Colombia Issues Decree for Mandatory Open Finance System

If you spend any time walking through the glass canyons of Brickell or grabbing a coffee in Coral Gables, you recognize that Miami isn’t just a vacation spot—it’s the financial nerve center for the Americas. When the regulatory winds shift in Bogotá, the ripple effects are felt almost instantly in the boardrooms of South Florida. The latest tremor comes via the Colombian government’s decision to fundamentally rewrite the rules of financial data. The issuance of Decree 0368 of 2026 marks a pivot from a polite suggestion to a legal mandate, forcing the Colombian financial sector into a mandatory “Open Finance” framework.

For the uninitiated, the concept of open finance sounds like a technicality, but in practice, it’s a power shift. For the last four years, Colombia operated a voluntary system where banks could choose whether or not to share customer data. As it turns out, the adoption was sluggish. The modern decree, signed on April 7, 2026, effectively ends that era of hesitation. Now, banks, insurers, and fiduciaries are legally obligated to exchange client information—provided the client gives their explicit, informed, and prior consent. This isn’t about the government snooping; it’s about breaking the data monopolies held by a few legacy institutions.

The Mechanics of Decree 0368: Control and Consent

The core of this new mandate is a system defined as a comprehensive network of authorities, norms, and infrastructures designed to facilitate the secure flow of personal financial data. The Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia is the entity holding the reins, tasked with defining the standards and supervising the entire operation. This ensures that while data is moving, it isn’t leaking.

What makes this particularly interesting from a consumer rights perspective is the “exclusive faculty” of the user. The decree is clear: no entity can touch or share a customer’s data without a specific authorization. This isn’t a hidden checkbox in a fifty-page terms-and-conditions document. The consent must be transparent, detailing exactly who is accessing the data, what specific information is being pulled, the purpose of the access, and the duration of the permission. There is even a requirement for double verification—the user must authorize the third party seeking the data, and the data-holding institution must verify that authorization.

From a macro perspective, the Colombian government is betting that this will spark a wave of digital banking trends that prioritize the user over the institution. By allowing a person’s financial history to travel with them, the government aims to foster competition and innovation, preventing customers from being “trapped” in a relationship with a bank simply because that bank holds all their historical data.

Empowering the “Popular Economy”

One of the most significant aspects of this shift, as highlighted by Larisa Caruso, the acting director of the Unidad de Proyección Normativa y Estudios de Regulación Financiera (URF), is the focus on “Transformation Social.” The goal is to empower the “popular and community economy”—the slight-scale entrepreneurs and traditional workers who have historically been shut out of the formal credit market.

In the old model, if a small business owner in a rural Colombian province didn’t have a long-standing relationship with a major bank, they were often deemed “unprofilable” and denied credit. Under the mandatory open finance scheme, that entrepreneur can authorize a new, more innovative lender to access their transaction data from other sources. This allows for better risk profiling based on actual behavior rather than just a static credit score. By opening these doors, the government hopes to drive financial and credit inclusion for those traditionally excluded from the system.

For those of us monitoring cross-border financial regulations from Miami, this move signals a broader trend across Latin America toward the “democratization of data.” When financial data becomes portable, the barrier to entry for new fintech players drops, and the pressure on legacy banks to innovate increases.

Navigating the Shift: A Local Guide for Miami Residents

While this decree is a Colombian law, its impact is deeply local for the thousands of Miami residents who manage assets, run businesses, or hold dual citizenship in Colombia. Whether you are a business owner with a supply chain in Medellín or an investor with holdings in Bogotá, the way your financial data is handled is about to change. Given my background in analyzing these geo-economic shifts, I can tell you that navigating a mandatory data-sharing environment requires a specific set of professional safeguards.

If you have financial interests tied to the Colombian market, you shouldn’t leave your data strategy to chance. Here are the three types of local Miami professionals Consider consider consulting to ensure your interests are protected under this new regime:

Cross-Border Financial Compliance Consultants

Seem for specialists who understand the intersection of U.S. Privacy laws and the new mandates of the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia. You need someone who can audit how your Colombian data is being shared and ensure it doesn’t create reporting conflicts with your U.S.-based financial obligations.

International Tax Attorneys

With the increased visibility of financial data under an open finance system, the “paper trail” becomes much more transparent. Seek out attorneys who specialize in treaty-based tax planning between the U.S. And Colombia to ensure that your data portability doesn’t lead to unforeseen tax complications.

Fintech Regulatory Specialists

If you are an entrepreneur looking to launch a service in the Colombian market, you need a consultant who can navigate the specific “standards and infrastructures” mentioned in Decree 0368. Prioritize those with a track record of helping U.S. Firms integrate with Latin American open banking APIs.

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