Notice No. 11/2018 of November 29

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Published in the Official Gazette, I Series, No. 180, of November 29, 2018 NOTICE NO. 11/2018 SUBJECT: PAYMENT SERVICES

• Operational Rules of the Value Remittance Service

Given the need to amend the regulatory framework and operational procedures for payment services; Under the combined provisions of paragraph 34 of Article 2.º and subparagraph g) of paragraph 1 of Article 7.º of Law No. 12/15, of June 17 - Law on the Basic Framework of Financial Institutions, subparagraph q) of Article 2.º of Law No. 5/05, of July 29 - Payment Systems Law, and Article 51.º of Law No. 16/10, of July 15 - Bank of Angola Law.

I DETERMINE:
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
Article 1.º
(Object)
This Notice establishes the operational rules for providing value remittance services, carried out by Financial Institutions, hereinafter designated as payment service providers, under the supervision of the Bank of Angola, within the framework of the Payment System of Angola.

CONTINUATION OF NOTICE NO. 11/2018 Page 2 of 13
Article 2.º
(Scope)
This Notice applies to payment service providers authorized to provide value remittance services, whose activity of receiving funds from senders and/or delivering them to beneficiaries takes place within the Republic of Angola.

Article 3.º
(Definitions)
For the purposes of this Notice, the following shall be understood:
a) Beneficiary - the recipient of funds that are the subject of a remittance. b) BIC - Bank Identifier Code. c) Payment or Deposit Accounts - accounts held in the name of the sender or beneficiary with a Banking Financial Institution, used for executing fund movement operations. d) Sender - an individual aged 18 or over who issues a value remittance order. e) International Remittance Sender - an individual, national or foreign, holder of a resident card. f) National Remittance Sender - an individual, national or foreign. g) Value Remittance Service Provider - a Non-Banking Financial Institution authorized by the Bank of Angola, under the Law on the Basic Framework of Financial Institutions and the Payment Systems Law of Angola, to exercise value remittance services. h) Value Remittances - all sendings or receipts of small amounts that do not entail:
i. The creation of payment or deposit accounts by the sender or beneficiary; and/or
ii. The counterparty provision of goods and services by the operation's beneficiary.
i) International Remittances - unilateral transfers of small amounts in foreign currency abroad or receipts of funds originating from outside the country, aimed at facilitating cross-border low-value transfers for occasional family support, and may not be used for payment of goods or services. j) National Remittances - sending or receipt of funds where the sender and beneficiary are located within national territory. k) Remittance System - the set of instruments, rules and technical and operational procedures that enable remittances to be executed.

CHAPTER II
Remittances Initiated within National Territory
Article 4.º
(Conditions for Access to Value Remittance Services)

1. Remittances abroad may only be:
   i) Initiated within national territory by individual nationals or foreign persons holding a resident card, aged 18 or over; and, ii) Paid in national currency, through the following payment modes:
   a) Cash; b) Banking payment cards; c) Bank cheques.
2. National remittances may be initiated by individuals aged 18 or over and paid as referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph 1 of this article.

Article 5.º
(Information to be Provided to the Sender)

1. Prior to carrying out operations, payment service providers must make available the following information to the sender:
   a) Regarding the remittance service:
   i. Description of the main characteristics of the service;
   ii. Information to be provided by the sender for adequate execution of the remittance;
   iii. Timing of receipt of the remittance order;
   iv. Form and procedures for cancelling the remittance order; and,
   v. Maximum time limit for executing the remittance.
   b) Regarding charges and exchange rates:
   i. All charges payable by the sender; and,
   ii. Exchange rate, where applicable.
   c) After acceptance of the remittance:
   i. The Money Transfer Control Number ("MTCN") that allows the beneficiary to withdraw funds, when the remittance is not carried out through a bank transfer.
2. The information referred to in subparagraph a) of paragraph 1 must be made available through a contract containing all terms and conditions of the value transfer service provided by the payment service provider (the "Service") and must be signed by the sender.
3. The contract must be drafted in Portuguese, clearly and simply understood, allowing easy reading by a reader with average visual acuity.

Article 6.º
(Rates and Commissions)

1. In initiated remittance operations, the exchange rate and commissions charged, including expenses and other charges, must not, in aggregate, exceed 10% (ten percent) on the reference exchange rate published on the official portal of the Bank of Angola.
2. Commissions and any other charges must be charged exclusively in national currency.

Article 7.º
(Remittance Limits)

1. In carrying out international remittance operations, payment service providers must comply with limits established in specific regulation, ensuring operational conditions to guarantee compliance with these limits.
2. Payment service providers are responsible for establishing limits for national remittances based on their risk management criteria, and the Bank of Angola may define specific limits in regulation whenever deemed necessary.

