June 10, 2020 / Banking and Finance Law
CIRCULAR 22/2020 – Amendment to the exception made by the Card Provisions established in Circular 13/2020 regarding provisional measures in matters of minimum payment amounts applicable to credits, loans, or revolving financings associated with credit cards, in connection with COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
On June 2, provisional measures taken by Banco de México (hereinafter, “Banxico”) were published in the Federal Official Gazette (FOG) due to the circumstances derived from COVID-19 pandemic. These measures are focused on continuing to promote the good development of the financial system, ensuring its stability, favoring the proper functioning of the payment systems, as well as providing legal certainty to financial institutions subject to the Credit Card Rules and the Provisions for the Determination of the Minimum Payment for Credit Cards (collectively, the “Card Provisions”). Therefore, it has been resolved to amend the exception made by the Card Provisions established through Circular 13/2020, published in the Federal Official Gazette on April 17 of this year, in the following terms.
- Financial Entities will not be bound to collect the relevant minimum payment amounts calculated according to the Card Provisions for the payment periods from April to September of this year, when such entities determine and agree so with the relevant customers.[2]
- Financial Entities implementing the exceptions to the minimum payment amount collection according to this Circular must inform their cardholders of the terms and conditions of the new schemes through their internet portals and call centers and from the implementation date.
- Financial Entities must disclose the information referred to in the previous point through the account statements of the relevant credits, loans, or revolving financings subject matter of this Circular they issue. They must do so no later than the second cutoff period after the date in which they have implemented the relevant payment benefit scheme.[3]
- Financial Institutions must inform the cardholders who have agreed to join the aforementioned schemes of the terms and conditions under which they will have to make the relevant payments once the time period of the relevant scheme for which the minimum payment referred to in the paragraph above was elapsed.
- Financial Institutions must disclose the referred terms and conditions through their call centers, in their websites or applications through which they allow the relevant cardholders to know their account statements and transactions made with the relevant cards.
- Financial Entities must include the aforementioned information in the account statements they issue, no later than the second cutoff period after the date in which the relevant cardholder has accepted the payment benefits scheme; or instead of including such information in said account statements, Financial Entities must specify that such information is available on the website and applications specified therein.
- Financial Entities may use means other than those indicated above to inform their cardholders of such terms and conditions, as long as they use the referred communication channels in addition to the previous means and not to substitute them.
- During the period referred to in this Circular, Financial Entities may not collect any fees to cardholders who have agreed to join the aforementioned schemes due to failure to pay the aforementioned minimum amounts or default interests related to such failures.
This Circular will become effective on June 2, 2020, on the day of its publication in the Federal Official Gazette.
[1] https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5594248&fecha=02/06/2020
[2] The minimum payment amounts that Financial Entities, in compliance with the Law on Financial Service Transparency, Article 18 Bis 7, must collect regarding the credit, loans, or revolving financings associated with cards will be those that, in accordance with the calculation set forth in the Card Provisions, correspond to the payment periods applicable from October 2020.
[3]As an exception, Financial Entities, instead of including the aforementioned information in the account statements, must specify in such account statements that said information is available on the public website specified therein.