provided for in § 2 of art. 4, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

VI - portability procedure tests, encompassing the description of:

a) test scenarios; and

b) success criteria associated with each scenario;

VII - requirements for collecting evidence to be considered in the analysis of the results of the execution of the integration homologatory testing plan; and

VIII - objective criteria to determine the termination of a signatory's participation in the current testing cycle, due to problems in their electronic systems and/or operational procedures that may prejudice the execution of integration homologatory tests.

§ 6. The definition of the scenarios considered in the load and performance tests provided for in the individual and integration homologatory testing plans referred to, respectively, in items IV and V of the main text, shall be supported by a technical study jointly prepared by the signatories to predict the quantity of operations involving bookkeeping bills of exchange, considering:

I - as a reference, the operational context expected after the end of the implementation schedule established in art. 3 of CMN Resolution No. 4,815, of May 4, 2020; and

II - projections of growth in the volume of operations in the bookkeeping bills of exchange ecosystem.

§ 7. The definition of scenarios for load and performance tests shall consider the scenario in which each signatory is able to process, at minimum, half of the expected load, according to the technical study provided for in § 6.

CHAPTER V
EXECUTION OF HOMOLOGATORY TESTING CYCLES

Art. 6. The joint homologatory testing plan shall be carried out in one or more homologatory testing cycles, to be executed while there are signatories that have not successfully completed the said plan, observing the following sequence:

I - execution of the individual homologatory testing plan;

II - preparation of the reasonable assurance report, referred to in art. 11, item I;

III - execution of the integration homologatory testing plan; and

IV - preparation of the reasonable assurance report, referred to in art. 11, item II.

Art. 7. Integration homologatory tests shall be carried out by signatories who successfully complete individual homologatory tests in the current testing cycle, according to the report referred to in art. 11, item I, and by signatories who have successfully completed tests in previous cycles, except those who may renounce the convention.

CHAPTER VI
SUCCESS IN HOMOLOGATORY TESTS

Art. 8. The fulfillment of the condition stipulated in art. 13, item V, and art. 21, item II, of Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023, shall be characterized by the successful execution of individual and integration homologatory tests within the same homologatory testing cycle, subject to the provisions of art. 11, § 3.

Art. 9. The demonstration, to the Central Bank of Brazil, that adequate interoperability mechanisms have been implemented between the electronic systems of the signatories, as provided for in art. 167, § 2, of Resolution BCB No. 304, of March 20, 2023, shall be characterized by the successful execution of individual and integration homologatory tests within a homologatory testing cycle.

Art. 10. A signatory that successfully completes individual tests in the first homologatory testing cycle shall be exempt from proving success in integration tests in the event that none of the other signatories obtain success in the individual tests of the first and second homologatory testing cycles.

Sole paragraph. The first homologatory testing cycle shall be defined as that in which at least one signatory manages to prove success in carrying out individual homologatory tests.

Art. 11. Proof of success in homologatory tests shall be carried out through a Reasonable Assurance Report, indicating that the signatory successfully executed all scenarios provided for in the homologatory testing plan:

I - individual, according to success criteria established in the said plan; and

II - integration, according to success criteria established in the said plan.

§ 1. The reasonable assurance reports shall be submitted by the signatories to the Cooperatives and Non-Banking Institutions Supervision Department (Desuc) within 3 days after their issuance.

§ 2. The reports referred to in this article shall be issued individually and after the completion of the homologatory tests to which they refer, considering only the results obtained by the signatories in the current testing cycle.

§ 3. The proof of success referred to in the main text, by a signatory approved individually in the individual homologatory tests of the first testing cycle, may be made considering the results obtained by the signatory in the individual tests of the first cycle and in the integration tests of the second cycle, if the latter occur.

Art. 12. For the issuance of the reasonable assurance reports required in art. 11, items I and II, the signatories shall jointly hire an independent audit company duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), with technical, administrative, and operational capacity compatible with the performance of the reasonable assurance work provided for in this Normative Instruction.

§ 1. The Central Bank of Brazil may determine the replacement of the independent audit company hired by the signatories if it detects, at any time, that the company does not meet the requirements of the main text and the audit norms and procedures determined by the CVM and the Federal Council of Accountancy.

§ 2. The determination to replace the independent audit company, as established in § 1, during the execution of a homologatory testing cycle, will cause the termination of this cycle and condition the start of a new testing cycle to the hiring, by the signatories, of another independent audit company and to communicating this fact to Desuc, indicating the start date of the new homologatory testing cycle.

§ 3. The reports referred to in art. 11, previously submitted by the signatories to Desuc and prepared by a replaced independent audit company, will not be valid to prove success in carrying out the homologatory tests.

CHAPTER VII
FINAL PROVISIONS

Art. 13. The schedule to be established in the homologatory testing plan shall observe the following maximum deadlines:

I - start of homologatory testing cycles: 240 days, counted from the date of approval of the joint homologatory testing plan by the Central Bank of Brazil;

II - duration of individual homologatory tests: 30 days, counted from the start date of each homologatory testing cycle;

III - issuance of the report referred to in art. 11, item I: 15 days, counted from the date of completion of individual homologatory tests;

IV - duration of integration homologatory tests: 60 days, counted from the date of issuance of the report referred to in art. 11, item I; and

V - issuance of the report referred to in art. 11, item II: 15 days, counted from the date of completion of integration homologatory tests.

