Chile: Open Finance on the Horizon
Over the past few years, Chile has taken meaningful steps toward establishing an Open Finance ecosystem. Through legislation, regulatory efforts and nascent private-sector moves, the country appears to be aligning itself with global Fintech trends: enabling data sharing, promoting innovation, and fostering competition across financial services.
How it started
The foundation for Open Finance in Chile was laid with the adoption of Law No. 21,521, known as the “Fintech Act”, which formally introduced the concept of a regulated Open Finance framework.
On 3 July 2024, the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) issued a regulation, General Rule No. 514 (NCG 514): it sets out the structure and governance of the Open Finance System (Sistema de Finanzas Abiertas, SFA). This regulation defines the perimeter of the system, its operation, security and safeguards, information-sharing standards, and other relevant provisions.
At the same time, CMF scheduled a series of seven thematic roundtables between October 2023 and March 2024. Nearly 400 participants across 141 entities contributed input, representing banks, Fintechs, insurers, fund managers and other stakeholders.
Additionally, in early 2025 CMF signed a cooperation agreement with CAF, a Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, to build a public digital platform for the Open Finance System. The aim is to provide clear information to citizens, Fintechs, technical professionals, and potential participants, including a focus on financial-education and data-protection issues.
In 2025-2026, the work has shifted from high-level legislation toward detailed technical specifications, including payments initiation APIs, content management, multi-brand participation rules and developer portals capacities.
Timeline
- January 2023 – Fintech Act (Law No. 21,521) adopted, enabling regulated Open Finance in Chile.
- 15 April 2024 – CMF publishes a first draft regulation on the Open Finance System, (Sistema de Finanzas Abiertas) for public consultation.
- 3 July 2024- CMF issues General Rule No. 514, formally establishing the Open Finance regulatory framework.
- July 2024 – Public communication indicates that regulated financial institutions must eventually join the Open Finance System, but only following user consent.
- 2025 – CMF & CAF sign agreement to develop a dedicated Open Finance System website/platform.
- 10 July 2025 – CMF publishes for consultation updates that include a “Technical Annex 3,” detailing API specs, registry of participants, certificates & signatures, maintenance protocols, etc. Payment-initiation specifications are expected in future annexes.
- From July 2026 – According to NCG 514, the OFS will begin its gradual implementation 24 months after publication.
Chile market specifics
| Aspects | Details |
|---|---|
| Regulatory or Market Driven? | Regulatory-led: the Fintech Act and CMF regulation set the foundation, anticipating mandatory participation from regulated financial institutions. |
| Regulators / Governance | Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF): the primary regulator and supervisory body for the Open Finance System. Responsible for defining the perimeter, overseeing compliance, and issuing technical as well as operational rules. |
| Who must comply | Regulated financial institutions: banks, issuers of payment cards, insurance companies, fund managers, savings and credit cooperatives supervised by CMF. |
| Consent-based data sharing | Information sharing under the OFS requires the explicit consent of users. Then, their financial data can be shared with other participating institutions. |
| Technical implementation approach | CMF’s 2025 consultation added a Technical Annex specifying API standards (responses, nomenclature, pagination), registry of participants, certificate/signature regimes, maintenance and security protocols. Payment-initiation standards will follow via future annexes. |
Emerging use cases & ecosystem players
Though Chile has not yet fully rolled out Open Finance in production, several trends and early ecosystem movements are evident:
- Technical readiness: The evolving technical annex includes APIs for multiple payment solutions and enhanced developer portal features. This is a strong signal that CMF wants to support both account information and payment initiation services.
- Stakeholder engagement: Over 32 entities submitted 400+ comments on the technical specs, including banks, payment operators and Fintechs, demonstrating active market interest.
- Consultancies and tech services: Firms specializing in APIs, integration and fintech infrastructure remain active in Chile, positioning for future Open Finance demand (consistent with earlier market observations).
- Consumer-centric services: Chilean banks and Fintechs are preparing offerings around aggregated financial views, consent-driven insights, and payment-related value-added services once APIs are operational.
Early adopters signal that Open Finance in Chile is not viewed merely as a compliance requirement but as a competitive opportunity.
What’s next? Opportunities and roadmap
- Phased rollout and technical standardization: With the 2025 technical annex consultation, Chile is formalizing the API standards, participant registry, and security infrastructure. The implementation starting July 2026 will likely roll out in stages, depending on the type of institution and shared data.
- Expansion beyond banking: While the initial focus is on banks, card issuers and core financial entities, the broader Open Finance vision could eventually include insurers, funds, and other financial-service providers, enabling innovative products such as aggregated dashboards, cross-institution wealth management, or alternative lending. The design of the OFS allows for a broad participant base.
- Increased competition and fintech growth: Open Finance may lower barriers to entry for fintechs and non-bank institutions, promoting innovation in services (payments, PFM, lending, credit scoring). Early interest from API-services firms like Sensedia points to growing infrastructure readiness.
- Potential challenges: As with any transition, success will depend on the capacity of institutions (especially smaller ones) to implement APIs securely; on user awareness and consent mechanisms; and on maintaining data protection and privacy standards while enabling interoperability.
- Public outreach and financial education: The agreement between CMF and CAF to build an Open Finance website suggests emphasis on transparency, consumer information, and education: a key step to build trust.
Chile’s move toward Open Finance represents more than a regulatory update: it signals a shift in the structure of its financial ecosystem. By enabling data portability and cross-institution collaboration, the country is laying the foundation for more competitive, user-centric financial services. For banks, Fintechs, insurers and consumers alike, the upcoming years may bring lower-cost services, greater financial inclusion (particularly for underserved segments), a richer ecosystem of products, and improved financial transparency. If successful, Chile could position itself among the leading Fintech-friendly markets in Latin America.