Changes in Accreditation Periods for Prepaid Cards
The Argentine Central Bank specified the time frame within which prepaid card payments must be credited to businesses.
On December 19, 2024, the Argentine Central Bank issued Communication A 8162, establishing that when payments are made with a prepaid card, the maximum period for them to be credited to the account of the supplier or business will be two business days, counted from the moment of payment.
If a sub-acquirer is involved,[1] the accreditation period may not exceed one business day from the time the sub-acquirer receives the funds, except:
- purchases made through e-commerce platforms,
- payments with transfer and other immediate transfers. In these cases, the sums must be credited within 15 seconds.
The Communication also repeals the requirement that the fees charged by payment acceptors to merchants must be uniform within each activity or commercial category (as established in subsection ii) of point 5.2.3.1 of the Harmonized Text on the Argentine System of Payments–Transfers–Complementary Rules).
This regulation will come into force on March 1, 2025 for micro and small enterprises, and on August 1, 2025 for all other businesses.
[1] According to Resolution 200/2024 of the Financial Information Unit, a sub-acquirer is "a legal entity that is regularly incorporated in the country or that, being a private legal entity incorporated abroad, has complied with the requirements of the General Companies Law 19550 and its amendments for the habitual exercise in the Argentine Republic of acts included in its corporate purpose, which, through a contract with the Acquirer, provides its customers, through a platform or system, with the service of processing and/or settlement of payments for the cards regulated by this regulation through various means, whether in the context of face-to-face or non-face-to-face means of payment."
This insight is a brief comment on legal news in Argentina; it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis or to provide legal advice.