Transactions or payments made with electronic money will have a new limit, as provided by the Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and AFP (SBS). This measure will apply to those accounts stored on media such as mobile wallets (such as Yape or Plin) and prepaid cards.
The measure was ordered to reduce exposure to money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
The change will consist in that, as of January 1, 2023, the transactions must be of a maximum of 1.5 times the minimum vital remuneration, that is, S/1,547.5. The figure is below the S/3,000 that still make up the current limit.
Meanwhile, the balance of all electronic money accounts belonging to the same owner, in the same issuing company, cannot be more than three minimum wages (S/3,075). With the previous rule, the amount was S/10,000. As for the accumulated transactions in the same issuing company, they cannot exceed 6 RMV (S/6,150). This amount is higher than the S/15,000 that was allowed before.
The former head of SBS, Juan José Marthans, considered that “the intention is correct”, but that transactions through this channel are still “incipient and primary” in the market.
“There are other channels that the non-legal front uses for money laundering. Our political segment is an expert in that and has not used electronic wallets, ”he explained.
The former head of the SBS also said that in Peru there is a low level of banking that also promotes money laundering.
He highlighted the work of the Financial Intelligence Unit in the fight against this crime and stressed that more proposals are needed.
