In connection with numerous questions to the General Inspector of Financial Information (hereinafter the GIFI) concerning obligations arising from the Act of 1 March 2018 on counteracting money laundering and financing of terrorism (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1115), hereinafter referred to as the AML/CFT Act,  on reporting of the information on:

1. accepted payment or executed disbursement of funds exceeding the equivalent of EUR 15,000;

I hereby inform that this obligation concerns only the transactions of accepted payment in cash (to the cash office of the obligated institution or to the payment account held by the reporting obligated institution) or executed disbursement in cash (from the cash office of the reporting obligated institution or from the payment account held by the reporting obligated institution). Within the meaning of the Act payment takes place only in two cases:

 

1. 1. The customer delivers funds in cash to the obligated institution. They are deposited on the payment account held by the obligated institution accepting the payment (which is a payment service provider) regardless of whether the payment account is held for the customer making a payment or another entity. In this case the information on the payment submitted to the GIFI - in accordance with the published description and dictionaries for templates of electronic documents - contains the designation of the transaction type code = ‘02’ and the payment account number which the funds have been paid into.
   2. The customer provides the obligated institution with funds in cash and the obligated institution’s cash office accepts them in cash. In this case the information on the payment submitted to the GIFI -  in accordance with the published description and dictionaries for templates of electronic documents - contains the designation of the transaction type code = ‘12’ and the payment account number which the funds have been paid into remains blank.

 

Similarly, disbursement takes place only in two cases:

 

1. 3. The customer receives from the obligated institution funds in cash which were deposited on the payment account held by the obligated institution making disbursement (which is a payment service provider) regardless of whether the payment account is held for the customer collecting the funds or for another entity (who authorised a person collecting the disbursed funds). In this case the information on disbursement submitted to the GIFI - in accordance with the published description and dictionaries for templates of electronic documents - contains the designation of the transaction type code = ‘01’ and the payment account number from which the funds have been disbursed;
   4. The customer receives funds in cash from the cash office of the obligated institution. In this case the information on disbursement submitted to the GIFI -  in accordance with the published description and dictionaries for templates of electronic documents - contains the designation of the transaction type code = ‘11’ and the payment account number from which the funds have been disbursed remains blank.

In particular: the common understanding of the expression “a payment into account” stipulating the transfer of funds into an account or stipulating deposition of funds into an account held in the obligated institution other than that accepting the payment, actually refer to the transfer of funds (which, in connection with this, is reported as the transfer of the institution making it). Similarly, presenting foreign currency in cash for the exchange in a currency exchange bureau does not constitute  payment of funds (and collection of the exchanged foreign currency in cash does not constitute disbursement of funds) - but it is a part of the purchase/sale transaction of foreign currency which is subject to reporting by the institution executing it in a form appropriate for this kind of transaction (Article 72(3) of the AML/CFT Act).

 

At the same time it should be pointed out that paying the transaction through a payment/credit card does not constitute disbursement of cash.

 

Furthermore, carrying out the transaction partially by funds in cash and partially in another way (e.g. by a payment card, a transfer, etc.) makes it necessary to determine grounds for reporting of cash payment. Pursuant to Article 72(1)(1) of the AML/CFT Act the obligated institution provides information on accepted (cash) payment and not on the purchase transaction or the conclusion of other agreement related thereto.

 

For example, when payments for goods worth PLN 80,000 - 20,000 were carried out by cash in the seller’s cash office and PLN 60,000 was transferred to the seller’s payment account. The seller is not obliged to submit information on the payment of PLN 80,000 - the obligation concerns providing information on accepted payment of cash exceeding EUR 15,000 and in this case the seller accepted PLN 20,000 in cash, i.e. the amount is below the threshold specified in the Act.

 

The circumstances described do not change other (arising from others than Article 72 of the Act) obligations of the obligated institution - in particular the “division’ of payment into “below threshold” value (e.g. EUR 14,999) and the rest disbursed by e.g. transfer may constitute of on the premises taken into account in identifying the risk related to the transaction and assessment in terms of necessity of sending a notification referred to in Article 74 of the Act to the GIFI.

