A new set of rules was issued by the Central Bank of Argentina for those operating digital wallets in the country.
Customers of companies that are operating digital wallets would now be considered financial users, such as those of the popular Argentinian wallet Uala.
This means that the users would have new protections that are similar to the ones offered by financial institutions like banks.
Regulatory attention
The popularity of crypto and digital money in Argentina has drawn the attention of regulatory authorities in the country.
Recently, a new set of rules was issued by the Central Bank of Argentina that was aimed at increasing the level of protection given to users of digital wallets in the country.
Digital wallet providers, such as Uala, would now be required to treat their customers as financial users, which means that they would have the same protections given to bank users.
This would require the entities to have customer service representatives in place and to resolve any common issues within a time span of ten days.
Furthermore, digital wallet companies would also be required to make changes to their terms and conditions in order to meet the requirements outlined by central banks pertaining to financial contracts.
Likewise, the companies would also be expected to provide users with an easy option of revoking their services that are already accepted.
Plus, they would also have to offer an easy way of closing accounts, something that is a common problem with many users.
Compliance and Sanctions
While these measures are already adopted by some big names in the space, such as Mercado Pago, and other prominent wallets, small wallet providers would have to face higher compliance costs.
This is because they would have to submit compliance reports that have a signature from professionals belonging to the Economic Science college.
According to a national law firm, there are several factors that will determine the application of the new rules outlined by the Central Bank of Argentina.
It said that companies would have to prepare plans for using the model mentioned and this would take time.
Moreover, they would also have to comply with the regulations of the Argentinian central bank, depending on the type of payment service provider they are.
Other requirements
There is another new requirement introduced, which pertains to accessibility, as the companies would have to change the structure of their services in order to facilitate those suffering from hearing, or visual impairments.
This could mean that their apps would have to be redesigned, which would translate to higher compliance costs.
A time period of 180 days has been given to these digital wallet companies for making the adjustments that have been outlined in order to ensure they are in compliance.
If these digital wallet providers fail to comply with the new rules, the Central Bank of Argentina would have the option of imposing sanctions on the company.
This shows that Argentina is taking the crypto market very seriously and aims to provide as much protection to the users as possible.
