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Fees and commissions
Following is the fee model established by the Banco Central de Costa Rica for SINPE, also detailing how much and by which means these services are offered by each entity. As regards the digital signature services, this section also includes all authorized offices with their working schedules, physical address, and phone number for appointments.
SINPE’s fees have been established by BCCR in the System of Payments Regulations (Reglamento del Sistema de Pagos), Fees are charged on a monthly basis, both by service offered and by transaction. These charges are debited by BCCR to financial entities that have joined the System.
Type of fees
There are two types of fees:
- Membership fees and transaction fees are paid as a "toll", on account of using the technological platform.
- Destination entities charge a fee for using their technological platforms and resources. These fees are paid by the entity where a transaction originates, and therefore the receiving client should not be debited any amount.
Commissions for services
Commissions for services: Entities charge their customers commissions for providing SINPE services. This relationship is ruled by the principle of free competition and allows the entity that sends the transaction to obtain a profit margin, after covering the fixed costs mentioned above.
Free model
The fee model for SINPE operates as follows:
- A client originating a transaction (sending client) pays their financial entity for the transaction cost, consisting of the "SINPE fee" plus the "service fee" (comisión por servicios), and the amount is negotiated between such client and the entity.
- The rate established by the System of Payment Regulations is applied to every transaction, rather than as a percentage of the transacted amount. However, because free market competition applies, the entity providing the service may use this method after negotiating with the client.
- The fee established by an entity for its clients covers all transaction costs, and therefore, no other costs should be deducted afterward.
- Fees charged by the entities for the various SINPE services offered should be posted on the website, and such entities may charge a lesser or an equal amount than those fees, depending on their relationship with each client.
- The destination client must receive the total amount of the funds. In other words, the receiving entity should credit its client’s account the full amount of the operation, and therefore it may not deduct or charge any fee.