 

2. executed transfer of funds exceeding the equivalent of EUR 15,000;

I hereby inform that this obligation concerns only submission of information by the institution executing a transfer (carrying out the customer’s instruction or order in this regard, except for the information on transactions referred to in Article 72(2) of the AML/CFT Act) - thus, it concerns only payment service providers defined in Article 3 point 5 of Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council, hereinafter referred to as the Regulation.

 

Furthermore, I would like to inform that the AML/CFT Act does not impose the obligation of providing the GIFI with the information on the so-called “batch file transfer” defined for the purposes of the above-mentioned Regulation in Article 3(10) on the obligated institutions. In the situation in which one of transfers of funds (within the meaning of Article 9 point 9 of the above-mentioned Regulation) making up the so-called “batch file transfer” exceeds the amount of EUR 15,000, the obligated institution provides the GIFI with the information on executed transfer of funds in accordance with standard principles in force for the transfer of funds under Article 72(1)(2) of the AML/CFT Act.

 

Examples of payments/ disbursements in the case of which the obligated institution provides the GIFI with the information under Article 72(1)( 1) of the AML/CFT Act, i.e. concerning accepted payment/ disbursement of funds:

 

1. information on (cash) payments submitted to the GIFI containing the designation of transaction type code = ‘02’ and the number of the payment account which the funds have been paid into:

• customer A delivers funds in cash to the bank X and they are deposited (in accordance with customer A’s order) on a payment account held by the bank X for customer A,
• customer B delivers funds in cash to the bank X and they are deposited (in accordance with customer B’s order) on a payment account held by the bank X for customer A,
• customer C of the payment institution PX holding payment accounts for its customers delivers funds in cash and they are deposited (in accordance with customer C’ s order) on a payment account held by PX for customer C,
• etc.;

 

2. information on (cash) payments submitted to the GIFI and containing the designation of transaction type code = ‘12’ in which the payment account number into which the funds were paid remains blank;

• the customer provides the entrepreneur selling goods with funds in cash and the entrepreneur’ cash office accepts them in cash as the payment for goods,
• the customer pays with funds in cash for tokens in the casino,
• a foundation accepts a donation in cash,
• an association accepts a donation in cash,
• an investment fund accepts the payment in cash for purchasing units or investment certificates,
• an investment company accepts the payment in cash for purchasing financial instruments,
• an insurance institution accepts a payment of an insurance contribution in cash in its cash office,
• an economic entity providing a service of exchanging between virtual currencies and means of payment accepts the payment in cash as the payment for purchasing the ownership of virtual currency,
• an economic entity providing a service of establishing a legal person accepts the payment in cash as the payment for establishing a legal person,
• a loan institution accepts the loan repayment in cash,
• the obligated institution accepts funds in cash to the deposit in the cash office from the customer;
• etc.;

 

3. information on (cash) disbursements submitted to the GIFI containing the designation of transaction type code = ‘01’ and the number of the payment account from which the funds have been disbursed:

• bank X pays the funds in cash to customer A on the basis of the disposal issued by A to bank X in reference to the funds which were deposited on a payment account held by bank A for customer X,
• payment institution PX pays the funds in cash to customer B on the basis of the disposal issued by customer A to payment institution PX in reference to the funds which were deposited on a payment account held by PX for customer A,
• payment institution PX pays the funds in cash to customer A on the basis of the disposal issued by customer A to payment institution PX in reference to the funds which were deposited on a payment account held by PX for customer A,
• etc.;

4. Information on (cash) disbursements submitted to the GIFI containing the designation of transaction type code = ‘11’ in which the number of the payment account from which the funds have been disbursed remains blank:

• the customer accepts funds in cash from an entrepreneur to whom he sold goods,
• the customer in the casino accepts funds in cash in exchange for tokens,
• a foundation provides support in cash to its ward,
• an association makes a payment in cash for its collaborator,
• an investment fund pays the funds in cash to its customer purchasing units or investment certificates,
• an investment company pays the funds in cash from the sale of financial instruments to its customer,
• an insurance institution pays a sum insured in cash in its cash office to the beneficiary,
• an economic entity providing a service of exchanging between virtual currencies and means of payment pays the funds in cash to its customers as the payment for virtual currency units,
• a loan institution executes a granted loan through the transfer of funds in cash to the customer.
• the obligated institution reimburse the customer’s cash funds accepted to the deposit in the cash office,
• etc.;