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Fintech in Chile under the Ley Fintec: the CMF Registry of Financial Service Providers, crowdfunding, alternative trading systems, advice, custody, crypto assets and the Open Finance System

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

Since the Ley Fintec of 2023, crowdfunding platforms, alternative trading systems, securities intermediaries and order routers, credit and investment advisers and custodians of financial instruments must register with the CMF and obtain a service by service authorisation, with a Chilean domicile for foreign firms; crypto assets count as financial instruments for these services. Registration is decided in 30 business days and authorisation in up to six months, and intermediaries and custodians that pass CMF volume thresholds need guarantees and equity of at least 5,000 UF or 3 percent of risk weighted assets. The law also creates an Open Finance System that obliges banks and card issuers to share customer data with consent through standard interfaces on a CMF calendar.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44). UF figures use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 per UF for 26 October 2026 and UTM figures the October 2026 value of CLP 72,151. Conversions are for orientation only; the legal thresholds are set in UF or UTM.

Key facts

CMF registration required for crowdfunding, alternative trading, intermediation, routing, advice and custody	Yes; foreign firms need a Chilean domicile textLey Nº 21.521 art. 5, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
CMF deadline to decide on a Fintec registry application	30 business daysLey Nº 21.521 art. 6, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
CMF deadline to authorise each Fintec service	6 monthsLey Nº 21.521 art. 7, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum equity for Fintec intermediaries and custodians above CMF volume thresholds	Greater of 5,000 UF or 3 percent of risk weighted assets textLey Nº 21.521 art. 11, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Mandatory open finance data sharing for banks and card issuers	Yes, with client consent, on a CMF calendar textLey Nº 21.521 art. 18, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Only entities registered in the CMF's Registry of Financial Service Providers may professionally provide crowdfunding platforms, alternative trading systems, intermediation of financial instruments, order routing, credit advice, investment advice and custody of financial instruments; a registered legal entity may provide one or more of them and must show on its website which ones it is authorised for. International firms providing these services must have a domicile in Chile. Securities brokers, commodity exchanges and brokers, fund managers, banks, insurers, rating agencies and securities depositories may provide the services matching their licence without registering.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec (Diario Oficial 4 January 2023), Art. 2 and art. 5, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Crypto assets (activos financieros virtuales o criptoactivos) are defined as digital representations of units of value, goods or services, other than money in pesos or foreign currency, that can be transferred, stored or exchanged digitally, and are expressly included in the definition of financial instrument used for the regulated services, which covers any title, contract, document or intangible designed to generate monetary income or representing a debt or a virtual financial asset, including unregistered securities, derivatives and invoices, but not publicly offered securities or money. A crowdfunding platform is a physical or virtual place where those with investment projects or financing needs promote them and connect with those who have resources, to facilitate the financing.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec, Art. 3 Nº 3, Nº 8 and Nº 10, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. To register, the applicant files with the CMF evidence of identity and legal capacity; only legal entities whose exclusive business is one or more of the regulated services can register, and entities sanctioned with cancellation, or whose main partners, directors or managers were sanctioned or convicted for securities, banking, insurance, insolvency or money laundering offences, in the previous ten years are barred. The CMF must decide within 30 business days, suspended while defects are corrected, and register within three business days once they are cured. Before starting each service the entity needs a separate CMF authorisation showing information systems, operational capacity, governance and risk management, guarantees and equity as applicable; the CMF has up to six months to decide.
Cost to do it: Registration and authorisation timelines set by law: 30 business days to decide on registration, up to six months for each service authorisation. CMF registry fee for registries other than the Securities Registry: 17 UF (DL Nº 3.538 art. 33 Nº 1).Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec, Art. 6 and art. 7, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Once volumes or client numbers pass thresholds set by CMF general rule, intermediaries, order routers and custodians must post guarantees by bank guarantee or insurance policy in amounts set by the CMF, and intermediaries and custodians must keep equity of at least the greater of 5,000 UF or 3 percent of their risk weighted assets (up to 6 percent if risk management is deficient). A shortfall must be reported at once with a regularisation plan within 5 days, extendable to 10; if not cured in six months the entity must stop the service and transfer its clients, and the CMF may appoint an administrator. Client instruments and money held by these entities cannot be seized for the entity's own debts.
Cost to do it: Minimum equity for intermediaries and custodians above the CMF threshold: the greater of 5,000 UF (about CLP 206,105,400 or US$208,909) or 3 percent of risk weighted assets.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec, Art. 10 and art. 11, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. The CMF may exempt from requirements, or set lighter forms of compliance for, entities whose service, participants, volumes or instruments do not compromise public trust or financial stability, within limits set by general rule, but never from the personal data obligations of the law.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec, Art. 4, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The law creates an Open Finance System. Banks and issuers of credit cards and prepaid cards must take part as information providers, and the CMF must extend the duty to card operators, savings cooperatives, mortgage loan administrators and insurers, mass lenders, fund managers, stock brokers, family allowance funds and registered fintech providers, with rules differentiated by relevance. With the client's express consent, data must be shared through remote automated interfaces under CMF security and authentication standards with registered information based service providers and payment initiation providers. The CMF sets a gradual calendar; the law requires full implementation by banks, card issuers and payment initiators within 18 months after the CMF rules take effect, and by the other information providers within 36 months.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec, Title III and third transitory article, Art. 16 to 27; third transitory article, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. The law entered into force 30 days after publication, except Titles II and III and the amendments to the Securities Market Law and other laws listed in its first transitory article, which apply from the entry into force of the corresponding CMF rules. Existing providers of Title II services had 12 months from the CMF registration rule to apply and may keep operating until the CMF decides; those who did not apply, or are refused, must stop taking new business and wind down existing operations, notifying their clients.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec, First and second transitory articles, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.521 amendments to Ley Nº 18.045 (registration of securities only, new intermediary regime) remain shown as a deferred version on Ley Chile as of 26 October 2026, pending the CMF rules that trigger them.

