Alert
Fintech Alert - October 2026
October 12, 2026
BCRP Approves Regulation on the Payment Acceptance Service
On October 2, 2026, Circular No. 0026-2026-BCRP was published, through which the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (“BCRP”) approved the Regulation on the Payment Acceptance Service, which comprises Payment Transaction Acquiring services and Funds Collection services.
The regulation sets forth minimum standards for the provision of these services, regardless of the infrastructure used to process payments. Its objective is to strengthen the protection of merchants’ funds, improve the transparency of service conditions, and promote interoperability within the National Payment System.
The following are its principal new features:
- Common standards for payment acceptance: The Regulation applies to providers that offer or are involved in the provision of the Payment Acceptance Service, and to Payment Infrastructures, including their administrators and direct and indirect participants. Entities that both contract with merchants to provide the service and manage the settlement of their funds qualify as Payment Acceptors. Acquirers and payment facilitators governed by the Regulation on Card Payment Arrangements (Circular No. 0027-2022-BCRP) are also deemed Payment Acceptors. The mere enabling of channels, equipment, or technological solutions that allow a merchant to accept payments made by customers (POS terminals, QR codes, mobile applications) (“Technological Sales Devices”), as well as the processing and transmission of payment transaction information to the participants of this system, does not confer Payment Acceptor status.
- Enhanced protection of merchants’ funds: Funds received by Payment Acceptors must be kept segregated from their own resources until credited to the account held by the merchant (“Settlement to Merchants”), through collection accounts intended exclusively for their receipt and transfer. These accounts must be maintained with financial system companies with a risk rating of no less than B+, or with Electronic Money Issuing Companies that participate in the Real-Time Gross Settlement System. Where the Acceptor is a financial system company and the merchant holds its account with that same entity, the funds may be credited directly to such account, provided that their identification and traceability are preserved..
- Fee and commission transparency: Payment Infrastructure Administrators must publish interchange fees on their websites, while Payment Acceptors must publish the fees or commissions applicable to their merchants, according to the corresponding segment and type of payment instrument. This information must be updated at intervals of no more than one quarter. In addition, charges to merchants must correspond to the cost of the service and be based on objective, verifiable, proportional, and non-discriminatory criteria..
- Clear contractual terms: Contracts between Payment Acceptors and merchants must specify, among other matters, the terms of the service, commissions and charges, and the Settlement to Merchants deadlines. Fee changes must be communicated at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance, unless they are favorable to the merchant. In the event of disagreement with the change, the merchant may terminate the contract without penalty before the change takes effect. In addition, terms that restrict a merchant from contracting with other Payment Acceptors, or that make fees, discounts, or incentives conditional on the exclusive use of a single Acceptor, are prohibited.
- Merchant assessment and Settlement to Merchants deadlines: Payment Acceptors must assess merchants before commencing the contractual relationship, in a manner proportional to the complexity of their operating model and with the aim of reducing the risks they may pose within the National Payment System. Settlement to Merchants must be made within the agreed deadlines, not exceeding 48 business hours following the transaction, subject to the exceptions provided in the Regulation. Where funds must be withheld, the Acceptor must inform the merchant of the withholding and its grounds by the following business
- Interoperability: Transactions involving Immediate Payments with Aliases or QR Codes must comply with the interoperability provisions issued by the BCRP.
- Sanctions: Infringements of the Regulation may be sanctioned with fines of up to twenty (20) UIT (Tax Units). For certain expressly specified infringements, such as granting access to other Acceptors while acting as an indirect participant, internally processing certain prohibited transactions, or incurring certain breaches attributable to Administrators, an initial fine of twenty (20) UIT applies. If the situation is not cured within ten (10) business days, the fine increases to fifty (50) UIT and, if it persists after a second period of ten (10) business days, the provision of the service is suspended.
The Regulation will enter into force on January 1, 2027. The BCRP may grant compliance periods of up to 90 calendar days to entities that so request, provided that they submit the appropriate supporting documentation and a work plan with measurable milestones.