Fintech & digital payments rules in Costa Rica (2026)

CONASSIF is the senior financial supervisory steering body; SUGEF (Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras) supervises financial intermediaries including non-bank fintechs; BCCR (Banco Central de Costa Rica) manages national payments infrastructure and issues related regulations.

BCCR's SINPE Móvil is Costa Rica's fast payment system enabling real-time P2P transfers via mobile number; over 80% of the population aged 15+ are active users, with 615+ million transfers recorded January–October 2025 (a 16.8% year-on-year rise). From September 2025, SINPE Móvil payments must be reported on electronic invoices.

BCCR published the Reglamento del Sistema de Tarjetas de Pago in December 2025, introducing a maximum interchange fee of 1.00% and a maximum acquiring commission of 1.95% for local transactions, mandatory EMV and contactless standards for issuers, and a monthly ceiling of ₡100,000 for bearer prepaid devices.

Article 15 Bis of Law 7558 (amended 2020) empowers SUGEF to supervise non-bank payment and fintech entities that raise funds from the public via digital wallets. Fintechs seeking SINPE access must first register with SUGEF for AML supervision and comply with SUGEF Agreements 11-18 and 13-19.

Bill 23093 (introduced July 2024) to establish a dedicated fintech licensing regime received unanimous approval from the Permanent Ordinary Committee on Economic Affairs on 29 April 2025, but as of May 2026 had not been enacted into law by the full Legislative Assembly.

CONASSIF inaugurated the Costa Rican Financial Innovation Center (CIF) in April 2022 to facilitate regulatory dialogue with fintech innovators. No formal open banking data-sharing mandate has been enacted; discussions remain exploratory. No specific BNPL regulatory framework has been identified for Costa Rica.