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.
At a regional level, nearly 16 million people are looking to purchase financial services online. Of this group of consumers, approximately 11% are exploring options for acquiring a credit card.
The interactive information system developed by CentralAmericaData, monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets of the region, with fundamental information to understand the new commercial environment that has emerged in an accelerated manner.
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.
With the approval of the reforms to the Credit Card System Law, in El Salvador it will be banned to charge interest on surcharges generated by arrears.
The reforms also establish that banks must deliver free of charge settlements and cancellations of credit cards, physically or electronically, at the latest within 24 hours, while the documents of obligation or promissory notes that the debtor has signed must be returned within 5 business days maximum, informed the Legislative Assembly:
Between January and April 2019, the number of debit cards circulating in the country fell 5%, from 6.03 million to 5.71 million, and the accumulated balance of accounts associated with these plastics fell by 3%.
Based on the information reported by the companies, up to April 30, 2019 there were a total of 5,719,387 cardholders in the domestic market. When comparing this amount with the data from the previous study, a decrease of 311,505 cardholders is registered, informed the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC).
In Costa Rica, the authorities will begin to regulate the fees that form part of the commissions, which are charged when an electronic payment is made.
After the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) requested the Commission to Promote Competition (COPROCOM) on July 27, 2018, the investigation of the interbank rates market in the service of acquiring electronic payment methods, Opinion No. 16-2019 of June 11, 2019 was issued.
Not considering the costs of the collection process, nor market conditions, are some of the failures that banks identify in the bill being discussed in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica.
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).
Consistent with the behavior of recent years, up to October 2018 the number of credit cards circulating in Costa Rica totaled 2.98 million, 14% more than in the same month of 2017.
From the report of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC):
The last quarterly study of credit and debit cards, as of October 31, 2018, conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), through the Directorate of Economic and Market Research, determined that in nine years, the number of credit cards in the country increased 125%, representing a total of 2,984,769 plastics in circulation of which 1,976,522 are holders and 1,008,247 are additional plastics, i.e. linked to a cardholder.
In the last year, the number of credit cards circulating in the country increased 6%, and it is estimated that every Salvadoran who has acquired some debt has on average two cards.
According to data from the Credit Card Observatory (OTC), between October 31st of last year and the same date in 2018, credit card subscriptions went up from 748,949 to 793,141, equivalent to a 5.9% increase.
In Costa Rica, the balance of credit card debt increased 14.6% in the last year, measured as of July 2018, rising from $1.880 million in July 2017 to $2.155 million in the same month of this year.
The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), reported that according to the latest study of the credit card market, compiled by the Directorate of Economic and Market Research, Costa Ricans increased their debt balance by ₡166 billion ($275 million) in one year, representing a 14.6% growth.
During the first quarter of the year, transactions carried out at ATMs in the Dominican Republic totaled $2.135 billion, 15% more than in the same period in 2017.
According to figures from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, between the first quarters of 2017 and 2018 the value of ATM transactions increased from $1.864 billion to $2.135 billion.
The number of cards in circulation grew by 13% between January 2017 and the same month in 2018, while the balance of debt on credit cards increased by 14% in the same period.
According to a quarterly study on credit and debit cards for 2018, with a cut off point of January 31, on average each person has two credit cards and three debit cards.
The number of cards in circulation grew by 13% between October 2016 and the same month in 2017, and the balance of the debt increased by 11% in the same period.
The last quarterly study of credit and debit cards for 2017, as of October 31, 2017 and carried out by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), registered an increase in the debt balance of ¢59.6 billion ( 5.24%), with respect to the previous quarterly study, for a total amount of¢1,196,995 million (approx.$2 billion), which represents around 3.68% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).