How Maximum Terms for Collecting Payments Made with Credit, Purchase and Debit Cards Have Been Amended

Effective July 1 and on a per-category basis, new maximum terms apply to financial institutions when collecting funds from single-payment purchases with credit or purchase cards. The adjustment was handed down by the Argentine Central Bank (the “BCRA,” after its acronym in Spanish) via Communique “A” 7305 on June 11, 2021. The Communique also provides:

• • An 8 business-day term when the merchant is categorized as a micro or small enterprise and/or human person; reducing the original term by two business days.
  • A 10 business-day term when the merchant is categorized as a medium-sized enterprise or as “lodging, tourism, gastronomy and/or health services” (the latter are not included in the previous category); keeping the original term as it was.
  • An 18 business-day term in all other cases; increasing the original term by eight business days.

Financial institutions are barred from charging interest or commissions on these terms and from impeding or hindering card payments in any way.

In a press release published on its website on June 10, the BCRA pointed out that this measure to reduce the collection term for MSMEs was taken for their benefit and that the new per-category design facilitates payment flow.

However, the regulation made no reference to new actors in these payment schemes known as “aggregators” or “group facilitators.” These companies are not specifically regulated by the BCRA (but by the Financial Information Unit) and offer services and digital infrastructure for payment processing, thus integrating merchants and suppliers with acquirers and issuers of credit or purchase cards.

Immediately after, on July 1, 2021, the BCRA announced in a press release a change to the accreditation term for sales made by debit card. Following an agreement with financial institutions, the term was reduced from two to one business day, allowing merchants to receive the funds from debit card sales in their bank account the next business day after the sale is made.