Inside the colossal DNU presented on Wednesday evening by Javier Milei, there’s a whole chapter in which they are modified key aspects of the current credit card law.
In the recitals of the document, which bears the signature of the President and his ministers, the following is established “It is necessary to carry out strong deregulation and simplification in the credit card market, adapting it to recent changes in relationship methods and digitalization technologies.” Chapter II of the DNU proceeds towards the elimination of several points of the current Card laws, which change some key aspects for users, both businesses and people.
Perhaps the point that affects the pocket the most, and the card business as we know it today, it’s the one that talks about tariffs and surcharges. Chapter VI of the law in force until this Wednesday established that issuers They couldn’t charge businesses rates higher than 3% as a commission for credit transactions and 1.5% for those carried out with debit.
The fight over card fees became relevant in Congress during the government of Mauricio Macri and was resolved this way. Now, without going through the Legislative Power, the DNU canceled the existing limits and limited itself to establishing that “the issuing body must make the financing rate applied to the credit card system known to the public”.
Furthermore, it has been established that “Punitive interest is not capitalized.”
But the presidential decree not only provides for changes to card top-up costs, but also in access to information by customers and institutions. On the one hand, the DNU repeals an article that establishes the user’s identification on the plastic, as well as the card data such as the date of issue and expiry and the identification of the issuer and the “flag” associated with that plastic.
Another point of the Card Law that Milei has repealed by the DNU he is the one who talks about drafting the contract. Until this Wednesday, the contract between the issuer and the user of the credit card had, by law, to be written clearly and in characters legible to the naked eye. It also provides that the paragraphs in which there is information on the responsibility of the owner of that plastic must be underlined and that such contracts must be authorized and registered by the law enforcement authority. To date, none of this may be necessary.
Another point that is repealed is the one that established sanctions by the Central Bank for institutions that do not correctly report loan rates and conditions. Furthermore, the obligation for the card issuer to inform users and suppliers of contractual changes has been eliminated.
As regards information, if an article that prohibited financial institutions from providing information was repealed “‘personal financial history database’ on holders and beneficiaries of credit card extensions or options when the holder has not paid his or her obligations, is in default or is in the process of refinancing.
Until now, entities were obliged to provide this partial information to the Central of the debtors of the Central Bank. With the change included in the presidential decree, they will be able to share that information with other members of the financial system. Furthermore, the need to send information on offers and promotions to the Ministry of Commerce on a monthly basis has been eliminated.
Another of the relevant innovations introduced by the presidential decree is that established in the modification of article 2 of the Card Law: this established the “issuers” of credit cards as “the financial, commercial or banking entity that issues credit cards or makes payments.” According to the DNU, an “entity of any nature” can become a credit card issuer, which opens the door for fintechs, wallets and other types of organizations to become credit card issuers.
Furthermore, the DNU inserts virtual cards into the universe of formats that plastic cards can have; and establishes changes in how monthly summaries are sent and received.
SN
Source: Clarin
