In an attempt to give greater development to the new means of payment, the Central Bank is finalizing details to relaunch an immediate debit system, which although in force since September 2017, different issues prevented it from taking off.It is the Debin, which offers as one of its advantages that Argentines can buy in installments but without having to use the credit card.
With the idea of resolving certain issues that had been blocking the operation, the agency has been discussing the issue in the Inter-Bank Payments Commission (CIMPRA). Nowadays, the new regulations are practically ready and it only needs to be submitted to the board to be approved.What is the Debin?
Technically, it is a messaging mechanism between a merchant and a customer, or between a collector and a payer, through which an immediate transfer is made.
Specifically, when making a purchase:
- The customer has to inform the seller of his Alias or CBU
- This sends you a message by Home Banking or Mobile Banking asking for authorization for the debit
- Validated the amount and operation, the transfer is made in the act
The interesting thing about the case are the two variants that this instrument presents:
- The debit in the account can be made only once and for the total amount- Both parties agree (in a single operation) that every month a partial amount is debited, during a certain period. In this case, similar to a purchase in installments with a card, is what is called "Debin recurrent" and is precisely where the BCRA is aiming
"It is working in a new phase that increases operations, especially in what is called recurrent Debin", anticipates iProUP a high source that actively participates in CIMPRA, a forum that the BCRA developed to study and monitor the evolution of the media of payment together with the main market players.
Even, it is encouraged to anticipate that "if this phase is successful, this instrument has the potential to make a lot of noise".
"There will be a strong push for the Debin, there is a pull and loosen between banks and cards so that it does not end up exploding, we, like BCRA, want it to explode, which is why we are going to encourage it. entities are adopting it every day more ", they count from Reconquista 266.The changes prepared by the Central
As iProUP learned, some of the modifications that are already practically defined to encourage the use of the Debin are:1. - Expand the limit of the operation
Today, the daily limit for individuals is twice the Minimum Wage and Mobile Salary (currently, at $ 12,500).
The idea is to extend it to between 4 and 5 salaries. There is also a cap for legal persons (companies), currently set at $ 50,000 a day. It aims to take it to more than $ 100,000.
From the BCRA anticipate that this change will give impetus to this instrument, although in the market there are doubts about its effectiveness. "That the maximum amount is low is not what reduces the number of operations with Debin," says Jorge Larravide, commercial manager of Red Link, who participates in the debates of CIMPRA.
In dialogue with iProUP, he points out that in the PEI (Immediate Electronic Payment), in which the maximum is a salary, his company makes 3 million transactions per month, against the scant 120 of the Debin. But, for others, this comparison shows the remarkable growth potential of the instrument that the BCRA will promote.2 - Reduce the deadline for eventual claims
The current regulations of the Debin indicates that the person making the payment has 90 days to ignore the debit for the operations authorized in advance.
"If the ignorance is made by a customer who uses financial services for an operation generated by a non-user of financial services, the amount debited will be automatically returned within 72 working hours of the claim," says Communication A6049, which delineates the fine print of the Debin.
In this sense, what the BCRA will do is to limit this period to 30 days, in order to match it with the usual terms of other products such as the card or automatic debit.
Faced with the objections of some entities that indicate that other products generates more input for commissions (such as cards) from the monetary entity clarify that "it is not a product that will make it competition but will provide more tools to consumers and businesses so that they use less and less cash ".Central technicians explain that some of the transactions in which they see the greatest potential for the use of the Debin are the charges of balances for the cell phone and the purchase of products in the appliance chains, the latter through the "recurrent" variant (payment in installments).Few changes for the user, many for trade
These changes do not imply savings for the consumer, since both the use of plastic and Debin lack costs. The only extras that you would have to face for doing the card operation are the maintenance cost and the eventual interest rate if you finance in installments.
"The customer does not have differences, since for him, in general, this service is free, the big difference could come from the company that is raising", highlights Larravide, from Red Link. And he adds that, as it does not stop being a collection system, what the bank usually does is to demand from the company the payment of pesos to be collected."It's a collection service style, because in the same way that the company asks you to collect an Easy Payment, it charges you," he says.
At the time the Debin came out, the BCRA wanted to do it similar to the PEI, but with an operation that is a bit more complex because the first one is within the Mobile or Home Banking application.
For the commercial manager of Red Link, all the previous steps that must be taken to complete a transaction are cumbersome, which makes the use of other means more agile, such as the PEI or the electronic wallet.Pros and cons
Some of the advantages of the Debin with respect to traditional transfers is that the counterparty must not be previously incorporated and you only have to ask for your account (Alias or CBU), without adding other data, such as the DNI or the CUIT.
In addition, with the authorization request, one also receives the amount to be paid and the name of the person requesting the payment. As in the operation the intervention of the two parties is necessary, the process minimizes the possibility of error.Regarding the traditional automatic debit, the main difference is that in the Debin the transaction is immediate, while in the previous case the movement of money between accounts can take up to 48 hours.
However, one of the factors that plays against is that it is not as agile as other means of payment, since it requires several steps and both parties must connect to Mobile Banking.New fixed deadlines online
Something that will give life to the Debin in the short term is the new regulation that obliges banks to offer online fixed terms for non-customers, since this mechanism is the most adapted to carry out this type of operation.
"The scenario we are evaluating is to do it with Debin and Credin, in which case it is justified because it is a more particular operation," Larravide says, although he acknowledges that there are still several aspects in which the BCRA has to elaborate on details.
"We are talking to the banks that Red Link, the Central and Prism, because to operate you have to articulate with the entities that belong to the different networks," he adds. Larravide is not so optimistic about the impact of the new measures and believes that the key lies in the diffusion of the new service.
"From the product itself, I do not see a lack that explains the little use, it's super broad and, although it has a long history, by now it does not become massive", assures iProUP."In any case, we should invest in communication, let people know that it can be used, there are many instruments, but there is little communication," he adds.
Undoubtedly, dissemination is key for the product to mass. Anyway, if banks do not have an incentive to encourage their use and accompany the initiative, it is logical that they continue to focus on the use of cards or products with which they receive more commissions.
The Central Bank is working on these changes and this is where the measures that will be announced in the coming days point.