Regulation No. 2024-04 on Payment Operations (SEPA)

REGULATION ON PAYMENT OPERATIONS (SEPA)
Year 2024 / Number 04
(Consolidated text as of 08/10/2025 – Update I)

Table of Contents
PART I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Article 1 - Legal Sources ................................................................................................................... 1
Article 2 - Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 1
Article 3 - Definitions .......................................................................................................................... 1
Article 4 - Recipients of the Regulation ............................................................................................... 4
Article 5 - Objectives and Structure of the Regulation ................................................................................... 5
PART II TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CREDIT TRANSFERS AND DIRECT DEBITS IN EURO .......6
Article 6 - Subject Matter and Scope of Application ........................................................................................ 6
Article 7 - Application to Currencies Other than the Euro .............................................................................. 7
Article 8 - Reachability .................................................................................................................... 7
Article 9 - Requirements for Credit Transfer and Direct Debit Operations ...................................... 8
Article 10 - Instant Credit Transfer Operations.................................................................................... 10
Article 11 - Fees on Credit Transfers and Beneficiary Verification ....................................................... 12
Article 12 - Validity of Mandates and Right to Refund ....................................................................... 12
Article 13 - Interbank Fees for Direct Debit Operations .................................... 13
Article 14 - Payment Accessibility ............................................................................................ 13
PART III RULES ON CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS WITHIN SEPA COUNTRIES ................. 15
Article 15 - Measures to Facilitate Payment Automation ................................................... 15
Article 16 - Fees for Cross-Border Payments ................................................................... 15
Article 17 - Currency Conversion Fees Related to Card-Based Operations ................ 16
Article 18 - Currency Conversion Fees Related to Credit Transfers ............................................. 17
Article 19 - Scope of Application .......................................................................................................... 17
PART IV FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS ....................................................................................................... 18
Article 20 - Sanctions ........................................................................................................................ 18
Article 21 - Amendments to Regulation No. 2020-04 ............................................................................. 18
Article 22 - Entry into Force and Implementation Timelines ............................................................................ 18
ANNEX 1 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 20
ANNEX 2 BENEFICIARY VERIFICATION ON CREDIT TRANSFERS ........................................................................ 23
ANNEX 3 SCREENING OF USERS REGARDING TARGETED FINANCIAL RESTRICTIVE MEASURES ............................................................................................................................................ 25

PART I
INTRODUCTION

Article 1 - Legal Sources

1. The regulatory powers of the Central Bank regarding the management and organization of the PAYMENT SYSTEM of the Republic of San Marino find their legislative source also in Law No. 96 of June 29, 2005, and in particular in Articles 37 and 38.
2. This Regulation also falls within the category of implementing measures of Law No. 165 of November 17, 2005, as provided for in Article 39.

Article 2 - Preparation

1. The Regulation, in accordance with Article 38, paragraph 5 of Law No. 165 of November 17, 2005, and with implementing Regulation No. 2006-02, was subject to prior consultation.

Article 3 - Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the expressions used shall be understood with the following meaning:

• “Direct Debit”: a payment service for debiting a payer’s payment account in which the payment transaction is initiated by the payee on the basis of the consent given by the payer to the payee, to the payee’s payment service provider, or to the payer’s payment service provider itself;

• “Central Bank”: the Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino;

• “Payee”: a natural or legal person who is the intended recipient of funds that have been the subject of a payment transaction;

• “BIC”: a business identifier code that unambiguously identifies a payment service provider, the elements of which are specified by ISO (International Organization for Standardization);

• “Bank Slip”: a pre-printed slip sent by the payee to the payer and used by the latter to make a cash payment or by other means at any banking counter, regardless of whether or not they hold a payment account, for the credit to the payee’s payment account;

• “Postal Current Account Slip”: a pre-printed slip by the payee - or to be filled out by the payer - by which the payer makes a payment with credit to the payment account held by the payee;

