Central Bank of Argentina Prepares New Regulations for Digital Wallets – The Central Bank of Argentina is apparently working on a new set of legislation aimed at regulating all digital wallets in the country. The bill is expected to be published soon, according to local media leaks.
The Central Bank of Argentina has set its eyes on the use of digital wallets. According to reports, the bank’s director is working on a new set of laws to better comprehend what’s going on with the funds in these wallets and to improve KYC procedures.
Regarding how this will be executed, it stated:
“It’s not about restricting anything; it’s about following the same rules that banks must follow now when it comes to customer knowledge”.
The bank stated it is implementing these new rules as there is a large amount of fraud when it comes to the use of these tools, and some companies lack due diligence while onboarding customers. Because not all wallets work in the same way, members of the central bank clarified that the rules will have to be applied on a case-by-case basis.
The measure will allow the bank to oversee the existing stream of users who use digital wallets like Mercado Pago, which is believed to be close to 30 million.
Last year, the Central Bank of Argentina mandated that these companies keep 100 percent of their customers’ assets in their bank accounts, effectively eliminating enterprises’ ability to profit from investments made with a portion of these funds.
While the Central Bank is developing this new legal framework for digital wallets, the Argentinian Tax Authority has already taken steps to seize funds in taxpayers’ digital wallets who owe money. In the following months, about 10,000 taxpayers’ digital wallets are expected to be seized.
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Central Bank of Argentina Prepares New Regulations for Digital Wallets – According to local media, the first occurrence of these seizures has already occurred, indicating that the strategy is already in action.
The AFIP reportedly demanded the first confiscation, and a judge granted the institution possession of the funds in the digital account to pay off the user’s debts. The authorities tried to take the bank accounts of the taxpayer initially, but the consequence of this operation was unfavorable.