Fintech Outlook for the Americas — 2026 Edition

Latin Counsel presents its Fintech 2026 – The Americas report at a moment of structural transition in the global financial system. Across the region, the convergence of digital assets, tokenization, artificial intelligence and real-time payment infrastructure is redefining how financial services are designed, delivered and regulated.

This edition is anchored in a key shift identified in the United States. As outlined by Yvette Valdez of Latham & Watkins, the U.S. is undergoing a regulatory reset, moving away from an enforcement-driven approach toward a more facilitative framework aimed at enabling financial innovation and digital asset market development.

This transition is reflected in evolving legislative initiatives, revised agency guidance and a broader effort to position U.S. markets at the forefront of financial innovation. The shift is expected to expand institutional participation and support the expansion of tokenized and digital asset markets, while maintaining a distinctly market-led approach compared to more prescriptive regimes in other jurisdictions.

Against this backdrop, the report examines how jurisdictions throughout Latin America are responding to similar pressures, albeit at different speeds and through distinct legal traditions.

While some markets are advancing Open Finance frameworks and instant payment ecosystems, others remain in earlier stages, prioritizing financial stability and incremental regulatory development. At the same time, artificial intelligence, digital assets and cross-border compliance are emerging as common regulatory themes across the region.

Contributions from leading firms including Marval, O’Farrell Mairal (Argentina), PPO Indacochea (Bolivia), TozziniFreire (Brazil), Arias Law (Central America), Carey (Chile), Posse Herrera Ruiz (Colombia), Pérez Bustamante & Ponce (Ecuador), Nader, Hayaux & Goebel (Mexico), Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega (Panama), Berkemeyer (Paraguay), Estudio Rodrigo (Peru), FinReg 360 (Spain) and Guyer & Regules (Uruguay) provide a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction analysis of these developments, alongside the regional perspective from Latham & Watkins.

The result is a comparative assessment of the fintech regulatory landscape in 2026, identifying areas of convergence, divergence and emerging opportunity. As in previous editions, Latin Counsel aims to offer a clear and reliable reference for investors, financial institutions and advisers navigating the evolution of financial technology across the Americas.

THE AMERICAS (Regional Perspective) | LATHAM & WATKINS | Yvette Valdez

Financial technology is reshaping the foundations of how money moves, assets are held, and financial services are delivered throughout the Americas. Across payments, lending, capital markets, and asset management, the convergence of blockchain, tokenization, and artificial intelligence is driving structural change at a pace that regulation has historically struggled to match.

For years, regulatory uncertainty in the United States has stymied institutional participation, leaving fintech organizations to navigate an enforcement-driven environment with limited formal guidance. The dynamic in the U.S. today has pivoted materially. The U.S. is now in the midst of a significant regulatory reset, moving from a posture of skepticism toward one of enablement, with new legislative frameworks, revised agency guidance, and a broader ambition to position American markets at the forefront of financial innovation.

The most consequential shift has been a dramatic change in regulatory posture. Virtually overnight, U.S. regulators moved from enforcement-heavy crypto-skepticism — which effectively restricted traditional financial institutions from digital asset markets — to a determined focus on flexibility. The SEC dropped nearly all enforcement actions commenced under the prior administration against fintech companies based on unregistered broker-dealer or exchange activities.

This regulatory orientation puts the U.S. more in line with pro-innovation jurisdictions globally, though it takes a distinctly market-led approach compared to the EU’s prescriptive frameworks.

Digital Assets and Stablecoins: An Emerging Federal Regulatory Regime
With the passage of the GENIUS Act, a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins paved the way for a growing stablecoin market in the U.S. The pending Clarity Act would further standardize definitions of digital commodities, distinguishing them from securities and stablecoins, and codify broker-dealer registration requirements. While these developments are significant, by contrast, the EU’s MiCA regime has already created a unified, passportable crypto licensing framework across member states — arguably ahead of where U.S. federal law currently sits. Latin America, led by Brazil and Mexico, has taken a more cautious, activity-based licensing approach, though Brazil’s Drex CBDC initiative signals ambition.