Service	Information systems	Operational capacity	Governance and risk	Guarantee	Minimum equity	Fit and proper staff
Crowdfunding platform	Yes		Yes
Alternative trading system	Yes	Yes	Yes (plus market rules)
Intermediation of financial instruments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Order routing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Investment advice	Yes		Yes			Yes
Credit advice	Yes		Yes			Yes
Custody of financial instruments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Requirements per regulated service before starting (Ley Nº 21.521 art. 7, 10 and 11)

Worked example

A Brazilian crypto exchange wants Chilean clients. It sets up a Chilean SpA with an exclusive object of intermediation and custody of financial instruments, which include crypto assets (Ley Nº 21.521 art. 3 and 5), and files for registration; the CMF decides within 30 business days (art. 6). It then applies for authorisation of each service, which can take up to six months (art. 7).
Once its volumes pass the CMF threshold it must post a guarantee and keep equity of at least 5,000 UF, about CLP 206,105,400 or US$208,909, or 3 percent of risk weighted assets if higher (art. 10 and 11).

Step by step

1. Map each activity to the seven regulated services and check if an existing licence already covers it.
2. Incorporate a Chilean entity with an exclusive object limited to regulated services.
3. Screen partners, directors and managers against the ten year bar.
4. File for registration in the Registry of Financial Service Providers; then file service authorisations with systems, governance and risk documentation.
5. Plan capital and guarantees for the volume thresholds the CMF sets.
6. If you hold customer financial data or initiate payments, prepare for the Open Finance System interfaces and consent rules.

Common traps

Serving Chilean clients from abroad: international providers must be domiciled in Chile (art. 5).
Mixing regulated services with other businesses in the same entity: registration requires an exclusive object (art. 6).
Treating crypto as outside the law: virtual financial assets are financial instruments for the regulated services (art. 3 Nº 3 and Nº 8).
Assuming registration lets you start: each service needs a separate CMF authorisation (art. 7).
Relying on the deferred Securities Market Law changes before the CMF rules trigger them.

Sources

← Stamp tax on loans in Chile (impuesto de timbres y estampillas): rates by term, loans from abroad, renewals, import financing, exemptions, deadlines and penaltiesInvestment funds and fund managers in Chile: AGF licensing, public and private funds, minimum size, guarantees, mandatory dividends and the 10 percent single tax for foreign investors →