Section Five Information Disclosure

Section Five Information Disclosure

Disclosure statement

Article 39

A Card Issuer that proposes to enter into a Credit or Charge Card Agreement with a Cardholder must provide an Initial Disclosure. The Disclosure must be clear and easy to understand and highlight the terms and conditions which may affect the Cardholder’s rights and obligations, and the Card Issuer must use any format specified by Saudi Central Bank from time to time for that purpose.
Furthermore, the specific terms contained under Article 74 dealing with ’account statement errors/disputed transactions' must be included in the Initial Disclosure. An Initial Disclosure is deemed to be provided to the Cardholder by any of the following:

a)	On the day recorded as the time of sending by the authorized Card Issuer’s server, if provided by electronic means, and the Cardholder has consented to receive it by electronic means.
b)	On the day recorded as the time of sending by a fax machine, if provided by fax and the Cardholder has consented to receive it by fax.
c)	2 weeks after the postmark date, if provided by registered mail.
d)	When it is received, in any other case.

Article 40

The Initial Disclosure must include the following information as a minimum:

a.	The initial Credit limit, if it is known at the time the disclosure is made.
b.	The APR and the annual 'Term Cost'.
c.	The nature and amounts of any recurring non-Term Cost’ charges.
d.	The minimum payment during each payment period and the method for determining it.
e.	Each period for which a statement of account is to be provided.
f.	The date on and after which term cost accrues and information concerning any Grace Period that applies.
g.	The particulars of all fees and charges.
h.	Information about any Optional Feature in relation to the Credit or Charge Card Agreement that the Cardholder accepts in writing, the fees for each Optional Feature and the conditions under which the Cardholder may cancel that feature.
i.	The manner in which the term cost is calculated.
j.	If the Cardholder is required by the Credit or Charge Card Agreement to pay the outstanding balance in full on receiving a statement of account:
		1.	Mention of that requirement
		2.	The Grace Period by the end of which the Cardholder must have paid that balance and,
		3.	The penalty fees charged on any outstanding balance not paid when due.
k.	Information on all applicable charges including reporting of Default cases to a Licensed Credit Information Bureau or appropriate Regulatory Authorities as per Saudi Central Bank’s approval.
l.	An illustrative example of calculations depicting sample conversion of foreign currency charges into Saudi Riyal, showing the foreign exchange conversion fees used when the Card Issuer converts a foreign transaction back to Saudi Riyal. The calculations should include one foreign currency purchase transaction and one Cash Advance transaction at an ATM/POS outside of Saudi Arabia.

Article 41
An Initial Disclosure may be part of a Credit or Charge Card Agreement or an application for a Credit or Charge Card or may be an annex to the foregoing documents. The Card Issuer is required to obtain a signed acknowledgement from the Cardholder of having read and received the Initial Disclosure. This signed acknowledgement must be retained, even after the Cardholder closes their Credit or Charge Card account.

Article 42
If the Cardholder consents, the Initial Disclosure may be provided by electronic means that the Cardholder can retrieve and retain.

Article 43
If the initial Credit limit is not known when the Initial Disclosure is made, the Card Issuer must disclose it in:
a. The first statement of account provided to the Cardholder; or

b. In a separate statement that the Cardholder receives on or before the date of the first statement of account.

General disclosures

Article 44
As part of the Initial Disclosure, Card Issuers must include a summary covering the basic information regarding the Credit or Charge Card product and the main provisions of the Credit or Charge Card Agreement, in a language clear to the Cardholder and in accordance with the format stipulated by Saudi Central Bank. The Cardholder's receipt of such summary shall be documented in the Cardholder record (Annex 2).

Article 45
If a Credit or Charge Card agreement is amended, the Card Issuer must, at least 30 Calendar Days before the amendment takes effect, disclose to the Cardholder, any changes to the agreement, except changes to the following:
a. An extension to the Grace Period.

b. A decrease in fees and charges.

c. A change concerning information about any optional service in relation to the Credit or Charge Card Agreement.

Article 46
The Card Issuer shall mail or deliver to the Cardholder, the monthly account statement at least three weeks prior to due date. Where the Cardholders agree to receive their monthly statement by electronic channel, the Card Issuers may not send the physical statements. The Card Issuer that fails to satisfy such requirement shall forfeit the right to collect any additional fees as a result of such failure.

Article 47
A Card Issuer should include specific warning statements in all Agreements, terms and conditions, application forms and Advertisements, in red colors stating clearly the potential consequences for the Cardholder in;
a) Not meeting the Credit or Charge Card conditions as confirmed in the Agreement.

b) Only making the minimum repayments each month.

Regular account statements

Article 48

A Card Issuer must provide Cardholders with regular monthly statements that contain the following information:

a.	Details of Credit Limit: includes approved Credit limit, available and outstanding balances.
b.	Previous balance: The outstanding account balance at the beginning of the account statement cycle.
c.	Purchases or Advances: Identification of transaction and its merchant description including the date of transaction and the transaction amount in Saudi Riyal or its equivalent if it's in foreign currency.
d.	Details of fees or term cost charged to the account, and the dates when those amounts were posted to the account, including fees for 'Optional Features' purchased by the Cardholder.
e.	The amount that the Cardholder must pay, on or before a specified due date.
f.	The total sum for payments and the total sum for purchases, total sum for Credit advances and total sum for fees.
g.	Any payments charged or refunds to the account during the account statement cycle, including the amount and the date of payment and or refund.
h.	If the term cost has changed during the account statement cycle, each periodic rate used to calculate the term cost and the value of balances to which it will be applied shall be disclosed. If different periodic rates were used for different types of transactions, the types of transactions to which such rates are applied shall be disclosed.
i.	The amount of the balance to which a periodic rate was applied. The manner in which the balance was determined shall be disclosed.
j.	The closing date of the account statement cycle on which the balance becomes due and outstanding.
k.	The date on which the new outstanding balance of the Credit or Charge Card must be paid fully or partially to avoid term cost and any applicable penalty charges.
l.	The address or telephone number to be used for notification of account statement errors or any other enquiries that a Cardholder may have on the account statement.
m.	The time period allowed to the Cardholder to verify the accuracy of transactions as annotated in the account statement after which the account statement is binding. This period shall not be less than 30 Calendar days as of the date of sending the statement.

Disclosure of fees, commissions and charges

Article 49
Details of foreign currency transactions, including conversion rate, fees and all charges levied on the foreign currency transaction, must be displayed on the transaction record in the Cardholder’s monthly statement, in the manner stipulated by Saudi Central Bank.

Article 50
If a Card Issuer offers to defer or skip a payment under a Credit or Charge Card Agreement, the Card Issuer must, with the offer, disclose in a prominent manner whether term cost will continue to accrue or if any additional charges will accrue during any period covered by the offer, if the offer is accepted.

Article 51
The Card Issuer is required to promptly advise its Cardholders of any changes in their Credit or Charge Cards agreement by giving them at least 30 Calendar Days prior notice advance notice.

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