Fintech & payments regulation in Ecuador (2026)
Fintech and digital payments in Ecuador: licensing regime.
Ecuador has a dedicated, in-force fintech and payments licensing regime built on the 2022 Ley Fintech and its 2023 implementing decree, with secondary rules issued by the Monetary Board (JPRM) in 2024-2025. Payment aggregators, gateways, remitters, e-money issuers and specialized electronic deposit/payment companies (SEDPE) must incorporate locally and obtain authorization before operating, and a regulatory sandbox and open-finance API mandate are being rolled out. Only electronic money and credit/debit/prepaid cards are recognized means of payment; crypto-assets are not legal tender or an authorized payment method.
Legal framework
Organic Law for the Development, Regulation and Control of Technological Financial Services (Ley Fintech), in force 22 Dec 2022, implemented by Executive Decree 903 (2023) and Monetary & Financial Policy and Regulation Board (JPRM) resolutions; supervised by the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE), Superintendency of Banks (SB) and Superintendency of Companies, Securities and Insurance (SCVS).
Key points: digital payments & fintech in Ecuador
Dedicated fintech law in force
The Ley Orgánica para el Desarrollo, Regulación y Control de los Servicios Financieros Tecnológicos took effect 22 December 2022, giving fintech and payment activities a specific statutory regime; it was implemented by Executive Decree 903 in 2023.
Three-regulator licensing structure
The Central Bank (BCE), Superintendency of Banks (SB) and Superintendency of Companies (SCVS) jointly issue licenses, supervise and control fintech activities; foreign payment service providers serving Ecuadorian residents must also obtain authorization.
Payment/e-money authorization & local incorporation
Payment aggregators, gateways, remitters, digital wallets and electronic-money issuers must set up a local company (sociedad anónima) and be authorized by the BCE before operating; specialized electronic deposit/payment companies (SEDPE) and auxiliary payment-system participants are a licensed category, with minimum capital reported in the USD 50,000-250,000 range by activity.
Payment-system rules (JPRM-2024-018-M)
In 2024 the Monetary and Financial Policy and Regulation Board issued the norm regulating means and systems of payment and fintech activities, defining authorized electronic payment instruments and the framework for fintech participants in the national payment system.
Instant-payment mandate & SIP rail
Resolution JPRM-2024-029-M (approved 31 Dec 2024) requires bank transfers to be processed immediately, 24/7, phased through 2025 with low-value caps (e.g., ~USD 470), routed via private networks or the BCE's new Sistema Integrador de Pagos (SIP) expected to provide interoperability from 2026.
Sandbox and open finance still maturing
The law authorizes a regulatory sandbox of up to 24 months, but secondary operating rules are limited and uptake is nascent; open-finance/mandatory-API obligations for banks and cooperatives are being phased in (reported effective around April 2026), so these elements are partly in transition.
Timeline of decisions
- Guidance · officialBCE-GG-008-2025: Technical Integration Standards for Unified Payment System (SIP)
The Central Bank of Ecuador issued Resolution BCE-GG-008-2025 specifying technical stages, integration milestones, and certification requirements for payment network administrators under the new Unified Payments Integration System (SIP). It operationalises the 2024 interoperability mandate through a phased rollout where larger institutions connect first and smaller ones receive extended timelines.
Banco Central del Ecuador
- Decision · officialJPRM-2024-029-M: Mandatory Real-Time Payment Interoperability
The Monetary Policy and Regulation Board (JPRM) issued Resolution JPRM-2024-029-M, amending the 2024 payment means norm to impose mandatory interoperability across all payment systems. All electronic transactions must be processed in real time, 24/7, so that any wallet, bank, or payment service provider can exchange transactions with any other instantly under common standards.
Banco Central del Ecuador / JPRM
- Decision · officialBCE-GG-024-2024: Revised Auxiliary Payment System Authorization Framework
Published in Official Gazette No. 678, this BCE resolution replaced BCE-GG-018-2023 with stricter authorization, oversight, and supervision requirements for participants in Ecuador's Auxiliary Payment Systems. Existing authorized participants (digital wallets, aggregators, gateways) were given four months to submit enhanced documentation, significantly raising the supervisory bar.