• “Credit Transfer”: a payment service for crediting a payee’s payment account, executed via a payment transaction or series of payment transactions carried out from a payer’s payment account by the payment service provider holding the payer’s payment account, based on an instruction given by the payer;

• “Instant Credit Transfer”: a credit transfer that is executed immediately, 24 hours a day, and on any calendar day;

• “Payment Order Initiation Channel”: any method, device, or procedure through which the payer can issue a payment order to their PSP for a credit transfer, including online banking services, mobile banking applications, cash withdrawal ATMs, or in any other way within the PSP’s premises;

• “Fee”: any amount charged to a user by a payment service provider that is directly or indirectly linked to a payment transaction, any amount imposed on a user by a payment service provider or by a person providing currency conversion services under the current “Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance” for a currency conversion service, or a combination of such services;

• “Interbank Fee”: a fee paid between the payment service providers of the payer and the payee for each direct debit transaction;

• “Consumer”: a natural person acting for purposes which are outside their trade, business, or profession;

• “Payment Account”: an account falling within those defined by the current “Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance”;

• “Framework Contract”: the contract governing the future execution of individual and recurring payment transactions and which may dictate the obligations and conditions that the parties must respect for the opening and management of a payment account;

• “Settlement Date”: the date on which the obligations related to the transfer of funds between the payer’s payment service provider and the payee’s payment service provider are fulfilled;

• “Sanctions Decree”: Decree No. 76 of May 30, 2006, and subsequent amendments;

• “Funds”: banknotes and coins, book money, and electronic money;

• “IBAN”: an international identifying number of a payment bank account that unambiguously identifies a single international payment bank account in San Marino or in the European Union, the elements of which are specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO);

• “Legal Entity Identifier” or “LEI” (Legal Entity Identifier): an alphanumeric reference code, based on the international standard ISO 17442, which allows for the unique identification of legal entities;

• “Collection”: the part of a direct debit transaction that runs from its initiation by the payee until its completion with the normal debit on the payer’s payment account;

• “Payee Name”: the first and last name in the case of a natural person; the denomination in the case of a legal person;

• “Mandate”: the expression of consent and authorization given by the payer to the payee and (directly or indirectly via the payee) to the payer’s payment service provider, to allow the payee to initiate collection by debiting the payment account indicated by the payer and to allow the payment service provider of the latter to comply with the instructions given;

• “MIF”: multilateral fee subject to an agreement between more than two payment service providers;

• “Targeted Financial Restrictive Measure”: a freezing of assets measure imposed on a person, body, or entity or a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to such person, body, or entity or for their benefit, directly or indirectly, by virtue of restrictive measures pursuant to Decree-Law No. 41 of March 22, 2022, and subsequent amendments and/or Law No. 57 of March 29, 2019, and subsequent amendments, or in any case pursuant to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

• “Payment Transaction”: the act, initiated by the payer or the payee, or on their behalf, consisting of placing, transferring, or withdrawing funds, independently of any underlying obligations between payer and payee;

• “Operation R”: a payment transaction that cannot be duly executed by a payment service provider or that results in exceptional treatment, inter alia due to a lack of funds, a recalled collection order, an incorrect amount or date, a lack of mandate, or an incorrect or closed account;

• “Payment Order”: the instruction by a payer or payee to their payment service provider to execute a payment transaction;

• “SEPA Country”: a Member State of the European Union or otherwise adhering to the Single Euro Payments Area;

• “National Payment”: an electronically processed payment transaction initiated by the payer or the payee, or on their behalf, when the payer’s payment service provider and the payee’s payment service provider are both located in San Marino;

• “Cross-Border Payment”: an electronically processed payment transaction initiated by the payer or the payee, or on their behalf, when the payer’s payment service provider and the payee’s payment service provider are respectively located in San Marino and in a SEPA Country or vice versa;

• “Payer”: the person or persons holding a payment account who authorize the payment order to start from said account, or, in the absence of a payment account, the person who in any case issues a payment order;

