Chile has one of the most developed banking and capital markets in Latin America. A single integrated supervisor, the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF), oversees banks, securities firms, insurers and fintech providers. The Banco Central de Chile writes the rules for payment cards and prepaid issuers. The Ley Fintec of 2023 created a registration and authorisation regime for crowdfunding, alternative trading systems, crypto-asset services and other technology-based financial services.
Risk flagStandard
FATFNot listed
EU AML high-risk listNot listed
EU tax listNot listed
Licence regimes7
CurrencyCLP
S&P ratingA
Next election29 October 2028
Chile is not on the FATF grey or black lists after the 17 to 19 June 2026 plenary. No October 2026 plenary outcome had been published at the check date. It is not on the EU high-risk third country list (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 as last amended by Delegated Regulations (EU) 2026/46 and 2026/83, in force 29 January 2026). It is in neither Annex I nor Annex II of the EU tax list revised by Council conclusions of 9 October 2026. Checked 13 October 2026.
Government and politics
Government
Presidential republic
President
José Antonio Kast · since March 2026
President
José Antonio Kast (Partido Republicano (PRCh))
Governing parties
Partido Republicano (PRCh), Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI), Renovación Nacional (RN), Evolución Política (Evópoli), Independents hold most cabinet posts
Last election
General (presidential runoff), 14 December 2025
Next election
Municipal and regional, 29 October 2028. Presidential and parliamentary elections follow on 18 November 2029.
Legislature
National Congress: bicameral, Chamber of Deputies (155 seats) and Senate (50 seats)
Legal system
Civil law
Economy and finance
Population
20m (2025)
GDP
USD 357.4bn (2025)
GDP per person
USD 17,837 (2025)
Currency
Chilean peso (CLP), free float
Central bank
Banco Central de Chile
Credit rating
S&P A (stable) · Moody's A2 (stable) · Fitch A- (stable) (as of September 2026)
An open, copper-led economy with an inflation-targeting Banco Central de Chile and one of Latin America's deepest financial markets. Banks, insurers and securities markets are supervised by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF).
Bank
Autorización de existencia y funcionamiento de empresa bancaria (banking licence)
Minimum capital800,000 Unidades de Fomento (UF) paid-in capital and reserves (art. 50). At least 50% must be paid in when the bank is incorporated (art. 51). Until the bank reaches the full minimum, it holds an extra 2% of risk-weighted assets as basic capital, reduced to 1% at UF 600,000.
TimelineStaged process. The CMF may reject the prospectus within 180 days (art. 30), extendable once by 180 days in exceptional cases. After the authorisation of existence, the CMF checks readiness within 90 days and grants the operating authorisation within 30 days (art. 31).
AuthorityComisión para el Mercado Financiero
800,000 Unidades de Fomento (UF) paid-in capital and reserves (art. 50). At least 50% must be paid in when the bank is incorporated (art. 51). Until the bank reaches the full minimum, it holds an extra 2% of risk-weighted assets as basic capital, reduced to 1% at UF 600,000.
Law
Ley General de Bancos (DFL 3 of 1997, as amended by Ley 21.130 of 2019), arts. 27 to 32, 50 and 51
Passporting
No passporting regime.
Key requirements
Bank must be a Chilean sociedad anónima (art. 27)
Founders file a prospectus with a three-year business plan (art. 27)
Founders post a guarantee of 10% of the planned capital (art. 27)
Founders and controllers need net worth at least equal to the planned investment, plus fit and proper tests (art. 28)
Foreign financial institutions need adequate home supervision and prior home supervisor consent (art. 29)
Provisional certificate first, then authorisation of existence, then authorisation to operate (arts. 27 and 31)
Emisor de tarjetas de pago con provisión de fondos (non-bank prepaid card issuer)
Minimum capitalPaid-in capital and reserves of at least the higher of 25,000 UF or a formula: 1% of average annual payments to unrelated merchants, plus 8% of customer funds in long-term instruments, plus 3% of customer funds in short-term instruments (Cap. III.J.1.3, Title II.B.iii)
TimelineNot published
AuthorityComisión para el Mercado Financiero (registration); Banco Central de Chile (rules)
Paid-in capital and reserves of at least the higher of 25,000 UF or a formula: 1% of average annual payments to unrelated merchants, plus 8% of customer funds in long-term instruments, plus 3% of customer funds in short-term instruments (Cap. III.J.1.3, Title II.B.iii)
Law
Ley 20.950 of 2016, arts. 1 to 3; Banco Central de Chile Compendio de Normas Financieras, Capítulo III.J.1.3 (Acuerdo 2650-01-240627)
Passporting
No passporting regime.
Key requirements
Chilean special sociedad anónima with an exclusive purpose (Ley 20.950 art. 3)
Registration in the CMF Registro de Emisores de Tarjetas before starting business
CMF checks readiness to operate before registration
Liquidity reserve of at least 10% of the minimum capital requirement (Title II.B.v)
Risk management policies and separate records of customer funds
Operador de tarjetas de pago (card payment operator or acquirer)
Minimum capitalPaid-in capital and reserves of at least the higher of 10,000 UF or 20% of average daily payments over the last 24 months (Cap. III.J.2). Sub-acquirers need 1,000 UF, or 2,000 UF for cross-border sub-acquiring.
