On October 12, 2022, the Chilean Congress approved a bill that regulates Fintech companies and implements an Open Banking system (the “Fintech Law”). The enactment and publication of the law and the dictation of all associated regulations are still pending.
The focus of the Fintech Law is to promote financial innovation and competition in the financial ecosystem, as well as to encourage the development of new financial products and services.
Relevant Aspects of the Fintech Law:
- A regulatory framework is created for certain financial services that operate through technological means, such as alternative transaction systems and crowdfunding platforms.
- The Financial Market Commission (CMF), Chile´s main financial authority, will regulate a number of previously unregulated entities, such as companies that provide custody and brokerage services, transaction platforms and advisers on financial instruments, including crypto-assets, derivatives and contracts for differences (CFD).
- An “Open Banking System” will be implemented, which will allow financial service providers to exchange financial information of their clients among themselves. This is intended to solve the problem of information asymmetry present in the market, reducing the entry barrier for new players and opening the door to the development of new financial products and services.
- Regulates Payment Initiation Service Providers, allowing them to make electronic transfers directly from the customer’s account to third party accounts, operating as means of payment without having to use cards.
- The powers of the Central Bank of Chile are extended to consider “stablecoins” (crypto assets whose value is determinable and backed by money) that meet the requirements established by the issuing institution, as means of payment.
A. Technology-based financial services
The Fintech Law contemplates a new regulatory framework for the following financial services defined by the same law (the “Fintech Services”): (i) Alternative Transaction Systems; (ii) Crowdfunding Platform; (iii) Intermediation of Financial Instruments; (iv) Custody of Financial Instruments; (v) Order Routing; (vi) Credit Counseling; and (vii) Investment Counseling.
The aforementioned services will be subject to the supervision of the CMF and the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF), and will therefore be obliged to report suspicious transactions related to the financing of terrorism or money laundering, among others.
Relevant definitions
The Fintech Law contains a series of definitions, of which we would like to highlight the definition of “Financial Instruments”, which adds a series of contracts and operations that were not previously considered as financial instruments, such as contracts for difference (CFD) and derivative contracts, which are now included in the sphere of supervision of the CMF; and the definition of “Virtual financial assets or crypto assets”, which considers them as financial instruments, and therefore subject to the regulation of the CMF. It is important to mention that the Fintech Law does not regulate the issuance of crypto assets or entities that provide services that involve crypto assets but are different from those indicated in the law.
Registry of Financial Service Providers
Only entities registered in a registry administered by the CMF (the “Registry”) may engage in the provision of technology-based financial services or Fintech Services, except for exceptions mentioned in the same law. In addition, before starting their functions, the entities must apply for an operating authorization, accrediting compliance with certain prudential requirements associated with the risk level of each service.
Regarding international companies that provide these services, the Fintech Law establishes that they must be domiciled in Chile for these purposes.
The purpose of the provider must be exclusively the provision of one or more Fintech Services, notwithstanding other complementary activities expressly authorized by the CMF.
Main obligations of Fintech Service Providers
The Fintech Law establishes a series of obligations for Financial Service Providers:
- Duty to provide certain information to its customers or disseminate to the general public;
- Suitability for the provision of services;
- To provide one or more guarantees to respond to all obligations arising from its activity and for any damages that may be caused to its clients;
- Minimum equity, which in certain cases must be equal to or greater than the greater of 5,000 UF or 3% of the entity’s financial and operational risk-weighted assets; and
- Comply with the Corporate Governance and Risk Management standards established by the CMF.
B. Open Banking System
The Fintech Law also establishes the basic rules and principles for the implementation of an open finance system that allows the exchange between different service providers of financial customer information that have expressly consented to it and other types of data outlined in the same law (the “Open Banking System”).
The Open Banking System will be composed of those institutions that qualify as “Information Provider Institutions”, “Information Based Service Provider Institutions”, “Account Provider Institutions” and “Payment Initiation Service Providers”.
Information Provider Institutions:
The Information Provider Institutions in the Open Banking System have the obligation to provide access to and deliver the information requested by the Information Based Services Provider Institutions in accordance with the Fintech Law.
Banks and issuers of credit cards, payment cards with provision of funds or any other system similar to the aforementioned means of payment authorized by the CMF, as well as those institutions supervised by the CMF as determined by the CMF, shall participate in the Open Banking System as Information Provider Institutions.
Information Based Service Provider Institutions:
Those financial information service providers that voluntarily register for this purpose in the Registry of Public Information Based Service Providers maintained by the CMF may participate in the Open Banking System to consult, access and receive data for the purpose of providing services to their clients.
Payment Initiation Service Providers:
Payment Initiation Service Providers shall be understood as those entities that provide services to customers who are holders of bank accounts, checking accounts or similar types of accounts, pursuant to which they may instruct, on behalf of the customer and before the bank or financial institution providing the respective account, the execution of payment orders or electronic fund transfers, including predefined recurring payments in favor of the third party beneficiaries indicated by the customers, charged to their respective accounts and means of payment.
The Fintech Law establishes that Payment Initiation Service Providers may participate in the Open Banking System as Information Based Service Providers, for which purpose they must register in the Register of Payment Initiation Service Providers, which will be kept by the CMF.
Customer consent and information consultation fees:
Information Based Service Providers and Payment Initiation Service Providers shall adopt customer authentication mechanisms and obtain prior explicit consent from the customer to make information inquiries or initiate payments on their behalf through the system, and shall be responsible for safeguarding the integrity, availability, security and confidentiality of the data involved in each transaction and the adequate privacy of customer information.
Information Provider Institutions may not charge Information Based Service Providers for the communication of client data information requested through the Open Banking System, with the exception of the reimbursement of direct incremental costs incurred to meet the increase in information requests received to the extent that they exceed the volume of requests threshold defined by the CMF.
C. Other relevant provisions:
Fintech Service providers, banks, insurance companies, securities intermediaries, among other entities mentioned in the Law, must adopt policies and procedures to offer their clients products that are in line with their needs, expectations and risk appetite, and avoid offering products that do not meet these parameters.
Banks offering account services must establish public, objective and non-discriminatory conditions under which they will offer and provide access to Fintech Service providers and other financial institutions supervised by the CMF. They may only deny the request, suspend or close an account, for justified reasons.
D. Enactment of the Fintech Law
The Fintech Law will become effective 30 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, with the exception of the regulation of Fintech Services, the Open Banking System and other amendments to different legal bodies, which will become effective upon the enactment of the respective regulations issued by the CMF.
In the case of entities that provide Fintech Services and that must be registered in the Registry, they must comply with the obligation to request their registration and authorization to operate within 12 months from the entry into force of the general rules issued by the CMF. Such entities may continue to carry out such activities until the CMF resolves their request in the manner and within the terms provided by law.
In the case of the Open Banking System, the Fintech Law states that the CMF will be responsible for defining the timetable for the gradual implementation of the System.
Entities that at the date of enactment of the Fintech Law are providing payment initiation services must comply with the obligation to apply for registration with the CMF within a maximum period of 12 months from the publication of the general rules issued by the CMF. Such entities may continue to carry out such activities until the CMF resolves their request.
CONTACT
Mario Gorziglia C.
Partner
mgorziglia@prieto.cl
Isabel Monge P.
Counsel
imonge@prieto.cl
Aníbal Larrain M.
Associate
alarrain@prieto.cl
Alessandro Bizzarri H.
Associate
abizzarri@prieto.cl