The Plenary of Congress has on its agenda the opinion that proposes eliminating the charging of commission for interbank transfers and credit card payments, approved by the Consumer Defense Commission (Codeco). The initiative reaches all actors in the financial system, with the exception of savings banks and cooperatives, and has been questioned by experts and institutions such as the Superintendence of Banking and Insurance (SBS) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
According to Jorge Delgado, president of the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Peru (Asomif), the collection of this commission is based on the fact that the transfer service is not free for these institutions involved, but rather the work of the Chamber must be paid for. of Electronic Clearing (CCE), in charge of catalyzing transactions and making it a transparent and secure process.
While Elias Varas, president of Codeco, He said that the current legal framework is general and ambiguous, and leaves millions of Peruvians unprotected: “Financial institutions have been charging commissions without taking into account the provisions of Law No. 31143, and the specific regulations of the SBS and Private Pension Fund Administrators.”
It should be noted that the measure brings together the bills of Sigrid Bazán (Democratic Change-Together for Peru) and Jorge Luis Flores Ancachi (Popular Action).
What do the Executive and the experts think?
For its part, the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) has stated that the measure will affect the interoperability of the financial system to the detriment of users, since it would reduce the possibilities of making payments through mobile devices or the development of technological innovations.
Likewise, the MEF has indicated that the proposal “contravenes article 59 of the Political Constitution of Peru, on the freedom of enterprise, in particular on the freedom of organization that includes the pricing policy.”
“Removing the simple possibility of covering the assumed costs is a recipe for regression and stagnation, since the collection of commissions for interbank transfers is the cost of the quality and security of the service,” Delgado remarked.
For his part, lawyer Erick Urbina, professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Lima, agreed with the MEF’s position. “In my opinion it is an unconstitutional project because, on the one hand, “It violates the right to freedom of contract that is protected and recognized in the Peruvian Constitution, as well as the free market,” he commented.
According to the constitutionalist, this point has been the subject of multiple pronouncements by the Constitutional Court (TC) and assured that, if this initiative is approved, the highest interpreter of the Magna Carta could declare its unconstitutionality. “But that is after a while, in which the law will take effect and this could cause harm, not only to the banks, but mainly to the users,” Urbina pointed out.
Source: Larepublica
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