From November 1, banks and payment apps that offer money-market funds must show each fund’s return over the last seven days as an annual rate, after fees, the central bank ruled.
Money-market funds are investment funds that many banks and wallets offer so customers can earn a return on pesos kept in the app; each customer holds shares in the fund. The rule covers banks and the companies that offer digital payment accounts, and applies to every digital channel where the fund is sold: online banking, banking apps and wallets.
The app must show the change in the fund’s share price over the last seven days, expressed as a nominal annual rate (known by its Spanish initials, TNA), which is the past week’s gain scaled up to a full year. The rate must be net of the fund’s management and custody fees. The app must also show the fund’s identifying details, a description and the share class. The information must be easy and direct to reach, large enough to see, and placed next to the option to invest and wherever the fund’s return is shown.
For users, every fund will be measured over the same seven days and after the same kinds of fees, so rates can be compared between apps. The figure is a snapshot: it is not a fixed rate and does not promise the same return over the next twelve months. The funds remain outside bank deposit protection, and banks must still tell customers that fund shares are not deposits and that the bank cannot guarantee the value of the money invested or its return.
A second change also starts on November 1. Apps run by a third party that rely on another company’s payment account must show that provider’s commercial name, clearly and legibly, on the screen that shows the account balance. The central bank set both rules in Communication “A” 8497, dated October 22.