• “Reference Party”: a natural or legal person on whose behalf the payer makes a payment or the payee receives it;

• “Payment Service Provider” or also “PSP”: a person falling within those defined by the current “Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance”;

• “Payment Order Initiation Service Provider”: a payment service provider that provides the payment order initiation service;

• “Bank Receipt”: a collection order placed by the payee with their bank and transmitted by the latter, through a specific interbank procedure via the telematic data transmission system, to the payer’s bank, which proceeds to send a payment notice to the payer;

• “Money Remittance”: a payment service in which funds are delivered by a payer without payment accounts having been opened in the name of the payer or the payee, solely for the purpose of transferring a sum corresponding to the payee or another payment service provider acting on behalf of the payee, and/or in which such funds are collected on behalf of the payee and made available to them;

• “Payment Scheme”: a unique set of rules, practices, standards, and/or implementation guidelines agreed upon between payment service providers for the execution of payment transactions, separate from any infrastructure or payment system supporting its operations;

• “Payment System”: a fund transfer system governed by formal, standardized, and common rules for the processing, clearing, and/or settlement of payment transactions;

• “Retail Payment System”: a payment system, other than a large-value payment system, whose main purpose is to process, clear, or settle credit transfers or direct debits that are mainly of low value;

• “Large-Value Payment System”: a payment system whose main purpose is the processing, clearing, or settlement of individual, highly prioritized, and urgent payment transactions, and mainly of high value;

• “National Payment System”: the set of payment instruments, infrastructure, subjects, and rules that serve to transfer money from one operator to another within the territory of the Republic of San Marino;

• “ISO 20022 XML Standard”: a standard for the development of electronic financial messages according to the definition of ISO, comprising the physical representation of payment transactions in XML syntax, in accordance with the commercial rules and implementation guidelines of Union-level payment schemes for payment transactions falling within the scope of this Regulation;

• “User”: the person who uses a payment service as a payer or payee or as both.

2. In the remainder of the text, the use of terms subject to definition is reported in UPPERCASE.
3. For all terms not subject to definition, reference is made to the definitions and concepts contained in Law No. 165 of November 17, 2005, and subsequent amendments.

Article 4 - Recipients of the Regulation

1. This Regulation applies to PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS and USERS.
2. With regard to payment services provided as a PSP by the CENTRAL BANK pursuant to Law No. 35 of March 3, 1993, and subsequent amendments (“Institution of the Single Treasury Service”) and the Convention referred to in Article 4 of the same law, this Regulation applies in compatibility with Decree No. 53 of April 24, 2003, and subsequent amendments (“Accounting Regulation”) and taking into account any integrations and modifications made to the aforementioned Convention.

Article 5 - Objectives and Structure of the Regulation

1. This Regulation, replacing Regulation No. 2013-05 and supplementing Regulation No. 2020-04, aims to align the San Marino discipline regarding PAYMENT OPERATIONS, whether NATIONAL or CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS, with the most up-to-date standards applied by all SEPA COUNTRIES, consistent with the entry of the Republic of San Marino into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) since 2014 and as provided for by the current Monetary Convention between the Republic and the European Union for the use of the euro as the national currency.
2. This Regulation, in particular, is aimed at transposing the following European Union legal acts:
   a) Regulation (EU) No. 260/2012 of March 14, 2012, concerning common technical and commercial requirements for DIRECT DEBITS and CREDIT TRANSFERS, as last integrated by Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of March 13, 2024, regarding INSTANT CREDIT TRANSFERS. b) Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 of July 14, 2021, replacing the repealed Regulation (EC) No. 924/2009, regarding CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS and transparency of currency conversion fees in the European Union, as last integrated by Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of March 13, 2024.
3. This Regulation consists of 4 Parts and 3 Annexes that form an integral part thereof: the first Part with an introductory character and definitional content; the second Part and the Annexes dedicated to the aforementioned requirements for SEPA PAYMENT OPERATIONS; the third Part dedicated to general principles regarding CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS within SEPA COUNTRIES; the fourth Part dedicated to final and transitional rules.

