The provision, however, cuts off a source of income for fintech companies because “the banks gave them a return to have the funds in their institution”, explained to Area Ignacio Carballo, economist and specialist in the fintech ecosystem.
Similarly, the Central clarified that “The measure does not reach investment accounts that enable wallets and that allow savers to obtain a return on deposited funds. These investment accounts are kept in the same conditions.”
Currently, funds from transactional accounts managed by virtual wallets They are, by arrangement of the BCRA, deposited at all times in demand accounts in pesos at financial institutions in the country.
With this new standard, as of January 1, 2022 These funds must also remain immobilized in the BCRA, available to its holders. With which, they will no longer be able to generate interest.
Digital wallets have Two ways of capturing savings from their clients: 1) investment account, where the funds they collect are invested and distributed among their savers part of the profitability; 2) transactional accounts, where savers charge their wallets to use it as a means of payment without waiting for a return.
“These funds have to be deposited in the banks, for the safety of savers. Profitability cannot be obtained on these funds because it would be comparable to a financial intermediation and, due to this nature, they could be the subject of legal dispute”, said a BCRA source.
He added that the BCRA measure “puts the funds of savers safe from any contingency and reinforces the role as a secure and transparent means of payment.
Rejection of fintech
Sources in the fintech sector emphatically rejected the measure of the monetary authority. “It is a hard blow especially because until now the BCRA regulation established that Payment Service Providers (PSP) had to deposit all the money in a bank checking account. Thus, each wallet could establish a commercial agreement with each entity. For example, for the balance that your users generate, they pay you a certain percentage. And that amount is the one that allows to subsidize the cost of other services so that they are not transferred to the user “, A source from the fintech ecosystem commented to this medium who asked not to be identified.
Along the same lines, another source in the sector warned that the BCRA measure “It will generate negative consequences for users, as you cut off a source of income that helps finance the costs of products and services, but that the wallets never transfer them to the final consumer. “For example, he mentioned the printing and replacement of the card, the service for the entry of cash (“ Cash in ”), and for the withdrawal of money (“ Cash out ”). ; QR Code payments; APIs (application programming interface); among others.
Source From: Ambito
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