Mexico’s Fintech Law has come into effect

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The president of the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) , Bernardo González , informed that the new legislation for Fintech industries has just been published in the Federal Official Gazette of September 10. The Fintech Law is meant to regulate financial and technological institutions in Mexico , making it the first country in Latin America to establish a legal framework for this type of company.

During his participation at the 12th national convention of Multiple Purpose Financial Institutions in Mexico (ASOFOM) , the public official stated that the rules would apply for crowd-funding companies, online payments, and cryptocurrencies .

He explained that the Fintech Law was different from other regulations in Mexico’s legislation since it established flexible rules regarding the development of financial technology companies.

Starting this week, Fintech companies that wish to enter the regulation framework will be able to begin their process, which will last between 6 and 12 months .

He added that there would be laundering controls which will force companies to report on any suspicious activity and apply prevention schemes to prevent money laundering. Mexico’s Ministry of Finance will handle reports through their new Financial Intelligence Unit , according to Sandro García Rojas, assistant manager of Preventive Processes Supervision at the CNBV .

The statesman added that the illicit party funding preventive measures to be applied for Fintech companies will be similar to those applied for financial entities in other countries following recommendations issued by international committees such as the Financial Action Task Force (GAFI) .

The Fintech Law was first introduced in March by President Enrique Peña Nieto with aims to promoting the development of Fintech industries in the country. However, given recent cyber-attacks to Mexican banks in the past months, legislators decided to enhance the Fintech Law with measures to prevent fraud, theft, and hacking in the country’s financial institutions.

The Bank of Mexico has recently unveiled operating rules for electronic purses and is yet to define the crypto-currencies that companies will be allowed to use in the country.