Carlos Felipe B.Managing partner and founder
A clarification regarding the participación of the banks
The Superintendency of Banks issued Circular Letter CCI-REG-2026000015, dated October 21, 2026 , and published on October 22, regarding the Central Bank 's new Instant Payment Management System , known as SGPI. The new feature clarifies the authorizations and procedures required of financial intermediaries to participate in this system. Its publication does not, in itself, mean that all banks have immediately enabled this new service for all their clients.
The Central Bank manages the system
Paragraph 1 explains that the Central Bank administers the SGPI under Article 15 of the Monetary and Financial Law No. 183-02. The circular letter also refers to the Second Resolution of the Monetary Board of August 28, 2025, which modifies the Payment Systems Regulations . This framework distributes functions between the authorities and participating entities: connection to the system is not left exclusively to the commercial decision of each bank.
La authorization Central Bank prior authorization is still required
To participate, entities must obtain prior authorization from the Central Bank and comply with the corresponding regulatory, technical, operational, functional, and security requirements. Section 1 mentions the implementation, testing, certification , and production stages . Therefore, the fact that an entity announces interest in the SGPI does not imply that it has completed all the verifications or that the functionality is already available to its users.
Which procedure does the Superintendency of Banks not require?
Paragraph 2 establishes that financial intermediation entities do not require a no-objection from the Superintendency of Banks simply by participating in the SGPI (Integrated Financial Management System). This clarification avoids confusion between this specific procedure and the authorization from the Central Bank, which remains required. It also does not constitute a general exemption from supervision, nor does it eliminate the obligations applicable to operations, security, and customer relations.
Outsourcing and changes to contracts or procedures
Paragraph 3 contains an important caveat: when participation involves outsourcing services, modifications to adhesion contracts, or changes to policies and procedures, the entity must process the corresponding requests in accordance with the Superintendency's current Request Manual. In practice, the project should be evaluated by its components: participating in the system and modifying a contract or hiring a third party may generate different requirements. The exception regarding the no-objection rule should not be extended to actions already covered by the circular itself.
What the user should check before using it
From the customer's perspective, it's advisable to confirm directly with their bank whether the service is available and what its terms, limits, costs, and complaint procedures are. This one-page circular does not establish a universal access schedule, common fees, or transfer limits for all users. As a practical precaution, the recipient's information should be verified before confirming a transaction, and receipts should be kept. The term "instant payments" does not justify attributing to this document commercial terms or reversal guarantees that it does not contain.