Article 8.º
(Verification of Identity of Intermediaries and Information Recording) Payment service providers must ensure:
a) Identification of senders in accordance with Notice No. 21/2012, of April 25, on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; b) Identification of beneficiaries and country of residence to verify whether they appear on the lists of names associated with money laundering and terrorist financing, provided by specialized entities; c) Recording of collected information in a dedicated computer system, archiving copies of documents proving the identity and address of senders.

CHAPTER III
Remittances Received within National Territory
Article 9.º
(Payment Conditions)
Remittances received from abroad for beneficiaries within national territory must be paid to these beneficiaries in national currency at the exchange rates and maximum commissions defined in Article 10.º of this Notice.

Article 10.º
(Rates and Commissions)

1. In received remittance operations, where applicable, the total margin on the reference exchange rate and commissions must not exceed 2.5% (two point five percent) on the transaction value.

Article 11.º
(Procedures in Paying Funds to the Beneficiary) At the time of making remittance funds available, payment service providers for the beneficiary must:
a) Ensure payment only to the entitled beneficiary by verifying the beneficiary's photographic identification documents and validating the data the beneficiary must provide, namely the transferred amount, sender name, correct MTCN, and country of origin of funds. b) Refuse payment in case of well-founded doubt regarding the authenticity of the identification document or if relevant information provided by the beneficiary is incorrect, especially the MTCN. c) Provide the following information to the beneficiary:
i. Amount and breakdown of commissions borne by the beneficiary; and,
ii. Exchange rate, where applicable.

Article 12.º
(Verification of Identity of Intermediaries and Information Recording)

1. Payment service providers must ensure:
   a) Identification of senders and country of residence, and beneficiaries in Angola, to verify whether they appear on the lists of names associated with money laundering and terrorist financing provided by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other similar entities; b) Recording of collected information in a dedicated computer system, archiving copies of documents proving the identity and address of beneficiaries.

CHAPTER IV
Processing of Operations
Article 13.º
(Time Limits for Processing)
Payment service providers for the sender must execute the received order on the day of receiving the instruction, or by the start of the next business day.

Article 14.º
(Issuance of Receipt)
In carrying out value remittance operations, payment service providers must:
a) Issue receipts for completed operations, including elements stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 149/13 of October 1, Legal Regime for Invoices and Equivalent Documents, and additionally other relevant elements specific to the type of operation performed; and b) Include in receipts summarized information that the client is subject to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing rules, in accordance with current legislation.

Article 15.º
(Complaint Management)

1. Payment service providers must comply with regulations on consumer protection rules for financial products and services.
2. Payment service providers must make available to senders and beneficiaries a telephone help center for clarifying doubts and resolving problems related to the services they provide.
3. The help center must operate in Portuguese and have operating hours compatible with service usage.

CHAPTER V
Conditions Applicable to Value Remittance Service Providers
Article 16.º
(Purchase of Foreign Currency)

1. Payment service providers dealing in foreign currency:
   a) May only purchase foreign currency (foreign exchange) from Banking Financial Institutions in accordance with specific guidelines, and are prohibited from purchasing foreign currency from any other individual or corporate entity; b) Are prohibited from trading foreign currency banknotes or travel cheques.

Article 17.º
(Computer Application)

1. The computer system of payment service providers must be compatible with the chart of accounts of financial institutions and allow receipts to have direct reflection in their accounting.
2. The computer system referred to above must allow obtaining information on operations by client for a specific period of time, from all counters of the same payment service provider, for regulatory limit control and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Article 18.º
(Reporting to the Bank of Angola)
Payment service providers must send information about their services to the Bank of Angola, at the frequency and in the form established in specific regulation.

Article 19.º
(Accounting)

1. Payment service providers must carry out accounting registration of their operations, in accordance with the current Chart of Accounts for Financial Institutions, adapting the headings to attend to these operations, in the format defined by the Bank of Angola.
2. Payment service providers must submit, annually, the financial statements for the fiscal year to the Bank of Angola by April 30 of the following year.
3. Payment service providers must publish, annually, the financial statements for the fiscal year in a widely circulated newspaper and on their institutional portal by April 30 of the following year.

Article 20.º
(External Audit)

1. Payment service providers must submit, annually, their financial statements to external audit, conducted by an independent auditor.
2. The independent auditor must issue an audit report to be sent, together with the financial statements as referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 18.º of this Notice, to the Bank of Angola.
3. For the purposes of this article, the independent auditor may be a duly authorized audit firm, chartered accountant, or accountant duly registered with the Order of Accountants and Chartered Accountants.

