Banca Transilvania S.A.
Calea Dorobanților 30-36, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County
J1993004155124
RO 5022670
R.B. - P.J.R. 12 - 019 - 18.02.1999
SWIFT: BTRLRO22
Subscribed and paid-up share capital: 9,168,798,460 lei
Useful information
Also, we inform you that, starting with the date 21.06.2010, Government Emergency Ordinance 50/09.06.2010 regarding consumer credit contracts entered into force, a normative act that transposes into Romanian legislation the provisions of the European Directive no. 2008/48/CE.
We invite you to consult the updated form of the documents listed above, as well as the credit contracts related to the credit line facility granted on the current account of an individual (overdraft) and credit cards intended for individuals, by accessing the links below, or at any Banca Transilvania branch. We take this opportunity to inform you that you will receive a copy of the aforementioned contracts - free of charge - at any Banca Transilvania location.
For additional information, we are waiting for you at any Banca Transilvania branch or we are at your disposal at the Email address contact@bancatransilvania.ro.
From 27 January 2018 comes into force Law 258/2017 which addresses 3 aspects: the comparability of commissions, account mobility, and access to banking services for financially vulnerable persons.
1. In Banca Transilvania, this will be applied as follows: for individual clients, with a distinction clearbetween:
- Financially vulnerable persons – definitely those persons whose monthly income does not exceed the equivalent of 60% of the average gross salary in the economy , predicted in the last macroeconomic forecast, autumn, or whose incomes do not exceed this threshold for 6 consecutive months . This means a gross income of 5.172 lei/month.
- Rest of the clients natural persons.
2. It is introduced a new terminology:
- The current account is called "payment account";
- Services available through the payment account are divided into:
- Basic services: (a) opening, managing and closing payment account; (b) depositing funds; (c) cash withdrawals; (d) payments.
- Other services.
3.Distinct commission rules for the payment account with basic services applicable to financially vulnerable natural persons.
4. The competent authority authorized to ensure the application and compliance with the law: ANPC.
5.Current account mobility procedure: operations/ actions/ additional documents to be used, completed and transmitted between parties.
- Account switching or account switching servicerepresents the transfer from one bank to another, at the request of the individual client, either of the information related to all or some of the scheduled payment orders for credit transfers, recurring direct debits and collections through recurring credit transfers, executed in a payment account, or of the possible positive balance of the payment account from one payment account to another or both, with or without closing the old payment account. In case a client requests such a service, they must complete a dedicated application at the bank where they wish to transfer their account, after which the recipient bank will contact the bank where the account was originally opened and request the communication of specific information for processing the request.
Starting from October 31, 2016, Banca Transilvania implemented the SEPA regulations regarding foreign currency payments.
SEPA = Single Euro Payments Area (Single Euro Payments Area)
Context:
- starting with 18 July 2016, Banca Transilvania receives collections in EUR through the SEPA system;
- starting with 31 October 2016, Banca Transilvania sends through EUROSENT all SEPA payments in EUR and STEP2 all SEPA payments in EUR.
1. What is a SEPA payment?
SEPA payment is that payment which:
- it is in EUR;
- is ordered in a “normal” regime (therefore without urgency);
- has as beneficiary bank a bank from one of the 32 countries in the SEPA area (the list of countries is detailed at the end of this FAQ).
Any payment that meets these conditions will be settled through a special system, without going through correspondent banks.
2. Is there a minimum / maximum limit for amounts paid through SEPA?
No.
3. Will it still be possible to make urgent payments, in EUR, in SEPA countries, under the SHA commission regime?
Yes, however these will not be classified as SEPA payments and will be settled through a different system than the payments subject to SEPA regulations.
4. What are the main features of a SEPA payment made from BT?
- Value date T+1, that is, the money reaches the beneficiary client's account the next working day. If a client needs the money to reach them on the same day, they will make an urgent currency payment, exactly like now, which will go through the swift clearing system, with correspondent banks.
- Because there are no more correspondent banks in SEPA clearing, for these payments the corresponding bank commission will no longer be retained .
- It is ordered with SHA, because by legislation it can no longer be otherwise;
- The clearing system in EUR of Transfond is used: EUROSENT;
5. Are there differences compared to the market?
No, because the legislation is the same.
6. What happens to foreign currency payments ordered by customers via BT 24 or BT Ultra?
Those payments that qualify as SEPA will be settled automatically through the EUROSENT and STEP2 system.
There is a legal constraint on the type of file that must be used by clients who import files, but these are particular cases, we have few clients and all will be contacted separately.