§ 1. Homologatory testing cycles shall begin before the end of the maximum deadline stipulated in item I when at least two signatories formally communicate readiness to the convention's governance structure and to Desuc, through an official letter with the following information:

I - the start date of the homologatory testing cycles agreed upon by them;

II - their respective readiness declarations, signed by the directors responsible as referred to in art. 35, § 1, item II, letter “d”, of Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023; and

III - indication of the independent audit company hired by all signatories of the convention to issue the reports referred to in art. 11.

§ 2. The other signatories, not included among those referred to in § 1, shall individually communicate their readiness to the convention's governance structure and to Desuc, as established in § 1, item II, and may only participate in integration homologatory tests if they meet the requirements established in art. 7.

Art. 14. The signatories shall present the joint homologatory testing plan referred to in art. 35, § 1, item II, letter “e”, of Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023, to financial institutions, granting a period of 10 days for contributions to the document, before submitting it for approval by the Central Bank of Brazil.

Sole paragraph. When submitting the joint homologatory testing plan for approval by the Central Bank of Brazil, observing the deadline established in art. 3, the signatories shall present the list of suggestions made by financial institutions, highlighting those that were incorporated and justifying those not accepted.

Art. 15. A non-signatory institution that intends to enter the bookkeeping bills of exchange ecosystem to exercise bookkeeping, registration, or centralized deposit activities:

I - must adhere to the convention; and

II - may only participate in homologatory testing cycles after the implementation of the interoperability functionalities provided for in art. 29, items II and VI, of Resolution BCB No. 339, of 2023 by, at minimum, two bookkeeping bill of exchange systems authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 1. The participation of the institution referred to in the main text in the homologatory testing cycles:

I - will be conditioned to the formalization of communication to the structure provided for in the convention; and

II - shall observe the other procedures provided for in this Normative Instruction.

§ 2. In the event that a homologatory testing cycle is in progress at the time of formalizing the communication referred to in § 1, the requesting institution must wait for the start of the next cycle.

§ 3. In the event that homologatory testing cycles have been completed at the time of formalizing the communication referred to in § 1, a new homologatory testing cycle must be started within 30 days, counted from the date of formalizing the said communication.

§ 4. The other signatories of the convention, who meet the requirements of art. 7, shall be obliged to participate in integration homologatory tests, including those that possess authorization to operate bookkeeping and registration or centralized deposit systems for bookkeeping bills of exchange by the Central Bank of Brazil at the time of formalizing the communication referred to in § 1.

Art. 16. The deadlines established in this Normative Instruction, with the exception of those provided for in art. 3, may be extended, at the discretion of the Central Bank of Brazil, upon justified request by the convention's governance structure, to be submitted to Desuc.

Art. 17. When filing the information and documents required by this Normative Instruction, the signatories shall select, in the Central Bank's Digital Protocol, the subject “Documents related to the supervision of non-financial risks of SIF” for destination to Desuc, and “Documents related to self-regulation conventions between SIF (Decem)” for destination to Decem.

Art. 18. This Normative Instruction enters into force on the date of its publication.

MARDILSON FERNANDES QUEIROZ RICARDO TEIXEIRA LEITE MOURÃO Head of Denor Head of Decem

ARISTIDES ANDRADE
CAVALCANTE NETO ADALBERTO FELINTO DA CRUZ JÚNIOR Head of Degef Head of Desuc

NOTE
183/2025 – BCB/DENOR, OF MARCH 26, 2025

Supports the proposal for the issuance of an Instruction Normative that establishes the regulatory framework for the homologation test cycles to be observed by institutions authorized, or in the process of authorization, by the Central Bank of Brazil*,* for the exercise of activities of bookkeeping, registration, and centralized deposit of bookkeeping promissory notes.

Dear Heads of Units,

1.                Decree No.  
   

10.411, of June 30, 2020, provides for the mandatory implementation of a regulatory impact analysis (RIA) for the issuance of normative acts of general interest produced by the bodies and entities of the direct and indirect federal Public Administration.

2.             However, according to art. 4, item II, of the Decree, the RIA may be waived, provided there is a reasoned decision by the competent body or entity, in the cases of normative acts intended to regulate rights or obligations defined in a hierarchically superior norm that does not allow, technically or legally, different regulatory alternatives.
   

3.              In this sense,  
   

it is understood that the present Instruction Normative meets the aforementioned criteria, since the normative act now proposed is intended to clarify the manner of compliance with obligations defined in the current regulation.

For your consideration.

RICARDO VIEIRA BARROSO

Head of Subunit Denor

MARCELO COLLI INGLEZ

Deputy Head Degef

RICARDO PEREIRA DE ARAÚJO

Deputy Head Decem

JOSE REYNALDO DE ALMEIDA FURLANI

Deputy Head Desuc

In agreement.

MARDILSON FERNANDES QUEIROZ

Head of Denor

ARISTIDES ANDRADE CAVALCANTE NETO

Head of Degef

RICARDO TEIXEIRA LEITE MOURÃO

Head of Decem

ADALBERTO
FELINTO DA CRUZ JÚNIOR
Head of Desuc