Legal risks of the Webmoney payment system
Jean Valjean decided to step back from the tradition of criminal-legal intimidation of system administrators. This time I will share the results of a little scientific research.
Habr - not a place for the publication of monographs. And therefore - quite telegraphically - about what risks are embedded in the elegant, but, in our opinion, extremely vulnerable concept of "electronic money" by WebMoney Transfer Ltd.
Thesis [WMT]:
“Title mark” (internal term of the system) WMR is an “electronic bearer check”
Antithesis [JeanValjean]:
“Electronic checks” do not exist. In the Russian legislation. Art. 149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for a non-documentary form of fixing rights only for registered and order securities. As you know, modern Russian law contains a departure from the international tradition of defining a check as an order paper: the Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not contain a mandatory requirement to indicate the name of the check holder on the check and allows the circulation of bearer checks. The “electronic bearer check”, by virtue of its name, is neither a registered nor an order security.
Thesis [WMT]:
In the absence of a special law governing settlements by checks, the basis for establishing internal regulations on the form of checks for credit institutions are the norms of Bank of Russia Regulation No. 222-P dated April 1, 2003 and Bank of Russia Regulation No. 2-P dated October 3, 2002 No. 2-P “On non-cash payments in the Russian Federation".
Antithesis [JeanValjean]:
The Regulation on checks approved by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, SNK of the USSR of November 6, 1929 (as amended by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of October 25, 86 No. 1272) is still in force. From the document it follows that the existence of a check is possible only in paper form: Art. 1 "... the amount must be written by hand."
Maybe the newspaper scribbler details of this document will cause a smile, but not the lawyer. There are a number of fairly old Soviet documents that are successfully operating and are still being applied. Including because they were adopted in the context of the participation of the USSR in international conventions (cf. "Provisions on a bill of exchange and promissory note" 1937 and Geneva Conventions).
For example, the Geneva Convention of 1931, which establishes the Uniform Law on Checks, also contains indications that the check is a paper document: Art. 21 - “holder holding a check”, Art. 37 "The drawer or holder may cross out the check ... Crossing out is carried out by means of two parallel lines on the front side of the check", etc.
Thesis:
The functioning of electronic payment systems does not violate the banking legislation of Russia.
Antithesis:
Electronic money is nothing more than records on the accounts of the rights of monetary claims of the owners of these accounts to an organization - a payment system that does not have a credit status. And therefore, the activity of such an organization carries risks associated with allegations of illegal banking activities: organization and implementation of non-cash payments, and, incidentally, the “emission” of “non-cash money”, more precisely, an increase in the money supply in circulation.
The functioning of Internet payment systems may also violate Art. 27 Federal Law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)”, which prohibits the issuance of monetary substitutes in the territory of the Russian Federation.
Question: Jean, do you use webmany yourself?
Yes, I pay for Skype and online purchases.
Question: And how abroad?
Europe is on the way to the migration of Internet payment systems towards the banking sector. USA - Non-credit organizations were allowed to issue “electronic money”. The National Bank of Ukraine, according to the press, following the recommendations of the European Central Bank, banned non-banks from issuing "electronic money" and introduced a number of additional restrictions. Singapore stands apart, which announced a state monopoly on the issue of "electronic money".
UPD
Question: And how can this really threaten WebMoney users?
I think that no. But in the place of the company's management, I would abandon the idea of “electronic checks”, no matter how seductive it may seem.
To be continued ...
Yours,
Internet consultant for Internet entrepreneurs, Jean Valjean
Habr - not a place for the publication of monographs. And therefore - quite telegraphically - about what risks are embedded in the elegant, but, in our opinion, extremely vulnerable concept of "electronic money" by WebMoney Transfer Ltd.
Thesis [WMT]:
“Title mark” (internal term of the system) WMR is an “electronic bearer check”
Antithesis [JeanValjean]:
“Electronic checks” do not exist. In the Russian legislation. Art. 149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for a non-documentary form of fixing rights only for registered and order securities. As you know, modern Russian law contains a departure from the international tradition of defining a check as an order paper: the Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not contain a mandatory requirement to indicate the name of the check holder on the check and allows the circulation of bearer checks. The “electronic bearer check”, by virtue of its name, is neither a registered nor an order security.
Thesis [WMT]:
In the absence of a special law governing settlements by checks, the basis for establishing internal regulations on the form of checks for credit institutions are the norms of Bank of Russia Regulation No. 222-P dated April 1, 2003 and Bank of Russia Regulation No. 2-P dated October 3, 2002 No. 2-P “On non-cash payments in the Russian Federation".
Antithesis [JeanValjean]:
The Regulation on checks approved by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, SNK of the USSR of November 6, 1929 (as amended by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of October 25, 86 No. 1272) is still in force. From the document it follows that the existence of a check is possible only in paper form: Art. 1 "... the amount must be written by hand."
Maybe the newspaper scribbler details of this document will cause a smile, but not the lawyer. There are a number of fairly old Soviet documents that are successfully operating and are still being applied. Including because they were adopted in the context of the participation of the USSR in international conventions (cf. "Provisions on a bill of exchange and promissory note" 1937 and Geneva Conventions).
For example, the Geneva Convention of 1931, which establishes the Uniform Law on Checks, also contains indications that the check is a paper document: Art. 21 - “holder holding a check”, Art. 37 "The drawer or holder may cross out the check ... Crossing out is carried out by means of two parallel lines on the front side of the check", etc.
Thesis:
The functioning of electronic payment systems does not violate the banking legislation of Russia.
Antithesis:
Electronic money is nothing more than records on the accounts of the rights of monetary claims of the owners of these accounts to an organization - a payment system that does not have a credit status. And therefore, the activity of such an organization carries risks associated with allegations of illegal banking activities: organization and implementation of non-cash payments, and, incidentally, the “emission” of “non-cash money”, more precisely, an increase in the money supply in circulation.
The functioning of Internet payment systems may also violate Art. 27 Federal Law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)”, which prohibits the issuance of monetary substitutes in the territory of the Russian Federation.
Question: Jean, do you use webmany yourself?
Yes, I pay for Skype and online purchases.
Question: And how abroad?
Europe is on the way to the migration of Internet payment systems towards the banking sector. USA - Non-credit organizations were allowed to issue “electronic money”. The National Bank of Ukraine, according to the press, following the recommendations of the European Central Bank, banned non-banks from issuing "electronic money" and introduced a number of additional restrictions. Singapore stands apart, which announced a state monopoly on the issue of "electronic money".
UPD
Question: And how can this really threaten WebMoney users?
I think that no. But in the place of the company's management, I would abandon the idea of “electronic checks”, no matter how seductive it may seem.
To be continued ...
Yours,
Internet consultant for Internet entrepreneurs, Jean Valjean