How long does a bank in Peru have to answer your complaint, and where do you go next?
A bank, caja or finance company must resolve your reclamo within no more than 15 business days under the SBS Complaints Management Regulation. If it does not answer or rules against you, you can go to Indecopi, which keeps consumer-protection jurisdiction, or to the SBS.
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SBS · El Peruano
Checked 1 Oct 2026Next review 12 Mar 2027
What we read and what we did notArticles 4.1, 6.1 and 7.1 of SBS Resolution 04036-2022 were read in the SBS's official PDF, and SBS Resolution 00908-2025 in its official El Peruano publication. We did not review what happens when a bank misses the deadline, or exceptions to it, if any.
The clock running against you
15 business days from filing the reclamo with the bank.This is a procedural deadline: miss it and you lose that route and have to start another.
Resolución SBS N.º 04036-2022, artículo 7.1
Reclamo vs consulta — why the word matters
The Complaints Management Regulation (Resolución SBS 04036-2022) defines both:
- Reclamo (art. 4.1): a communication expressing dissatisfaction with an operation, product or service, or a breach of contractual or legal obligations, or a claimed harm to your legitimate interest.
- Consulta (art. 6.1.a): a communication asking the company for information about a doubt or something you do not know.
The practical difference: only the reclamo starts the resolution clock. If you call and say “I wanted to know why I was charged this”, the bank can log it as a consulta. Say “quiero presentar un reclamo”.
The deadline: 15 business days
Article 7.1: “Los reclamos deben ser resueltos por las empresas en un plazo no mayor a quince (15) días hábiles”. Article 7.5 says from when to when: from filing until “la fecha de la notificación o puesta a disposición de la respuesta por parte de estas, a través del canal pactado al momento de su presentación”. That is why you should pick a channel you actually check.
The Regulation covers every company the SBS supervises: banks, cajas, finance companies, insurers, AFPs and e-money issuers.
Indecopi is still there
The SBS regulating complaints does not strip Indecopi of its consumer-protection jurisdiction. In practice you have two routes that do not exclude each other: the internal reclamo with the bank (necessary for the clock to run) and the reclamo or denuncia with Indecopi when the bank does not answer, answers badly, or the problem persists. Indecopi is also the one that can fine.
Foreigners: opening an account with a passport
Until 2025 banking practice was to demand a carné de extranjería. Resolución SBS 00908-2025 (published 18 March 2025, in force from 16 June 2025) amended the rules on basic accounts and simplified e-money accounts: besides the carné de extranjería, a foreign national may present “el carné de identidad, pasaporte o un documento legalmente reconocido por las autoridades competentes para la identificación de extranjeros”. Institutions may verify the information with Reniec, Migraciones, the Foreign Ministry or other sources.
Two honest caveats: the rule is about basic accounts (low-amount products with simplified requirements), not every financial product; and we could not read the resolution itself, only El Peruano’s official news report. If a bank refuses you a basic account with a passport after 16 June 2025, that is grounds for a reclamo and, if it persists, for a complaint to Indecopi.
What if the SBS fines the bank and it doesn’t pay?
The SBS can also sanction the bank directly, separate from your individual complaint. What happens if that fine goes unpaid is covered in what happens if a bank doesn’t pay an SBS fine?.
Is the bank chasing a very old debt?
If the debt the bank is claiming is more than 10 years old, the action to sue over it may already be time-barred, though you must raise that defense yourself. Read the statute of limitations on civil debts in Peru.
Is the charge from a subscription you don’t recognize?
If the improper charge comes from a subscription or recurring payment you never authorized, in addition to disputing it with your bank check unauthorized recurring charges and subscriptions in Peru: since 2026 there’s a specific rule against involuntary subscriptions.
If the bank has started a mortgage foreclosure
If you stopped paying a mortgage loan and the bank has already started the process to collect against the guaranteed property, see mortgage foreclosure in Peru: what it is and what rights the debtor has before responding.
How long it takes
You
You file the reclamo, using that word, and get the code
The bank's deadline counts from here
The bank
The bank decides and answers through the agreed channel
Up to 15 business days
Source: Resolución SBS N.º 04036-2022, Articles 4.1, 6.1(a) and 7.1
You
No answer, or a bad one: you go to Indecopi or inform the SBS
No legal deadline cited on this page
These periods are counted differently, so we don't add them up.
How to file
- File the reclamo — using that word — and get the codeThrough the app, website, phone or a branch. Make clear it is a reclamo, not a consulta. The code and filing date are your proof of the deadline.
- Count 15 business daysThe clock runs until the answer is notified or made available through the channel you agreed. Check that channel: if you chose email, the answer comes by email.
- No answer, or a bad one: IndecopiReclama Virtual is free and aims at a settlement. If you want a sanction, file a denuncia through the Mesa de Partes.
- You can also inform the SBSThe SBS supervises the company and takes information from users. Its gob.pe portal explains the channels.
Want it drafted for you? Escrito listo — S/ 29 · available soon →
What people fail to ask in time
You wrote it in the branch's complaints book: is that deadline the same as the bank's?
Find out before it matters →What most people believe — and what the law says
The bank has 30 days to answer a complaint.
Article 7.1 of the SBS Regulation says 'un plazo no mayor a quince (15) días hábiles'. It runs from filing until the answer is notified or made available through the channel you agreed.
Once the bank has answered, there is nothing more to do.
Indecopi keeps consumer-protection jurisdiction over banks and finance companies. You can complain there in parallel or afterwards.
Asking about a charge already counts as a complaint.
No. A consulta seeks information about a doubt (art. 6.1.a). A reclamo expresses dissatisfaction or reports a breach (art. 4.1). Only the reclamo starts the 15-business-day clock. Use the word 'reclamo'.
Foreigners can only open an account with a carné de extranjería.
Since 16 June 2025, for basic accounts and simplified e-money accounts, the SBS also allows the 'carné de identidad, pasaporte o documento legalmente reconocido por las autoridades competentes para la identificación de extranjeros'.
Frequently asked questions
Which types of companies does the 15-business-day deadline apply to?
The Complaints Management Regulation (Resolución SBS 04036-2022) covers every company the SBS supervises: banks, cajas, finance companies, insurers, AFPs and e-money issuers.
Exactly when does the 15-business-day count start and end?
Article 7.5 says the clock runs from filing the reclamo until the date the answer is notified or made available to you, through the channel you agreed on when you filed it. That is why it helps to pick a channel you actually check often.
What happens if the SBS fines the bank over the same problem and the bank doesn't pay the fine?
The SBS can sanction the bank directly, separate from your individual complaint. What happens when that fine goes unpaid is covered on the page about what happens if a bank doesn't pay an SBS fine.
What documents can a foreigner use to open a basic account since 2025?
Since 16 June 2025, besides the carné de extranjería, a foreign national may present a national ID card, passport, or another document legally recognized by the competent authorities for identifying foreigners (Resolución SBS 00908-2025), for basic accounts and simplified e-money accounts.
The exact law
Resolución SBS N.º 04036-2022Articles 4.1, 6.1(a) and 7.1read
Complaints Management Regulation for companies supervised by the SBS
«Los reclamos deben ser resueltos por las empresas en un plazo no mayor a quince (15) días hábiles.»
Resolución SBS N.º 00908-2025Single article (amends the basic-accounts regulation)read
Documents foreign nationals may use to open basic accounts and simplified e-money accounts
«carné de identidad, pasaporte o documento legalmente reconocido por las autoridades competentes para la identificación de extranjeros»
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