Thursday, 12 May 2022 04:20

Financial Commission proposes to relax requirements to open bank accounts

Written by Evelyn Alas

Deputies of the Financial Commission presented an initiative to reform Article 20 of the Financial Inclusion Law in order to have access to useful and accessible financial products and services that meet the needs of individuals and companies, under an appropriate regulation that guarantees consumer protection.

Due to the complexity of opening financial products, the parliamentarians propose to make the requirements for opening bank accounts more flexible.

To this end, they would modify Article 20 of the Law, which deals with deposits in savings accounts with simplified requirements. These are currently subject to balance and transaction limits determined by the Banco Central de Reserva (BCR) through its Standards Committee.

The congresswoman explained that these reforms may allow people to open a bank account without a minimum amount, because currently the bank requests from US$25 to US$50.

At the same time, the congresswoman commented that all that is required is the presentation of the Documento Único de Identidad (DUI) and the names of the beneficiaries.

The study integrates two segments identified by the deputies: A reform that allows savings accounts with no minimum opening requirements, with a simplified regime of requirements that covers up to three minimum salaries (US$1,095).

This is due to the fact that 92% of households in the country have an income of less than US$1,000, coming from salaries, remittances or donations.

The second segment would be with another type of savings accounts with simplified requirements in case of receiving more than three to six minimum wages, so it would be extended a little more up to the amount of US$2,190. For this case, in addition to submitting the DUI and determine the beneficiaries, the user must complete a simplified profile form. In order to provide legal certainty, the Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero (SSF) will always be in charge of overseeing compliance with this reform.