PART II
TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CREDIT TRANSFERS AND DIRECT DEBITS IN EURO

Article 6 - Subject Matter and Scope of Application

1. This Regulation applies to CREDIT TRANSFER and DIRECT DEBIT operations denominated in euro in the event that:
   a) both PSPs are located in the Republic of San Marino; b) the only PSP involved in the CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT operation is located in the Republic of San Marino; c) one PSP is located in the Republic of San Marino and the other in a SEPA COUNTRY.
2. CASH CREDIT TRANSFERS, i.e., those CREDIT TRANSFER operations in which FUNDS are provided in cash by the PAYER to the PSP they use, fall within the scope of the CREDIT TRANSFER operations referred to in the previous paragraph.
3. Without prejudice to what is provided in the previous paragraphs 1 and 2, this Regulation does not apply:
   a) to PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS executed a.1) on own account:

• between PSPs;
• internally to PSPs, including their agents and branches;
  a.2) on behalf of another PSP; b) to PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS whose processing and settlement take place via LARGE-VALUE PAYMENT SYSTEMS, with the exception of DIRECT DEBIT operations for which the PAYER has not explicitly requested that they be carried out via a LARGE-VALUE PAYMENT SYSTEM; c) to PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS via payment card or similar device, including cash withdrawals, unless the payment card or similar device is used solely to generate the information necessary to directly execute a CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT to and from a PAYMENT ACCOUNT identified by the IBAN; d) to PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS via telecommunications, digital, or IT devices, if said PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS do not result in a CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT to and from a PAYMENT ACCOUNT identified by the IBAN; e) to PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS that transfer electronic money, as defined by Directive 2009/110/EC concerning the taking up, pursuit, and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions, unless said PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS result in CREDIT TRANSFERS or DIRECT DEBITS to a PAYMENT ACCOUNT and from a PAYMENT ACCOUNT identified by the IBAN;

f) to BANK SLIPS; g) to POSTAL CURRENT ACCOUNT SLIPS; h) to collection orders for credits based on notices sent to the PAYER who can make the payment at a PSP via a specific interbank procedure (so-called MAV); i) to collection orders based on notices sent to the PAYER for the collection of sums entered in the register by the relevant collection officers via a specific interbank procedure (so-called RAV); l) to BANK RECEIPTS (so-called Ri.Ba.); m) to MONEY REMITTANCES.
4. Without prejudice to what is provided in the previous paragraphs 1, 2, and 3, in the event that PAYMENT SCHEMES are based on PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS via CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT, but present additional optional characteristics or services, this Regulation applies solely to the underlying CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT operations.

Article 7 - Application to Currencies Other than the Euro

1. This Regulation also applies to CREDIT TRANSFER and DIRECT DEBIT operations denominated in the national currencies of EU Member States that have notified the decision to extend the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230.
2. When an EU Member State has notified its decision to extend the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230, a CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT denominated in the currency of such State is considered equivalent to a CREDIT TRANSFER or DIRECT DEBIT denominated in euro.
3. Articles 17 and 18 apply to all NATIONAL and CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS denominated in euro or in the national currency of a Member State other than the euro and involving a currency conversion service.

Article 8 - Reachability

1. For the purposes of this Regulation:
   a) the PSP of a PAYEE who is reachable for a NATIONAL CREDIT TRANSFER in accordance with a PAYMENT SCHEME is also, in accordance with the rules of a PAYMENT SCHEME at the Union level, reachable for CREDIT TRANSFERS initiated by a PAYER via a PSP located in any SEPA COUNTRY; b) the PSP of a PAYER who is reachable for a NATIONAL DIRECT DEBIT in accordance with a PAYMENT SCHEME is also, in accordance with the rules of a PAYMENT SCHEME at the Union level, reachable for DIRECT DEBITS initiated by a PAYEE via a PSP located in any SEPA COUNTRY, even if