Fintech & digital payments rules in Honduras (2026)

Legislative Decree 83-2021 established the framework regulating the organization, operation and functioning of legal entities (national and foreign) that provide payment and transfer services in Honduras, including via electronic money.

Non-bank electronic-money institutions (INDEL) must be authorized by the BCH to issue electronic money and provide transfers and payment for goods/services; the current rule is BCH Acuerdo 01-2024 (which repealed Acuerdo 12-2022) and sets minimum capital and daily-balance-based adjustments plus cybersecurity and data-protection controls.

Electronic payment service providers (EPSPE) — fintechs offering payment/transfer services that do NOT convert physical to electronic money — must register in the BCH's Special EPSPE Registry under Acuerdo 13-2022, submitting incorporation documents, tax registration (RTN) and organizational details.

The BCH grants payment/e-money authorizations and operates the national payment system; the CNBS issues the required favorable opinion and supervises financial entities, and the two bodies coordinate fintech matters through the Mesa de Innovación Financiera (MIF) and the CNBS financial-innovation Hub.

The BCH operates ACH-PRONTO for near-immediate interbank transfers (in lempiras and US dollars, 5:00–22:00 daily, capped at USD 30,000 per transaction) and BCH-TR, a real-time gross settlement (RTGS/LBTR) system for high-value payments with immediate credit.

The regime centers on e-money issuance and payment-service authorization; no dedicated open-banking (API/data-sharing) mandate or specific Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) regulation was found in BCH/CNBS frameworks, so those areas remain undeveloped relative to the core payments licensing regime.