7. What are the regulated characteristics of SEPA payments?
- the payment processing is done automatically, without manual intervention
- mandatory identification elements: IBAN codes for customers' accounts and BIC codes for the identification of payment service providers
- the currency of payment is euro
- the beneficiary is located in one of the 32 countries in the SEPA area
- the payer's account can be opened in euros or in another currency, when the payer's bank offers automatic currency conversion services
- the amount to be paid must be fully credited to the beneficiary's account
- there is no limit to the payment amount
- the maximum reimbursement period is one working day
- the standard for payment messages is the standard UNIFI ISO 20022 (XML) Credit Transfer
8. What is the legal framework regulating these payments?
- Law no. 209/08.11.2019 on payment services and for the amendment of certain normative acts
- Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 laying down technical and commercial requirements applicable to credit transfer and direct debit operations in euro, as well as other internal regulations in force
9. Which are the countries in the SEPA area:
Member states of the European Union:
- Eurozone countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Slovenia
- Non-euro area countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden
- Member States of the European Economic Area (European Economic Area – EEA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
- The states that are not members of the European Economic Area: Switzerland, Monaco, and the United Kingdom
SEPA will also expand to the following territories, considered part of the European Union (Art. 299 Treaty of Rome): Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Reunion, Gibraltar, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla and the Aland Islands.
This reporting channel is not intended for commercial complaints, which are processed through separate dedicated channels in accordance with applicable regulations.
Dedicated reporting platform (available by accessing the internet page https://bancatransilvania.whistlelink.com) allows GFBT personnel and persons not belonging to the GFBT group to communicate information obtained in a professional context, with the purpose of preventing the materialization of potential events or to disclose details regarding events already materialized, which pertain to the conduct of GFBT activities and/or the management of the entities or their territorial units and which constitute violations of internal regulations and/or legal provisions, including the legal provisions set out in Annex 2 of Law 361/2022;
All reports are treated confidentially and in accordance with applicable regulations.
Persons making a report are granted protection against the risk of retaliation, provided by the legislation in force.
Any abuse of the reporting system may expose the reporting person to disciplinary sanctions or criminal prosecution. However, the good faith use of this system will not expose the reporting person to any sanction, even if the facts later prove to be inaccurate or do not give rise to any prosecution. For any additional details, please refer to the GFBT whistleblowing policy (available here).
I confirm that I have read and understood the information related to the GFBT alert channel and personal data protection.
FATCA CRS Guide
Broadly speaking, FATCA - CRS legislation obliges Banca Transilvania to correctly determine the tax residence of its account holders (both individuals and entities). Furthermore, Banca Transilvania has the obligation to report to ANAF relevant information regarding financial accounts held by persons who are not tax residents in Romania.
Thus, Banca Transilvania, together with all other financial institutions in Romania, is obligated to analyze the financial accounts they manage and apply fiscal diligence measures to identify reportable accounts held by individuals fiscally resident in the USA, the European Union, or other countries signatory to the CRS agreement. For accounts identified as reportable, the Bank reports the relevant information to the tax authorities in Romania. As a next step, the tax authorities in Romania distribute this information to the foreign authorities whose residents appear in the reporting of financial institutions.
Considering that Banca Transilvania complies with the legislation in force, it has implemented a series of forms through which its clients provide information regarding tax residence and tax identification number, following which Banca Transilvania will apply reasonableness tests on the tax information presented by its clients.
FATCA is an acronym for “Law on the tax compliance of foreign accounts” issued by the American authorities. This normative act requires financial institutions registered outside the US borders to identify information regarding clients and business partners in order to determine whether they meet the necessary criteria to be reported to the American tax authorities (IRS – Internal Revenue Service).
Banca Transilvania registered at Internal Revenue Service as a participating institution, with the status Registered Deemed Compliant FFI - Lead of an Expanded Affiliated Group. The identification number (Global Intermediary Identification Number - GIIN) of Transilvania Bank is 4ID1WZ.00000.LE.642.
Also, to validate the status of a FATCA participating institution, Banca Transilvania makes available to its partners form W8-BEN-E filled in.
Similar to FATCA, CRS (Common Reporting Standard) is a global standard regarding the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities, concerning financial accounts. The CRS framework allows tax authorities from the signatory countries to receive information about financial assets held in other countries by their residents, the framework being implemented at the initiative OECD.
GIIN (Global Intermediary Identification Number) is a global identification number assigned to a financial institution located outside the United States, which proves that it is a FATCA participating institution.
Represents a notion that allows the determination of a country’s competence to tax the income earned by its tax residents. As a general rule, for individuals, the tax residence is linked to the country of the domicile/residence address or the center of vital interests. For legal entities, the tax residence is linked to the country of registration/organization or the place of effective management. Each jurisdiction has its own rules for defining tax residence, and under special circumstances, it is possible for a person to have multiple tax residences.
In particular, in the case where a natural person has a residence permit (temporary/permanent) in a country, it does not automatically mean that they are a tax resident in that country, since tax residency is not determined by the country of employment or the country where the salary tax is paid.
Diplomatic persons, government officials and military personnel are, in general, tax residents in the jurisdiction of the country from which they come.
Specifically, in the case of Romania, the determination of tax residency for individuals is carried out by ANAF based on the criteria for determining tax residency in Romania, detailed in the material on the ANAF website "Guide for establishing tax residence".
In case the client does not have documents and does not know their tax residency status, more information can be found on the ANAF website in "FATCA CRS Guide".
Based on internal policies, Banca Transilvania cannot provide tax consultancy. Therefore, if there are any uncertainties regarding the determination of tax residency or the completion of the Bank's forms with FATCA CRS implications, please contact a tax consultant.