TimelineNot published
AuthorityComisión para el Mercado Financiero (registration); Banco Central de Chile (rules)
Paid-in capital and reserves of at least the higher of 10,000 UF or 20% of average daily payments over the last 24 months (Cap. III.J.2). Sub-acquirers need 1,000 UF, or 2,000 UF for cross-border sub-acquiring.
Law
Ley General de Bancos, art. 2; Ley 20.950; Banco Central de Chile Compendio de Normas Financieras, Capítulo III.J.2 (Acuerdo 2650-01-240627)
Passporting
No passporting regime.
Key requirements
Chilean special sociedad anónima with the exclusive purpose of operating cards
Registration in the CMF Registro de Operadores de Tarjetas
CMF checks readiness to operate before registration
Crypto-asset services under the Ley Fintec (custody, intermediation, alternative trading system for crypto-assets)
Minimum capital5,000 UF, or 3% (up to 6%) of risk-weighted assets if higher, once CMF volume thresholds are reached (Ley 21.521 art. 11). Under NCG 502, the smallest firms (Block 1) are exempt. Block 2 firms need 1,000 UF in adjusted equity or guarantees. Block 3 firms need the full art. 11 amount.
TimelineCMF rules on registration within 30 business days (art. 6) and on service authorisation within at most six months (art. 7); both clocks stop while the CMF waits for corrections
AuthorityComisión para el Mercado Financiero
5,000 UF, or 3% (up to 6%) of risk-weighted assets if higher, once CMF volume thresholds are reached (Ley 21.521 art. 11). Under NCG 502, the smallest firms (Block 1) are exempt. Block 2 firms need 1,000 UF in adjusted equity or guarantees. Block 3 firms need the full art. 11 amount.
Law
Ley 21.521 of 2023 (Ley Fintec), arts. 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11; CMF Norma de Carácter General N° 502 of 2024 (consolidated text)
Passporting
No passporting regime.
Key requirements
Crypto-assets (activos financieros virtuales) count as financial instruments under the Ley Fintec (art. 3)
Registration in the CMF Registro de Prestadores de Servicios Financieros (art. 5)
Exclusive purpose of providing Ley Fintec services (art. 6)
Foreign firms must have a domicile in Chile (art. 5)
Separate CMF authorisation per service, with governance and risk management requirements (art. 7)
Guarantee by bank bond or insurance policy above CMF thresholds (art. 10)
Inscripción como corredor de bolsa o agente de valores (securities broker-dealer registration)
Minimum capitalPermanent minimum equity of 6,000 UF, or 14,000 UF to also trade on own account (art. 26(d)). An initial guarantee of 4,000 UF is also required (art. 30).
TimelineCMF rules on the registration within 30 days of the application; the clock stops while the CMF asks for more information (art. 28)
AuthorityComisión para el Mercado Financiero
Permanent minimum equity of 6,000 UF, or 14,000 UF to also trade on own account (art. 26(d)). An initial guarantee of 4,000 UF is also required (art. 30).
Law
Ley 18.045 de Mercado de Valores, arts. 24 to 30
Passporting
No passporting regime.
Key requirements
Exclusive purpose of securities intermediation, with the words corredores de bolsa or agentes de valores in the name (art. 27)
Installed office for intermediation business (art. 26)
Directors, managers and dealing staff must prove knowledge of securities intermediation (arts. 26 and 27)
Corredores de bolsa must be members of a stock exchange; agentes de valores operate off exchange (art. 24)
Leverage, liquidity, solvency and risk management rules set by the CMF (art. 29)
Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) · websitebanks, E-money institutions, Payment service providers, Virtual asset service providers (VASPs), Investment firms, Insurance
Banco Central de Chile (BCCh) · websiteE-money institutions, Payment service providers
Capital figures in Chile are set in Unidades de Fomento (UF), an inflation-indexed unit of account. The UF is not a currency. Its peso value changes daily and is published by the Banco Central de Chile. Capital amounts are therefore stored in UF under the ISO code CLF. No peso figure is stored. The Ley Fintec also amended Ley 20.950: digital units backed by and directly valued in money, including tokens on distributed ledgers, count as prepaid means of payment. Issuers of such payment stablecoins therefore fall under the prepaid issuer regime of the Banco Central de Chile. The Ley Fintec replaced article 24 of Ley 18.045 with a deferred version; the date it takes effect was not confirmed in this check. The CMF amended NCG 502 in December 2024 and added a Chapter X by NCG 559 in February 2026; this entry uses the consolidated text on the CMF site. No CMF application fees were confirmed from official sources, so fee fields are null. Banks and some other supervised entities may provide Ley Fintec services without registering (Ley 21.521 art. 5). Online gaming, insurance and fund managers were not covered in this check.
General information
About Chile
Natural Earth boundaries. Map is indicative.
Status
Sovereign state
Capital
Santiago
Area
756,102 km²
Official languages
Spanish
Time zone
UTC-04:00 (UTC-03:00 in summer) on the mainland; Magallanes and Aysén stay on UTC-03:00 all year; Easter Island is UTC-06:00 (UTC-05:00 in summer)
Main exports
Copper ores and concentrates
Refined copper
Fresh fruit and nuts
Fish and seafood
Inorganic chemicals
Main export partners
China
United States
Japan
South Korea
Brazil
Sources for the country information(15)
Country information checked 13 October 2026. Licensing data updated 13 October 2026. Information only, not legal advice; requirements change. Regulatory notice.
