Now you can make a fixed term in the supermarket

Until today, it was unthinkable to create a fixed-term contract in a supermarket, obtain a personal credit at a gas station or open a current account in a pharmacy. but it will soon be possible.

It happens that the central bank on Wednesday approved a regulation facilitating the access of people to the banking system. This will mainly benefit the inhabitants of small towns and villages where there are not even ATMs.

The standard allows for the execution of banking transactions through complementary agencies, usually called correspondent banks, which will begin to be felt in Argentina in 2019.

These correspondent banks can be established through agreements between banks and different networks of companies or entities, such as gas stations, supermarkets, pharmacies or state mail.

"Through this measure, citizens will have a complementary alternative, simple and fast to access the services provided by a bank," said the monetary authority.

This will allow users, among other operations, to open an account, take out a futures contract, make their payments and obtain loans where they generally carry out daily activities.

This regulation will particularly benefit people living far from bank branches. Precisely, the decision is to achieve greater financial inclusion.

In this sense, the Central Bank had already authorized the withdrawal of cash in supermarkets and other businesses, a growing operation in recent months.

International experiences – in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia or Peru – have shown that these correspondent banks have opened new channels of access to the financial system.

As a result, banking services are indeed becoming inclusive, which improves the living conditions of the less favored sections of the population, as well as the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Correspondents minimize transaction costs, maximize financial intermediation and promote the formalization of the economy.

In addition, the opening of these points of access to the financial system will also improve the payment processes of the more than 14 million benefits that ANSES achieves each month.

In thousands of cases, beneficiaries live in areas where access to the banking system is difficult due to the absence of paying agents, for example in small towns, localities or localities .

The regulation also establishes the conditions under which correspondent banks must act. The responsibility for the activities of each new "mouth" will be in the hands of the bank with which the trade has signed the agreement.

This clearly includes compliance with minimum security standards and other requirements to ensure that the provision of banking services is carried out in an appropriate and transparent manner.