Banco Central del Ecuador
- Decision · officialJPRM-2024-018-M: Comprehensive Payment Means and Fintech Activities Regulation
The JPRM enacted 'Standards that Regulate Payment Means and Systems in Ecuador and the FinTech Activities of its Participants,' requiring all fintech payment providers (e-wallets, aggregators, gateways, remitters) to be locally incorporated, hold minimum capital of USD 200,000, maintain a BCE account, and obtain central bank authorisation before operating — the first detailed licensing rulebook under the 2022 Fintech Law.
Banco Central del Ecuador / JPRM
- LawExecutive Decree 903: Implementing Regulations for the Fintech Law
President Guillermo Lasso signed the Reglamento to the Fintech Law, published in the Official Register on 14 November 2023. The decree split regulatory responsibilities between the JPRM (payment systems) and the JPRF (financial risk), and designated the BCE, Superintendency of Banks, and Superintendency of Companies as the licensing and supervisory authorities for their respective categories of fintech activity.
NMS Law (citing Official Register publication)
- Decision · officialJPRF-F-2023-076: Digital Credit Fintech Supervision Regulation
The Financial Policy and Regulation Board (JPRF) issued Resolution JPRF-F-2023-076, establishing the first dedicated oversight framework for fintech digital credit providers, covering AML risk management, credit portfolio qualification standards, and provisioning requirements — extending regulatory perimeter to online lenders beyond traditional payment services.
Banco Central del Ecuador / JPRF
- Law · officialLey Fintech (RO 215): Ecuador's First Comprehensive Fintech Law Enacted
The National Assembly approved the Ley Orgánica para el Desarrollo, Regulación y Control de los Servicios Financieros Tecnológicos with 74 votes, published in Registro Oficial No. 215. The law defined fintech activities, created a multi-regulator licensing framework for payment providers, digital wallets, and electronic deposit companies, and introduced a regulatory sandbox — marking the end of Ecuador's decade-long absence of a dedicated fintech statute.
Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador
- Law · officialLey Orgánica de Emprendimiento e Innovación: Crowdfunding and Innovation Framework
Published in Registro Oficial No. 151, this law created Ecuador's first legal framework for crowdfunding platforms (across four categories: donation, pre-purchase, equity, and reimbursable) and established the National Council for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CONEIN). Though not a full fintech law, it formally recognised technology-enabled financing models and laid the institutional groundwork that prefigured the 2022 Fintech Law.
Gobierno del Ecuador
- DecisionDinero Electrónico Decommissioned; BIMO Private Mobile Payments Launched
The BCE's Sistema de Dinero Electrónico was officially shut down in March 2018, ending the world's first central-bank-operated retail CBDC after peaking at roughly 500,000 users amid weak merchant adoption. Accounts were migrated to BIMO, a mobile payment platform operated by a private bank consortium under BCE oversight, shifting Ecuador's mobile-payments model from a state monopoly to regulated private provision.
Latin American Journal of Central Banking (ScienceDirect)
- Law · officialCódigo Orgánico Monetario y Financiero (COMF): Foundational Monetary and Financial Law
Ecuador enacted the Organic Monetary and Financial Code (Registro Oficial 332), the master statute governing the entire monetary and financial system. The COMF established the Junta de Política y Regulación Monetaria (JPRM) as the primary payment-policy body, granted the BCE authority over payment and clearing systems, banned private digital currencies including Bitcoin, and gave the BCE a statutory monopoly over electronic money issuance — the direct legal basis for the Dinero Electrónico program and all subsequent payment regulation.
Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador
Sources
- corralrosales.com/en/fintech-law/
- compliancelatam.legal/en/ecuador-assembly-approves-fintech-law/
- gob.ec/sites/default/files/regulations/2024-11/JPRM-2024-018-M_lexis.pdf
- bce.fin.ec/storage/JPRM/resoluciones/CODIFICACION-JPRM-2025-006-M.pdf
- primicias.ec/economia/transferencias-bancarias-ecuador-resolucion-junta-monetaria-
- vixio.com/insights/pc-ecuadors-first-fintech-regulation-brings-new-rules-paymen
- ally-law.com/fintech-regulation-guide-ecuador/
- payatlas.com/regulator/suppe-4840
- ozoneapi.com/blog/the-status-of-open-finance-in-latin-america-in-2025/
- bolsadevaloresguayaquil.com/normativas/legal/archivos/271_REFORMANORMAQUEREGULALOSMEDIOSYSISTEMAD
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 25 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026