Recently, the Central Bank of Paraguay ("BCP", by its initials in Spanish), by Resolution No. 1 Act No. 26 dated May 17, 2022, has approved and ordered the entry into force of a new general regulation of payment systems in Paraguay ("SIPAP", by its initials in Spanish) (the "Regulation"). The Regulation provides a general framework of rules that will govern the systems that make up the SIPAP and includes the guidelines for its efficient operation, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 4595/2012 "Payment Systems and Securities Settlement" (the "Law") and concordant regulations.

The main purpose of the Regulation is to promote the efficiency and normal functioning of the SIPAP, simplifying the previously applicable regulations, unifying them in one body of regulation, and eliminating eminently operational issues from its content.

The Regulation contemplates the validity parameters of the clearing and settlement operations carried out in the SIPAP, the custody, settlement, and clearing of securities and the guarantees constituted by the participants, as well as the procedures for the suspension of payments on such operations and guarantees.

The main novelties of the Regulation, in relation to the abrogated regulation, can be summarized as follows:

  1. The establishment of the operational guidelines of the Securities Depository (“DEPO”, by its initials in Spanish) in a single regulatory body, incorporating provisions related to the DEPO, such as the limit amount for the operations that will be processed by the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”, by its initials in Spanish) in the SIPAP, the Interbank Liquidity Window (VLI, by its initials in Spanish) and the Short-Term Liquidity Facility (FLIR, by its initials in Spanish).
  2. The adaptation of the ACH as a batch payment system, improving the MT104 operation, offering the possibility of automatic debits directly linked to bank accounts instead of credit cards.
  3. The regulation of the operating procedures of the Real-Time Gross Settlement (“LBTR”, by its initials in Spanish), the ACH, and the Instant Payment System (“SPI”, by its initials in Spanish), adapting them for their correct interaction.
  4. The determination of the participants and their obligations in the SPI and LBTR, as well as the obligations of the BCP in its interaction with them in modules destined for retail payments.