Duties of a Bureau-de-Change Operator

What duties does an operator have after obtaining the licence?

Obtaining the bureau-de-change licence is not the end of the work – it is the beginning. Act No. 277/2013 Coll., on Bureau-de-Change Activity, together with the AML Act, imposes a whole range of ongoing duties on the operator, and the CNB actively inspects and sanctions their breaches.

1. Exchange rate list (Section 11)

An exchange rate list with the statutory particulars must be displayed at the premises – in particular the identification of the provider, the buy and sell rates for individual currencies and information on any fee. The list must be clear and legible and must not display better rates than those the office actually applies.

2. Pre-contractual information (Section 13)

Before concluding a transaction, the customer must be given, in text form, information about the provider, the exchange transaction (amount, rate, fee, amount to be paid out) and the customer's rights – including the right of withdrawal. The customer must be able to review the information before the exchange is carried out.

3. Transaction receipt (Section 14)

For every executed exchange transaction, the customer must be issued a receipt without undue delay, containing the statutory particulars, including the notice of the right to withdraw from the contract.

4. The customer's right of withdrawal (Sections 16a–16d)

The customer may withdraw from the exchange contract within 3 hours of its execution, at the premises where the transaction took place; the period runs only during the opening hours for the public. Where the transaction exceeds the equivalent of EUR 1,000, the standard right is limited to the part of the transaction corresponding to that threshold. For transactions via an exchange machine, the period is 3 business days; if an obstacle on the provider's side prevents withdrawal, the period extends up to 6 months. Refusing a valid reversal is treated by the CNB as a serious breach of the law.

5. Records and document retention (Section 16)

The operator must keep records of executed exchange transactions and retain documents and records under the Act on Bureau-de-Change Activity until the end of the sixth calendar year following the year in which they arose. Documentation under the AML Act is governed by its own, generally longer periods, so each type of document has to be assigned to the correct regime.

6. Notification duties towards the CNB

• premises – each premises must be notified to the CNB at least 3 business days before activity starts there; changes without undue delay;
• changes of data – changes of the data stated in the licence application must be notified to the CNB without undue delay;
• reporting – the quarterly/annual DEV (ČNB) 26-04 report on transaction volumes (more on the CNB reporting page).

7. AML duties

As an obliged entity under the AML Act, the operator must fulfil duties concerning customer identification and due diligence, the internal AML policy, risk assessment, reporting of suspicious transactions, training and screening – in detail on the AML obligations page.

How can we help?

We will set up your exchange office so that it fulfils all the above duties automatically and without stress – from the rate list through the documentation to regular reporting and AML. To make sure everything is in order, we recommend a legal audit of your exchange office.

Where to next?

• AML obligations of an exchange office
• CNB reporting for exchange offices
• Preparing for a CNB inspection
• Legal audit of an exchange office
• Whistleblowing policy