NIF/TIN means tax identification number or its functional equivalent, consisting of a unique combination of letters or numbers assigned by a jurisdiction to an individual or entity and used to identify the person for the purpose of applying the tax laws of that jurisdiction. In the case of Romania, the NIF issued by authorities is the CNP in the case of individuals and the CIF (tax identification code) in the case of legal entities.
To correctly and easily identify NIF/TIN, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides taxpayers with a guide for each country separately.
Why is the Tax Identification Number (TIN) important?
In order to comply with FATCA/CRS requirements, Banca Transilvania requests all clients, both at the opening of the business relationship and subsequently during its course, to declare their tax residency and the tax identification number (NIF/TIN) from the country of tax residence, both for account holders and for persons exercising control over passive entities. The purpose of the declaration regarding tax residency is to determine which accounts are subject to FATCA/CRS reporting. According to the definitions below, from the "Glossary of terms" section, an account subject to reporting is a financial account managed by Banca Transilvania and held by one or more reportable persons or by a passive entity with one or more reportable persons who exercise control.
As a rule, a passive-type entity is a legal person who obtains more than 50% passive income and is not a financial institution. In general, passive income is considered income obtained without the direct and continuous involvement of the person, namely obtained from dividends, interest, rents, insurance, real estate, etc. To facilitate the identification of the category to which clients belong, ANAF has published on its website the list of CAEN codes that identify a potential passive entity or a financial institution.
Going further, Banca Transilvania applies tests on the reasonableness of the information declared by its clients, to ensure the execution of correct and complete reporting. In the case of a declaration that does not pass the reasonableness test, Banca Transilvania takes steps to obtain a valid self-declaration or a reasonable explanation and the related documents.
Also, customers commit to immediately inform Banca Transilvania regarding any change in circumstances that affects the status of tax resident or that causes the information initially declared or during the data update procedures to become incorrect or incomplete.
The legal basis for applying tax diligence measures and reporting information related to non-resident taxpayers' accounts is:
- Directive 2014/107/EU the Council of 9 December 2014 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation (DAC 2), transposed into Law no. 207/2015 on the Tax Procedure Code, with subsequent amendments and completions;
- The multilateral agreement of the competent authorities for the automatic exchange of information regarding financial accounts, ratified by Law no. 70/2016 (CRS);
- Agreement between Romania and the United States of America for the improvement of international tax compliance and for the implementation of FATCA (FATCA Agreement), ratified by Law no. 233/2015;
- Order of the ANAF president no. 503/2016 in order to publish the Agreement between the competent authorities of Romania and the United States of America regarding the improvement of tax compliance and the implementation of FATCA;
- Order of the ANAF President no. 1711/2022 for the approval of the model and content of the forms used by reporting financial institutions in order to comply with the obligations provided for in art. 62 para. (1) and art. 291 para. (4) of Law no. 207/2015 regarding the Fiscal Procedure Code;
- ANAF Guide regarding the obligation of reporting financial institutions to provide information for the financial accounts of non-resident taxpayers (DAC2/CRS/FATCA);
- Other relevant materials DAC2 CRS FATCA published on the ANAF website: Useful information ANAF.
According to the legal provisions (Fiscal Procedure Code), Banca Transilvania reports to the competent authority in Romania the following information regarding each account subject to reporting:
- Data for identifying the respective client: name, address, country of tax residence, tax identification number (TIN) and date and place of birth (in the case of an individual) of each person who is the subject of the reporting. In the case of an entity that is an account holder with one or more persons who exercise control and who are persons who are the subject of the reporting: name, address, state of residence and tax identification number (TIN) of the entity, as well as the name, address, state of residence, tax identification number (TIN) and date and place of birth of each person who is the subject of the reporting.
- Account number (e.g.: IBAN/ISIN).
- The balance or account value valid at the end of the relevant calendar year or at the end of another appropriate reporting period or, if the account was closed during the year or period in question, the account closure.
- In the case of custody accounts:
a) The total gross amount of interests, the total gross amount of dividends, and the total gross amount of other income generated in connection with the assets held in the account, in each case paid or credited to the respective account;
b) Total gross proceeds from the sale or redemption of financial assets paid or credited to the account during the calendar year or another appropriate reporting period related to which Banca Transilvania acted as custodian, broker, representative or any other kind of agent of the account holder.
- In the case of any deposit account, the total gross amount of interest paid.
General business conditions
- Part I – General business conditions of BT applicable to Natural Persons
Section I.2 Definitions
• Adding definition ATM (Automated Teller Machine)
• Change definition inactive client, certain products that define the inactive client have been highlighted - Part II – Banking products and services dedicated to individuals
Section II.3 – General conditions of use for debit & credit cards intended for individuals
• Physical McLaren, Untold and minor cards have been added in the cards section - Section II.4 – Terms and conditions of the SMS Alert service
• The terms and conditions of the SMS Alert service have been reformulated - Section II.6 – Terms and conditions for using and conducting banking transactions through the BT Pay Web internet banking service
• The terms and conditions for the use and execution of banking transactions through the BT Pay Web internet banking service have been reformulated
• Mentions referring to BT 24 services, BT 24 Web and Neo BT were removed - these services have been decommissioned.
