The electronic check can be discounted in the market: a "revolutionary change"

There are few instruments as emblematic in the financial world as the famous checkbook. But the progress of the digital transformation is so accelerated that even this modality could not be protected from the advances brought by the "4.0" economy.

Today it is observed that the "e-check" - its 100% electronic version - has begun to tread strongly in the circuit of the means of payment and also exert more influence on the main financing method of most SMEs in Argentina.

This is just the beginning of a race that is gaining in speed. So much so that these days are finalized details of what will soon be announced: the discount of digital or electronic checks in the capital market.

Simón Carman, commercial manager of Garantizar SGR, does not hide his enthusiasm. His opinion is more than authorized, since the company is a leading reciprocal guarantee company (SGR) with a fund of $ 10,000 million (in a market of $ 23,000 million), dedicated to "endorse" these instruments to give them more reliability and facilitate the access to funding for small and medium businesses at more reasonable rates.

"It will be a spectacular achievement. We will be able to avoid the entire physical circuit that is not only dangerous, because it involves risks with transfers, but also very exhausting," he reveals to iProUP. And he adds: "We are already in the process of setting up the platforms of Caja de Valores, so the launch will be very soon," they say from Guarantee.

Carman explains it in greater detail: "He thinks that the SME has to send the check to the nearest branch, then the SGR must grant its guarantee and then it must be sent to the Caja de Valores for negotiation. Just then it is transferred to the SME ".

"With the digital discount, the firm only scans the value and automatically receives it from the SGR (for the guarantee) and the Caja. We are talking about a revolutionary change due to the way in which the negotiation process of the main instrument that will be streamlined and modernized today they use small businesses to obtain funds in the market, "he says

Traditionally, SMEs preferred this mechanism over bank credit, often inaccessible. Today, more than ever, with rates that drown them anyway.

Broadly speaking, an average backed deferred payment paper check is currently discounted at a rate of 70% in a bank and 60% in the stock market. However, pubic banking has been very aggressive lately, offering up to 50%.

According to the latest available data, the monthly volume is around $ 5.5 billion. If the annual accumulated is observed, the increase is slightly higher than 130%, something that far from being a symptom of improvement shows how the bank tap has been closed. In addition, the terms tended to contract and rarely exceed 120 days on average.

But banks also see this opportunity, especially those who are leaders in the SME segment, as is the case of Supervielle. "Yes, we are already working hard to implement the discount this month or at the latest," Gabriel Grasso, Cash Management Manager of the entity told iProUP.

Two years to renew a classic

"The Central Bank established that since July all banks must offer the possibility of depositing or receiving an e-check. On the other hand, you can optionally upload the other alternatives," Alejandro Ansaldo, product manager of ICBC, tells iProUP.

"Although the regulation refers to the obligation of deposits, within a month we will also be required that the client can issue and endorse electronic checks," he warns.
The next big deadline to add all the planned features is January. In the market, many believe that the real take off will occur when the "no-to-order" stage is issued (instead of unlimited endorsements as currently allowed), as it will give confidence to large companies and boost the volume.

"It is true that it is an ambitious goal," they recognize in Supervielle. The BCRA has not yet confirmed the deadlines but "we believe it is viable and we are making a great effort," they say in the entity that it was one of the first to implement the issue in addition to the deposit, as well as the endorsement and custody.

The process was arduous. "Many things have been polished. Fundamentally, we had to fit it with the Checking Law so as not to have to pass a new one in Congress. It had to be a product that had legal support and behaved in the same way

2-. The beneficiary receives a notification of receipt to perform their management. If you accept it, you can:

a) Credit it in your account on the payment date (through an electronic order)

b) Charge it by a window at the corresponding branch

d) Endorse it as established by the Checking Law (it will be registered in the reservoir and the new beneficiary and financial entities will be informed)

e) Rescue it according to the established procedure

f) Negotiate it

3.- If the beneficiary does not perform any of these actions or rejects it, it will be pending until its expiration date

Impossible to falsify or fill badly

"We are already offering it. While we talk a lot with customers we try to go slowly, since it is a cultural change. For now, there are companies that are depositing them and we have noticed a very great interest," they highlight iProUP in the ICBC.

According to the Chinese capital bank, "there is a lot of expectation regarding the collection, since it will imply an important modification in the whole scheme. But we believe that it will grow exponentially." There are other attributes that make big differences and not only in relation to the endorsement.

"There is no possibility of falsification and it is possible to track each of the endorsers (everything is registered in COELSA) as it passes from hand to hand. In addition, there is no rejection for manufacturing errors, which are quite common because the systems are prepared so that the e-check cannot be sent if something is wrong, "says Ansaldo.

No to order

Martín López, manager of Wholesale Products of Banco Comafi, and Javier Avalos, head of Foreign Trade Products and Cash Management, remember that the date for the debut was originally set for April 1, but the system requested an extension for July .

They recognize that several entities came forward to adopt the advances established by the BCRA in their schedule and, of course, nobody wants to be left behind. "We are in the test stage before launching it massively, something that will happen very soon," they anticipate. Those who also broadcast are Galicia and Santander.

The BBVA is another that is about to join: "At the end of the month we will add the operation of issuance, endorsement, custody and rescue," anticipate iProUP. Meanwhile, from the Comafi clarify: "The other big date to add new features mandatory is January. Some are under review, such as mobile operation or billing. Instead, in that Phase II it is established that must issue checks not to order. " That is, those that do not allow endorsements and can only be charged by the owner.

"Today they can be endorsed in an unlimited way. I think that when that change occurs, it will be the fundamental element for large companies to join, achieve greater volume and begin to become massive as a means of payment," they point out. Executives anticipate: "There are other developments with very advanced developments, such as multicheque, whose obligation will also apply from January"

This means that a large company instead of issuing one for $ 100,000 can save 10 of $ 10,000 and thus facilitate subsequent negotiation. Some even went a little further and offered the mobile e-check, such as the Mortgage. "Retail customers with a checking account can request their digital checkbook with just three clicks. Meanwhile, legal persons can manage through Office Banking," they point out to iProUP.

As part of the strategy, they are giving additional momentum with the launch of Owl Entrepreneur: "It is a program with benefits for individuals who carry out their activity independently. We understand that this segment of retail banking will be the one that values ââthe product most "they conclude.

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