Article 21.º
(Duty of Archiving)

1. Documents requested in value remittance operations must be photocopied by payment service providers and attached to receipts proving the operation, for archiving purposes.
2. Payment service providers must maintain in physical or digitized archives copies of documents and elements relating to their operations for 10 (ten) years, separated by branches.
3. The archiving system for the information described above must ensure protection, confidentiality, and retrieval of said information.

Article 22.º
(Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing)

1. Payment service providers must apply the provisions of Notice No. 21/2012 of April 25.
2. The extension of identification, due diligence, internal control, and training duties must be proportional to the nature, size, and complexity of each payment service provider and its activities, considering the specific characteristics and needs of smaller entities.
3. Payment service providers are prohibited from performing acts that may result in their involvement in any money laundering or terrorist financing operation and must ensure the adoption of all necessary measures to prevent such involvement.
4. Payment service providers must implement procedures considered necessary to ensure the authenticity and veracity of documents presented by their clients.
5. Payment service providers must implement procedures for evaluating their clients' operations, per client and across various time periods (weekly, monthly, semi-annually, and annually), to detect situations of exceeding limits or suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing, suspending operations for clients who exceed regulatory limits and reporting suspicious operations as stipulated in Notice No. 21/2012, archiving evidence of evaluations and actions taken.

Article 23.º
(Compliance Officer)

1. Payment service providers must define, formalize, and implement the Compliance Officer function.
2. The head of the compliance area is subject to special registration, with prior authorization from the Bank of Angola, in accordance with current legislation.

Article 24.º
(Information Disclosure)

1. Payment service providers must display, in a highly visible and easily accessible location for the public, the table of commissions and charges applicable to sent and received value remittance operations (national and international), as well as the exchange rates applied in international remittance operations.
2. Payment service providers must also establish an institutional portal freely accessible to the public on the internet, containing at minimum the following information about the institution:
   a) Identification of governing bodies; b) Head office and counter addresses; c) Financial statements and auditor's reports for the last 5 years; d) Code of ethics and conduct; e) Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing policy; f) Exchange rate and commission table; g) Products and services offered and conditions for access.

Article 25.º
(Operational Responsibilities)

1. Payment service providers are responsible for submitting to the Bank of Angola the Manuals of Standards and Procedures (MSP) and Internal Procedure Manuals (IPM), relating to the payment services they propose to provide and to the payment subsystems they propose to administer, as well as risk management policies and processes, respectively, in accordance with the regulation of clearing houses and payment subsystems within the Payment System of Angola, with necessary adaptations.
2. The relationships between payment subsystem operators and their clients are established based on contract templates that must be included as annexes to the MSPs mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article.
3. Payment subsystem operators must monitor and attest to the compliance of participants' obligations defined in the MSPs.
4. Payment service providers must observe best practices and general principles applicable to their activity, emanating from international reference institutions, namely the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) - International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), World Bank (WB), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
5. Payment service providers may act as representatives in Angola for foreign payment service providers or payment subsystems, assuming full responsibilities and obligations determined by this Notice and complementary regulation.
6. For the purposes of mitigating liquidity and credit risk, payment service providers must, in services involving foreign exchange operations, present to the Bank of Angola a payment clearing intermediary for fund transfers, as stipulated in Article 11.º of Law No. 05/05, of July 29 - Payment Systems Law of Angola.

CHAPTER VI
Final Provisions
Article 26.º
(Information Confidentiality)
Information collected by payment service providers regarding their users is confidential and must not be used for other purposes or disclosed to third parties without prior and explicit authorization from the latter.

Article 27.º
(Sanctions)
Violation of the provisions of this Notice constitutes an offense stipulated and punishable in accordance with Law No. 05/05, of July 29 - Payment Systems Law of Angola and Law No. 12/2015, of June 17 - Law on the Basic Framework of Financial Institutions.

Article 28.º
(Revocation)
Notice No. 06/2013, of April 22, on value remittance services, and Guideline No. 22/2016, of September 6, on operational rules for value remittance services, are revoked, along with any legislation contrary to the provisions of this Notice.

Article 29.º
(Doubts and Omissions)
Doubts and omissions resulting from the interpretation and application of this Notice are resolved by the Bank of Angola.

Article 30.º
(Entry into Force)
This Notice enters into force 30 (thirty) days after its publication.
PUBLISHED.
Luanda, November 20, 2018.
THE GOVERNOR
JOSÉ DE LIMA MASSANO