Fintech & payments regulation in Argentina (2026)

Published in the Official Gazette, the rule formally regulates payment service providers that offer payment accounts through third parties, requiring identification of the sponsoring bank, prior authorization of partners, and tougher fit-and-proper and supervision standards. It is the most significant overhaul of the PSP licensing/registration regime since 2020.

The central bank ordered financial institutions and PSPs offering digital wallets to deploy mechanisms to detect suspicious or unusual user activity to mitigate fraud, strengthening consumer protection across virtual wallets. Entities were given a transition period to adapt their systems.

The central bank adjusted the framework governing immediate-redemption money-market funds and idle balances held in digital wallets, reshaping how fintechs can offer yield on customer cash. The move altered the economics of the leading virtual-wallet remunerated-balance products.

The BCRA modified the client-funds administration regime for payment service providers offering payment accounts, eliminating the obligation to pass through to clients the yield earned on the peso sight accounts where their funds are deposited. It reversed a key 2023 consumer-yield rule.

The central bank required digital wallets to remunerate idle customer balances, extending deposit-like yield obligations to fintech payment accounts. The rule was later softened by Communication "A" 8038 in 2024.

The BCRA prohibited payment service providers that offer payment accounts from carrying out or facilitating transactions with crypto assets, and from offering them in their apps or websites, citing risks to users and the financial system. It extended to fintechs the crypto ban first imposed on banks in 2022.

The BCRA prohibited financial institutions from conducting or facilitating client transactions with crypto assets not authorized by a competent national regulator or the BCRA. It established Argentina's restrictive supervisory stance toward crypto in the regulated payments/banking system.

The BCRA established a specific regime for digital/virtual wallets offered by banks or PSPs and created a mandatory registry for wallets enabling instant QR-based payments. Providers already operating had until 15 April 2022 to register.

Approved by Communication "A" 7153 (30 Oct 2020) and effective 7 Dec 2020, the open instant-payments scheme introduced a universal interoperable QR and the "pago con transferencia" instant-transfer payment, letting any bank or PSP account pay to any other to expand digital payments and financial inclusion.

Issued weeks after the foundational PSP rule, it refined the definitions, reporting duties and operating conditions for payment service providers, including the fund-segregation and registration framework. Together with "A" 6859 it formed Argentina's first dedicated fintech-payments rulebook.

The BCRA created the legal category of "payment service providers offering payment accounts" (PSPCP), requiring registration in a dedicated SEFyC registry (by 31 Mar 2020), 100% segregation of client funds in peso sight accounts, and immediate availability of funds on request. This is the foundational licensing/registration framework for Argentine fintech.