Notice No. 05/2022 of 3 February on Payment Arrangements of the Angola Payments System

PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE, FIRST SERIES, NO. 23, OF 3 FEBRUARY 2022 NOTICE NO. 05/2022 SUBJECT: ANGOLA PAYMENTS SYSTEM - Payment Arrangements Considering the evolution of the Angola Payments System and observing internationally accepted best practices, in light of Law No. 40/20 of 16 December, the Angola Payments System Law; Given the need to define the rules applicable to payment arrangements, as well as to ensure their compliance, with regard to the public interest objectives of the Angola Payments System; Pursuant to the provisions of Articles 6 and 26 of Law No. 40/20 of 16 December, the Angola Payments System Law, and Article 36 of Law No. 14/21 of 19 May, the General Regime of Financial Institutions Law, combined with Article 21 of Law No. 24/21 of 18 October, the Banco Nacional de Angola Law; I HEREBY DETERMINE:

CHAPTER I
(GENERAL PROVISIONS)

Article 1.
(Subject Matter)
This Notice establishes the rules and operational procedures inherent to payment arrangements, at the level of the Angola Payments System, hereinafter referred to as SPA, regarding the authorization, operation, and participation criteria of the respective arrangements.

CONTINUATION OF NOTICE NO. 05/2022 Page 2 of 18
Article 2.
(Scope)
This Notice applies to payment arrangements within the SPA.

Article 3.
(Definitions)
For the purposes of this Notice, the following shall be understood as:
a) Acceptance of Payment Operations – payment service provided by a payment service provider bound by contract to a beneficiary to accept and process payment operations, which results in a transfer of funds to the beneficiary. b) Acceptor – entity that accepts payment for goods and/or services with a payment instrument and maintains a contract with an acquirer to perform this service. c) Payment Arrangement – a single set of rules, practices, standards, or guidelines for the execution of payment operations, distinct from payment systems and serving as the basis for their operation, including any decision-making body, organization, or entity responsible for its operation. d) Open Payment Arrangement – one whose management is carried out by a Banking or Non-Banking Financial Institution, associated with a brand, widely used in the SPA across various establishments, generally superintended by the Banco Nacional de Angola. e) Closed Payment Arrangement – one whose management of electronic money or, cumulatively, account management, issuance, and certification of the payment instrument are performed simultaneously by the same Institution, which may be Financial or Non-Financial. f) Limited (or Limited Purpose) Payment Arrangement – those accepted only within the network of establishments of the same Institution when issued by it, or within the store networks of companies belonging to the same business group, regardless of the issuer, or which may be intended exclusively for the payment of public services provided directly by the government, or still issued and accepted exclusively within the scope of a closed payment arrangement. g) Beneficiary – natural or legal person to whom the funds resulting from a payment operation are destined. h) Payment Account – account held in the name of one or more payment service users, used for the execution of payment operations. i) Pre-Paid Payment Account – account held by a payment service user for the execution of payment operations in electronic money with the prior deposit of amounts expressed in Kwanzas. j) Post-Paid Payment Account – account held by a payment service user, without prior deposit of funds, for the execution of payment operations with subsequent payment. k) Demand Deposit – banking operation in which Banking Financial Institutions capture funds, assuming the status of debtors towards depositors, whose deposited funds are payable on demand, and may or may not be remunerated. l) Payment Arrangement Operating Entity – entity responsible for the management and operation of the financial market infrastructure that supports the payment arrangement. m) Payment Instrument – personalized device or a set of procedures agreed between the user and the payment service provider, for the purpose of initiating a payment order. n) Payment Arrangement Stakeholders – considered stakeholders of the payment arrangement, within the scope of this Notice, namely:

• The responsible entity;
• The operating entity;
• The participants;
• The users; and
• Other entities as qualified by Law.
  o) Interoperability between Arrangements – capacity for interconnection and interaction between different payment arrangements at the SPA level. p) Interoperability between Participants – capacity for interconnection and interaction between participants of different payment arrangements at the SPA level. q) Payment Instruction – request made by a user to their payment service provider requesting the execution of a payment. r) Payment Brand – firm, term, sign, symbol, or combination, in physical or digital form, capable of evidencing the payment system or payment arrangement within which payment operations are carried out. s) Payment Arrangement Participant – Institution authorized under the rules of a payment arrangement to execute payment operations. t) Payment Arrangement Regulation – document or rulebook intended to establish the principles, terms, and conditions governing the operation of a payment arrangement, in accordance with current legislation.

Article 4.
(Exclusions)

1. The provisions of this Notice do not apply to:
   a) Payment arrangements based on paper-based payment instruments, namely, cash, withdrawal orders, and checks; and, b) Services relating to payments that, due to their typology, are settled on a gross basis in the Real-Time Payments System.
2. Payment arrangements designated as closed and limited may be excluded from the scope of this Notice, if the Banco Nacional de Angola considers them not to pose a risk to the SPA, with criteria defined in specific regulation.
3. Payment arrangements excluded from the scope of this Notice are obliged to the duty of information provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 5 of this Notice.

Article 5.
(Superintendence)

1. It is incumbent upon the Banco Nacional de Angola, regarding payment arrangements:
   a) Approve the rules and procedures of the arrangement, set forth in a document named Payment Arrangement Regulation; b) Authorize the operation of payment arrangements; and, c) Revoke the authorization for the operation of payment arrangements.
2. The operating entity and/or participant of the payment arrangement must report relevant information about its operation to the Banco Nacional de Angola, in the frequency and manner to be defined in specific regulation.

