Digital Payments & Fintech · Panama
Fintech & digital payments rules in Panama (2026)
Panama shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Panama operates a fragmented but functional licensing regime for digital payments: the SBP supervises e-money and payment instrument issuers under Acuerdo 001-2018, while money-remittance businesses are licensed by MICI under Law 48 of 2003 and all payment entities face AML obligations under Law 23 of 2015. A comprehensive Fintech Framework Law (Draft Law No. 314), introduced to the Asamblea Nacional on 13 January 2026, would consolidate licensing for PSPs, EMIs, and VASPs under the SBP, but remains unenacted as of May 2026. Open banking and BNPL-specific rules do not yet exist.
Key points
SBP Acuerdo 001-2018 establishes a formal registration and authorisation regime for Emisoras de Medios de Pago y Dinero Electrónico (payment-instrument and e-money issuers), requiring minimum capital (approx. USD 250,000–1,000,000+), governance rules, IT/security architecture review, and client-fund safeguarding. Applicants submit a business plan; SBP evaluates fit and issues formal requirements for registration.
Law 48 of 2003 governs domestic and international money-transfer businesses, licensing them through the Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias (MICI) rather than the SBP. It defines eligible operators, capital thresholds, documentation requirements, and customer-protection measures for remittance providers.
Law 23 of 27 April 2015 designates issuers of payment instruments and electronic money as 'Financial Obligated Subjects' supervised by the SBP exclusively for AML/CFT/WMD compliance, including KYC, transaction monitoring, STR reporting to the UAF, and appointment of a compliance officer.
Panama operates the ACH Xpress instant-transfer network, which expanded to 21 member banks offering 24/7 real-time transfers. Transaction volumes grew 165.3% in 2024, indicating broad adoption; the system is operated through the banking system rather than under a dedicated instant-payments statute.
Anteproyecto de Ley No. 314 (Ley Marco Integral de Tecnologías Financieras), filed in the Asamblea Nacional on 13 January 2026, proposes for the first time a single licensing framework for VASPs, PSPs, and EMIs under SBP authority, plus a regulatory sandbox. The bill remains in draft as of May 2026; no standalone fintech statute is yet in force.
SBP Agreement 1-2026 (published 27 January 2026) tightens AML obligations and introduces digital ID verification and inferential geolocation for remote account-opening, but does not establish open-banking API mandates. No open banking framework or BNPL-specific regulation exists in Panama as of May 2026; BNPL providers operate under general consumer-credit commercial law.
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