Latinia
Three years ago, talking about Open Finance in Latin America meant talking about Brazil and promises. Today it means talking about obligations, deadlines and infrastructure decisions banks can no longer postpone.
According to Sensedia’s State of Open Finance Brazil and World 2026 report, cited by Infobae, more than 78 countries have adopted Open Finance regulations. Latin America is one of the most dynamic regions in that movement —and the pace has clearly accelerated over the past twelve months. Colombia has just made it mandatory. Chile has just published its definitive technical standards. Argentina announced it formally. Mexico continues building on its 2018 Fintech Law.
The problem is that each country moves at a different speed, with different regulatory frameworks and distinct operational implications for financial institutions operating in the region.
This article is the map that’s been missing: the real regulatory status of each market as of June 2026, with concrete deadlines and what it means for banking infrastructure.
Brazil is not a developing Open Finance case. It is the most mature Open Finance system in the world outside the UK.
The system launched in February 2021, jointly driven by the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) and the National Monetary Council (CMN), with a four-phase implementation covering everything from institutional information access to investment and insurance data exchange. By December 2025 it had surpassed 128 million active consents, with more than 200 participating institutions including traditional banks, fintechs and credit unions.
In 2026, the system has entered its adult phase. February 2026 saw the launch of credit portability via Open Finance, allowing users to move debt between institutions in a fully digital, automated way. The Central Bank put it precisely: “the main challenge now is turning knowledge into use.”
Colombia has just made the leap no other country in the region had made until now: turning Open Finance mandatory by law.
Decree 0368 of 2026, signed in April, requires all entities supervised by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia —banks, trust companies, insurers, pension fund managers, card issuers— to share customer-authorised data through standardised APIs. It is not voluntary. It is not a recommendation. It is an obligation with deadlines.
The timeline is concrete: the SFC has until October 2026 to publish the technical standards schedule by data category. From there, entities have twelve months to enable access, extendable by six more months at the regulator’s discretion. The full compliance horizon reaches 2027-2028.
What makes the Colombian framework especially demanding is its dual-consent architecture: the user authorises the receiving third party, and the bank must actively confirm that authorisation before releasing any information. Every authorisation, modification and revocation generates an event requiring immediate response and full traceability.
Chile has followed a methodical path. Law 21.521 of 2023 established the legal foundations of the Open Finance System (SFA). The Financial Market Commission (CMF) progressively published public consultations and complementary regulations.
The most recent milestone settles months of uncertainty: on 2 June 2026, the CMF published the amendment to the definitive regulation setting the SFA’s entry into force for July 2027 —a year later than originally planned— and including the technical specifications for the system’s interoperable operation. The delay, requested by traditional banks, sparked tension with fintechs, but gives all institutions an extra preparation window worth using.
The implementation timeline extends between 2027 and 2029, giving institutions a longer preparation margin than Colombia. But experience in other markets shows that those who wait for the mandatory deadline to start building always arrive late.
Mexico was the first country in the region to legislate on Open Finance. The 2018 Fintech Law —one of Latin America’s first comprehensive fintech regulations— already included in Article 76 the obligation to share financial data through standardised APIs across three layers: open data (product information), aggregated data (anonymised statistics) and transactional data (with user consent).
The problem is that the secondary regulation meant to define technical standards for transactional data has been pending for years. As of February 2026, that secondary regulation had still not been published, creating a hybrid ecosystem: some banks have voluntarily developed APIs, while the complete mandatory framework remains under construction.
What is changing in 2026 is the regulator’s tone. The CNBV signalled at Fintech Festival 2026 its intention to build a value-generating digital entities ecosystem, and the sector already counts 800 operating fintechs. Pressure to complete the regulatory framework is mounting.
Argentina is the most recent market to formally join the movement. In October 2025, BCRA president Santiago Bausili announced at a press conference the implementation of Open Finance in Argentina, describing it as a system that “gives every individual back control over their financial information.”
The BCRA’s 2026 plan is to advance implementation through the formation of technical groups to define the necessary infrastructure. No published timeline or formal technical standards exist yet. Sector estimates point to an operational launch between 2026 and 2027, following a path similar to Colombia’s —which took roughly two years from voluntary framework to mandatory status.
Argentina has the second-largest fintech ecosystem in LATAM, with more than 800 active companies. Demand for Open Finance infrastructure exists. The regulation is under construction.
Here’s the map today: Brazil runs the region’s most mature system. Colombia is now mandatory. Chile has its technical framework locked in, awaiting entry into force in 2027. Mexico and Argentina are still building their regulatory foundations. Different speeds, same destination.
Whatever the pace in each country, institutions face the same operational challenge: every authorisation, modification or revocation of consent given by a customer generates an event requiring immediate notification. As the number of third parties with access to that data grows, so does the volume of critical communications the bank has to manage without room for delay.
At Latinia we have spent more than 25 years working alongside financial institutions across Europe and Latin America on their customer communications. We know closely the challenges each new regulatory stage brings, and we work with banks to make sure their communications infrastructure keeps pace with what Open Finance demands.
Open Finance is not a technology decision banks can delegate to their core provider. It is an architecture decision that will define how the customer relationship operates for the next decade.
Want to know how to prepare your bank’s communications infrastructure for Open Finance in your market?
Contact
