Fintech & digital payments rules in Paraguay (2026)

Enacted 27 June 2025, Law 7503 is the primary statute governing the National Payment System. It embeds competition, interoperability, innovation, and financial inclusion as core principles, and grants BCP explicit authority to authorize, supervise, set operational/cybersecurity requirements, cap fees, and mandate interconnection between system participants.

Electronic Payment Media Entities (EMPEs) are licensed and regulated by BCP to issue electronic money and operate digital wallets (capped at 3.4 million guaraníes per account). BCP Resolution No. 9 of September 2024 tightened transaction limits and enhanced supervisory reporting obligations for EMPEs.

Law 7503/2025 formally incorporates non-bank PSPs and fintechs into the SNP on equal legal footing with banks, giving them access to payment infrastructure. Previously, major private-sector payment operators (e.g., Bancard, BEPSA, uPay) operated outside direct BCP prudential oversight; Law 7503 closes that gap.

The BCP-operated SIPAP infrastructure includes five payment systems; its SPI (Instant Payment System) was launched November 2022 and supports real-time, low-cost transfers between bank and non-bank participants. BCP Resolution No. 2 of March 2026 updated SIPAP rules, raised the per-transaction SPI ceiling to ₲10 million, and added QR Hub and NFC modules.

BCP is actively drafting specific regulations for Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs), which would formally create an open-banking-style framework allowing licensed fintechs to initiate payments on behalf of customers. As of mid-2026 these rules are in consultation and not yet in force.

No Paraguay-specific BNPL licensing rules exist as of mid-2026; BNPL products fall under general consumer credit provisions. A draft crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending regulation has been developed to formally license platforms connecting borrowers and lenders, but its enactment status was still pending as of available sources.