Fintech & payments regulation in Chile (2026)

General Rule No. 569 amended NCG 514 and incorporated Technical Annex 3, covering API specifications, participant registry, digital certificates, and security protocols, completing the Open Finance System regulatory architecture under the Fintech Act. The operational go-live was extended from July 2026 to July 2027 to allow sufficient industry preparation.

The CMF published for public consultation proposed amendments to the Technical Annex of NCG 514, including detailed API specifications for Payment Initiation Services, enabling licensed third parties to trigger bank-account payments on behalf of customers, marking the next operational phase of Open Finance implementation.

The CMF modified General Rule No. 502 to resolve operational problems identified since the rule took effect and to incorporate a formal methodology for evaluating corporate governance and risk management of applicants, strengthening the licensing regime ahead of the February 2025 registration deadline for existing fintech providers.

General Rule No. 514 established the full operational framework for Chile's Open Finance System, defining participant categories, mandatory API data-sharing obligations, consent management standards, and a phased implementation schedule, making Chile one of Latin America's first countries to publish a comprehensive open-finance regulation under the Fintech Act.

Agreement 2650 amended CNF Chapters III.J.1 and III.J.2, introducing a volumetric threshold above which PSPs acting as sub-acquirers must register as CMF-licensed Operators (exceeding 0.5% of total market settlements), formally regulating cross-border acquiring, and recognising closed and semi-closed payment schemes created by the Fintech Law.

General Rule No. 502, effective 3 February 2024, implemented the Fintech Act's licensing architecture by establishing registration requirements, authorisation procedures, and ongoing obligations for seven technology-based financial-service categories under Law 21521, including crowdfunding platforms, alternative trading systems, investment advisers, custody services, and order routers.

Chile's Fintech Act (promulgated December 2022) became operative, creating one of South America's most comprehensive fintech licensing regimes: placing seven new financial-technology service categories under CMF supervision, mandating the creation of an Open Finance System with customer-consented data-sharing, and requiring AML transaction reporting to the Financial Analysis Unit.

The Central Bank published rules authorising and governing Low-Value Payment Clearing Chambers (Cámaras de Compensación de Pagos de Bajo Valor), requiring objective, transparent, and non-discriminatory access standards to promote interoperability among banks, cooperatives, and prepaid-card operators, opening clearing infrastructure beyond the legacy Transbank/Redbanc duopoly.

The Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras was formally absorbed into the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero, creating a single prudential and conduct supervisor across banking, insurance, and capital markets, streamlining licensing and oversight for digital payment operators, card issuers, and banks' fintech activities under one roof.

President Piñera promulgated the reform to the Ley General de Bancos, aligning Chile with Basel III capital standards, strengthening cybersecurity requirements for banks, and mandating the institutional merger of SBIF into CMF, building the supervisory infrastructure required to oversee banks' rapidly expanding digital payment activities.

This foundational law opened Chile's payment services market to non-banking entities by authorising them to issue prepaid cards and e-wallets subject to Banco Central regulation on liquidity reserves and consumer protections, creating the legal basis for fintech-driven payment services outside the traditional banking system and directly enabling the modern Chilean payments ecosystem.