CHAPTER II
(AUTHORIZATION AND CANCELLATION OF PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS)

Article 6.
(Authorization)
The application for authorization of an open, closed, or limited payment arrangement established by a Financial Institution under the supervision of the Banco Nacional de Angola must be submitted with the following documentation:
a) Description of the main business characteristics, containing, at a minimum, the indication of payment services to be provided, target audience, area of operation, headquarters location, and any branches; b) Description of the corporate governance model of the arrangement; and, c) Identification of the person responsible for liaison with the Banco Nacional de Angola regarding payment arrangements.

Article 7.
(Waiver of Authorization Request)
The following are exempt from the authorization request:
a) The arrangement established by a governmental entity; and, b) The closed and limited arrangement, established by a Non-Financial Institution.

Article 8.
(Cancellation)

1. The cancellation of the set of activities carried out within the arrangement is subject to prior authorization from the Banco Nacional de Angola.
2. For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, the closure of activities must contain a plan, which includes, at a minimum, the following aspects:
   a) The timeframe provided for the closure of activities; b) A request compatible with the scope of the payment service governed by the arrangement; and, c) Identification of the mechanisms to be adopted to mitigate potential risks to the normal functioning of retail payment transactions, when applicable, in particular regarding:
   i. The form and timeframe for settling pending transactions;
   ii. The form and timeframe for withdrawing funds stored in payment accounts; and,
   iii. Any changes in the organizational and governance structure of the arrangement.
3. The authorization of the closure of activities by the Banco Nacional de Angola does not exempt the arrangement's responsible party from obligations arising from their contractual relationships.

Article 9.
(Suspension)

1. The payment arrangement may be suspended in the following situations:
   a) Non-compliance with the provisions of this Notice and other applicable regulation and/or specific contract signed between the arrangement's operating entity and the participants, upon verification of any irregularities; and, b) Bankruptcy, liquidation, and judicial or extrajudicial reorganization of the arrangement's operating entity.
2. The suspension of the set of activities carried out within the arrangement is subject to prior authorization from the Banco Nacional de Angola.

CHAPTER III
(TYPOLOGY, CLASSIFICATION, AND SCOPE OF PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS)

Article 10.
(Typology)
Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1(d) of Article 6 of Law No. 40/20 of 16 December, the Payments System Law, the Banco Nacional de Angola, under this Notice, may consider as an open arrangement one that demonstrates potential risk to the SPA.

Article 11.
(Classification)

1. Regarding its purpose, an arrangement may be classified as:
   a) Purchase, when the payment service subordinate to the arrangement is linked to the settlement of a specific obligation; or b) Transfer, when the payment service subordinate to the arrangement is not necessarily linked to the settlement of a specific obligation.
2. Regarding the relationship of users with the participating institution, an arrangement may be classified as:
   a) Pre-paid payment account; b) Post-paid payment account; c) Time deposit account; or d) Occasional relationship, whenever the payment service can be performed from or to a client who does not possess, in the remitting or receiving Institution, respectively, an account that is operable through a payment instrument subordinate to the arrangement.
3. Regarding territorial scope, arrangements may be:
   a) Domestic, whenever the instrument and/or payment system subject to the arrangement is issued and used within national territory; and, b) Cross-border, whenever the instrument and/or payment system subject to the arrangement is issued within national territory to be used in other countries and vice-versa.

CHAPTER IV
(OPERATION OF PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS)

Article 12.
(Regulation)

1. The entity responsible for the arrangement must possess a payment arrangement regulation that must contain clear and objective information on all relevant aspects related to its operation, namely:
   a) A detailed description of all operational rules of the arrangement, including, when applicable, the following information:
   i. The purpose of the arrangement;
   ii. The type of arrangement;
   iii. The territorial scope of the arrangement;
   iv. The type of financial market infrastructure, hereinafter referred to as IMF, to be used within the arrangement;
   v. The types of payment instruments issued within the arrangement;
   vi. The brand associated with the payment arrangement and the rules for using said brand;
   vii. The provision of participant modalities, specifying participation, suspension, and exclusion criteria and requirements;
   viii. A detailed description of the payment transaction authorization process, including applicable criteria, assignment of responsibilities among participants, and definition of the moment when the transaction is considered authorized within the arrangement;
   ix. A description of all activities carried out in the provision of the payment service determined within the arrangement, including interactions among the various stakeholders responsible for each activity;
   x. The determination of the entire payment service provision process, including, inter alia, the provision of resources for free movement by the beneficiary of the payment transaction; and,
   xi. Timely disclosure to all participants and any changes related to the arrangement's operation.
2. The payment arrangement regulation must be publicly accessible and enable:
   a) Arrangement participants to have adequate information about their rights, duties, costs, and potential risks incurred when participating in the arrangement; and, b) Users to have adequate information about their rights and duties arising from the arrangement's rules, if any, without prejudice to matters that are subject to direct contracting between users and the arrangement's participants providing them with the payment service.

Article 13.
(Operation)

1. Payment arrangements must operate in accordance with the rules established in this Notice, their respective regulation, and other applicable regulation.
2. Payment arrangements must establish specific procedures for the use of their respective arrangement's brand, detailing the set of rules for brand application.

Article 14.
(Cooperation)

1. Payment arrangement stakeholders, within the SPA, must cooperate with each other to promote efficient and effective communication.
2. The cooperation referred to in the preceding paragraph must be effective in all circumstances and