From August 4th and during 10 working days, the Central Bank of Costa Rica will submit to public consultation the technical study regarding the First ordinary fixing of commissions of the payment card system and the proposal of Regulations of the Payment Card System.
This study and proposed regulation are being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Maximum Commissions of the Payment Card System, Law 9831, of March 21, 2020, informed the monetary authority.
A bill has been submitted to the National Assembly proposing to prohibit the practice of advance discounts for late payments.
The document also provides that banks agree to enter into a payment arrangement with the debtor when the customer is more than 90 days late in paying the loan.
Last December 2, the new Credit Card Law proposal received a favorable opinion from the Economy Commission of the Guatemalan Congress, and now it should be discussed in the plenary session.
Implementing a mixed system of interest rates composed of a fixed one with a contract for a determined time and another variable agreed between the account holder and the issuer, is one of the proposals that are discussed in the Congress of Guatemala.
The proposal for two interest rates was presented by the Instituto de Investigación y Proyección sobre Economía y Sociedad Plural (Idies), before the Congressional Economic Commission, in charge of discussing the proposals for changes to Credit Card Law 5544.
Regarding the new bill presented to Congress at the beginning of 2019, the Superintendence of Banks is of the opinion that the interest rate should not be limited.
The Credit Card Law came into force on March 8, 2016, but was suspended at the end of the same month, after business chambers, card issuers and the Bank of Guatemala filed legal appeals before the Constitutional Court (CC).
Limiting the fees charged in Costa Rica and establishing a law that defines market limits in Guatemala are part of the attempts being made in the region to regulate the use of credit cards.
A law proposal presented last January before the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, aims to regulate the percentage of the commission paid by businesses for credit or debit cards.
After the law seeking to regulate the credit card market in Guatemala was declared unconstitutional, a new proposal was presented.
The Credit Card Law that was declared unconstitutional at the beginning of 2019, entered into force on March 8, 2016, however, after the business chambers, card issuers and the Bank of Guatemala filed legal appeals before the Constitutional Court (CC), was suspended on March 31 of that year.
After 14 appeals filed, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the law that attempted to regulate the credit card market in the country.
The Credit Card Law became effective on March 8th, 2016, however, after the business chambers, card issuers and the Bank of Guatemala filed legal appeals before the Constitutional Court (CC), it was provisionally suspended on March 31st of the same year.
The new law approved by Congress states that the interest rate in national currency can not exceed 54%, and in dollars the maximum limit will be 30%.
After several months of debate, the National Congress has finally approved an amendment to the law proposed by the Executive Branch, which aims to limit the interest charges made by banks and financiers on debt incurred using credit cards.
A bill put forward by the executive branch aims to regulate interest rates charged by banks on credit cards and eliminate service charges, among other changes.
From a statement issued by the President of Honduras:
Tegucigalpa, February 9.President of the Republic, Juan Orlando Hernández, today sent to Congress a bill aimed at introducing new regulations to the credit card market to avoid abuses against consumers.
The new law prohibits banks and financial institutions from implementing abusive practices in order to manage debt collection.
From a statement issued by the Congress of Guatemala:
With 108 votes in favor, Congress deputies approved amendments to the Banking Act, with which it prohibited harassment and abusive collection practices on the part of the lenders.
The Superior Court has ordered the temporary cancellation due to lack of a ruling from the Bank of Guatemala, and the fact that Congress gave approval without having a majority, as stipulated by law.
The Constitutional Court (CC) has provisionally suspended the Credit Card Act, which came into force on March 8. Gloria Porras, president of the CC, told Prensalibre.com that one of the major failings was that Congress did not pass the Law with 105 votes, which is defined as a majority.
A A bill presented in Costa Rica aims to improve tax controls by forcing merchants to accept payments with credit and debit cards.
The bill introduced in the Legislature by the Ministry of Finance, entitled "An Act to improve the fight against fiscal fraud" includes other initiatives such as the imposition of a sales tax on property rentals of less than one month duration.
The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador has announced in a statement the entry into force of the usury law on February 24.
A statement from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador reads:
The usury law, which aims to "prohibit, prevent and punish usurious practices, in order to protect the rights of ownership and possession of the people", entered into force on 24 February this year, informed the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador.
In the Guatemalan Congress of a favorable opinion was cast on an initiative to regulate the operation of the credit cards and the relationships between issuers, operators and affiliate cardholders.
Posted by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala:
At a press conference, the president of the Committee on Economy, deputy Emmanuel Seidner, announced that an initiative was presented to Legislative assembly to approve the Credit Card Act, which aims to regulate the operation of credit cards and the relationships between issuers, operators and affiliate cardholders.