BCRA Relaunched the Free Universal Account

Through Communique “A” 6876, the Argentine ( the “BCRA” after its acronym in Spanish) ordered that, as of February 1, 2020, financial institutions that enable their clients to operate with ATMs must open free accounts to any individual, provided that they are legally able to enter into agreements and do not hold any type of visible account in the same entity or in others in the financial system. The opening procedure must be able to be carried out, in its entirety, both in person and remotely.

The Communique provides the operational limits of the free universal accounts (the “CGU” after its acronym in Spanish) regarding the deposit of funds, withdrawals, commissions, interests, account closures, deposit guarantees and debit cards, among others.

In accordance with the provisions of the BCRA, financial institutions must provide the information referred to the CGU in their branches, as well as through their home pages and home banking apps. Such information must include, at a minimum, the following points:

• The holders must not have any type of account in the same entity or in others in the financial system.
• The only requirement for opening: presentation of a valid ID.
• Only in Argentine pesos.
• Without costs associated to opening, maintenance, movements of funds and consultation of balances in ATMs of different financial entities and/or networks in Argentina.
• Data of those responsible for customer service from the relevant financial entity, including full name, telephone number and email address.