The following activities, linked or related to the provision or management of payment methods as defined in Article 12 of Regulation No. 03/16/CEMAC/UMAC/CM, are considered payment services such as:
- Credit institutions as defined by the Convention of January 17, 1992, on the harmonization of banking regulations in the Central African States;
- Microfinance institutions as defined by Regulation No. 01/02/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC/CM of April 13, 2002, concerning the conditions for carrying out and monitoring microfinance activities in the CEMAC region;
- The Public Treasury and postal check services, subject to the specificities related to their status;
- Other approved institutions.
At the customer's request, the payment service provider will return any funds received for the provision of payment services, at any time and at face value.
Refunds are made in CFA francs, in cash, by cheque or by transfer to a bank or payment account according to the customer's preference.
If the return is requested before the contract expires, the customer may request the return of all or part of the funds.
If the return is requested before the contract expires, the customer may request the return of all or part of the funds.
If the return is requested by the customer on or within one month of the contract expiry date, all funds held are returned.
When the refund is made by a distributor, the payment service provider assumes full responsibility for the smooth running of the transaction.
A fee may be charged for the return of funds if provided for in the contract and only in one of the following cases:
- The return of funds is requested before the contract expires;
- The return is requested more than one month after the expiry date of the contract.
At the end of a period of one month from the date of expiry of the contract, the payment service provider is obliged to transfer to an account opened for this purpose in its books, the funds not claimed by the customer, after deduction, where applicable, of the costs of return under the conditions set out in article 76 of the regulations.
The payment service provider shall keep an up-to-date list of customers who have not been reimbursed and the sums due. The keeping of the account referred to in the previous paragraph must comply with the identification and traceability rules laid down in Article 48 of this Regulation.
From the date of notification of withdrawal of authorisation or revocation of prior authorisation, the payment service provider:
- Inform without delay, by means appropriate to the nature of its customer base, any person holding an account in its books for the provision of payment services, of the cessation of its business and of the deadline for customers to withdraw the said funds;
- Shall, within two months, make any unused funds available to customers for return free of charge.
Upon expiry of the six-month period from the notification of the revocation of the prior authorization, the payment service provider shall transfer to the Public Treasury, after conversion, if necessary, the funds not claimed by the customers and not yet returned, indicating for each customer the identity, the reference of the payment instrument and the amount.
Upon completion of liquidation, the liquidator of the payment service provider transfers to the Treasury, after conversion if necessary, any unclaimed and unreturned funds from customers, specifying for each customer their identity, payment instrument reference, and amount.
The funds transferred to the Treasury are held in escrow in a special account. Customers may claim them no later than ten years after the date of their transfer to the Treasury by the payment service provider. After this claim period expires, the transferred but unclaimed funds become the property of the Treasury.