Tokenization: From Pilots to Market Infrastructure
With pro-innovation leadership now in place, tokenized assets are expected to move beyond pilots into capital markets and fund distribution at scale. The SEC issued a taxonomy for tokenized securities in January 2026. The Federal Reserve, the OCC, and the FDIC jointly clarified that capital rules are technology-neutral, and the CFTC similarly issued guidance for tokenized collateral.

Generative AI: Federal Ambition, State Fragmentation
AI regulation remains the least settled area in the U.S. In the absence of a federal standard, states including California, Colorado, and Texas have pursued their own AI transparency and consumer protection laws. President Trump’s December 2025 executive order sought to override this patchwork with a "minimally burdensome national standard."

Bottom Line
The U.S. is undergoing a genuine regulatory reset — moving from adversarial enforcement to structured enablement. While governmental agencies are still building frameworks for the pro-innovation mandate from the White House, the U.S. is betting on speed and market-led innovation, with compliance increasingly seen as a competitive differentiator rather than a constraint.
The rest of the Americas is similarly building regulatory and legislative frameworks for financial technology. My fellow industry colleagues have provided a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction overview herein.
Thank you to Latin Counsel for compiling this fintech market outlook.

Participating firms:

Argentina: Juan Diehl – Marval, O’Farrell Mairal.
Bolivia: Lindsay Sykes, Eid Salomón, Andrea Lizarraga, Fernanda Ribera – PPO Indacochea.
Brazil: Alexei Bonamin, Alexandre Vargas – TozziniFreire.
Central America: Mario Lozano and Katia Ventura (El Salvador); Luis Pedro del Valle and Cindy Arrivillaga (Guatemala); Mario Agüero and Emanuel A. López Mejía (Honduras); Diego Gallegos (Costa Rica); Ana Teresa Rizo and Kevin Humberto Castro (Nicaragua) – ARIAS LAW.
Chile: Fernando Noriega, Agustín Domínguez – Carey.
Colombia: Juan Camilo Zuluaga – Posse Herrera Ruiz.
Ecuador: Juan Francisco Simone – Pérez Bustamante & Ponce.
Mexico: Adrián López, María Gabriela Botello – Nader, Hayaux & Goebel.
Panama: Javier Yap Endara – Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega.
Paraguay: Manuel Arias – Berkemeyer.
Peru: Nydia Guevara – Estudio Rodrigo.
Spain: Jorge Ferrer Barreiro, Mariona Pericas Estrada – FinReg 360.
Uruguay: Florencia Costagnola, Rodrigo Varela – Guyer & Regules.

The participation of these firms and professionals, based on a set of six common questions addressed across all jurisdictions, allows us to present a comparative, technical and current view of the fintech regulatory landscape in each country and across the region as a whole:

1. As we move through 2026, how has your jurisdiction’s legal framework successfully transitioned from basic Open Banking to a mature "Open Finance" or "Open Data" economy, and what are the remaining friction points for data portability?

2. With Generative AI now deeply integrated into financial services, what specific regulatory frameworks or "sandboxes" are currently being used to govern algorithmic transparency, automated credit decisions, and AI-driven risk management?

3. Following the regional success of systems like Pix or SPEI, how is your local legislation managing the mandatory shift toward instant, 24/7 payment interoperability, and what new licensing requirements are hitting payment service providers (PSPs) this year?

4. What are the legal and regulatory challenges of Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization in your market, and how are regulators treating stablecoin-based remittances under updated securities or "travel rule" anti-money laundering laws?

5. As Fintech corridors expand across LatAm, what are the most critical cyber-resilience and AML/KYC hurdles that international firms must overcome to ensure seamless cross-border operations within your jurisdiction?

6. Given the widespread and continuing global adoption of the value proposition of blockchain generally for the financial markets, how has the legal and regulatory treatment of digital assets changed or been impacted?


ARGENTINA | MARVAL, O’FARRELL MAIRAL | Juan Diehl