The exchange forces virtual wallets to protect their customers from fraud and abusive situations

According to the latest official data in the country There are already more than 31.6 million accounts created in fintech, associated with a Uniform Virtual Key (CVU). The progress of digital wallets within the financial ecosystem is undeniable and the Central Bank has once again aimed to improve the regulation they operate with, and incidentally equalize the conditions in which banks and fintechs operate within the local ecosystem.

With the aim of improving customer service, at the beginning of the month the board of directors of the body chaired by Miguel Pesce issued a new standard that level the playing field for banks and digital wallets and asks the latter to do so use the same user protection rules traditional financial institutions are currently required to adhere to.

Specifically, the entity included Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Payment Service Providers acting as “initiators” of digital payments (PSI) within the entities that fall under the rules for the protection of users of financial services “. group includes actors like Payment market, Ualá, Orange X and other fintechs.

Communication “A” 7593 launched last September 1st adds to a series of recent adjustments that the Central Bank has made to the functioning of digital wallets, which in practice and due to the market size they reach, are already starting to operate “equal to equal” with banks. The agency has now given portfolios six months to adapt to these new rules.

Until now, the discipline of the “Protection of financial users” only concerned, as obliged subjects, financial institutions, foreign exchange operators, trustees of trusts sold by financial institutions, non-financial companies that issue credit cards and / or purchase, and others that do not – financial credit providers.

Starting from this communication, PSPCPs and ISPs must comply with the legislation on the protection of users of financial services, the aim of which is to protect users from the actions of entities, prevent situations of error or non-compliance in institutions and promote best practices for the benefit of users.

Now they will be obliged, among other things, to improve the clarity of the information they provide to their users, to respond in the event of non-consensual charges or unrealized bonuses. In this case, in addition to return the requested money, they must pay interest corresponding to the duration of the arrears.

The goal of this standard is to improve customer service through digital wallets. The rule obliges PSPs to provide help to their users in an accessible way, to make the terms and conditions of the contract available in the same way. At the same time, Fr.protect users from “abusive practices”and at this point it forces them to provide a simple way of cancel a product or service if the customer so desires.

In addition, this new BCRA standard requires fintech companies to submit a compliance report drawn up by registered professionals, with the related certification by the Professional Council of Economic Sciences.

Upon consultation of Clarione, in the sector said they are already working to understand the scope of the legislation. Sources from Mercado Pago say: “The company is participating, through the Fintech Chamber, in a request for consultation with the regulatory body, in order to analyze the scope of the new legislation and work on its implementation within the deadline” .

“Currently, in order to provide the best experience to our users and ensure both quality and speed of response, in Mercado Pago we have multiple service channels integrated into the ecosystem, in line with the requirements of Communication A 7593”, they assured . the fintech giant.