Open Banking & Financial API Infrastructure

Mexico's 2018 Fintech Law was among the first comprehensive fintech regulations in Latin America and includes provisions for open banking — requiring financial institutions to share customer data (with consent) through standardized APIs. This regulatory mandate created the infrastructure layer on which Mexico's 600+ fintech companies build products: account aggregation services, automated lending decisions based on multi-bank transaction history, and payment initiation from third-party apps.

The technical implementation includes RESTful APIs for account information, payment initiation, and product comparison services. Banxico (the central bank) defines the data schemas and security requirements, while financial institutions build the endpoints. The rollout has been gradual — full implementation has faced delays — but the regulatory mandate ensures it will reach critical mass.

Open banking in Mexico is strategically important because it breaks the data monopoly of incumbent banks. In a country where 45% of adults are unbanked, traditional banks have little incentive to serve low-income customers. Open banking enables fintechs to aggregate data from multiple sources — utility payments, mobile top-ups, government benefit deposits — to build credit profiles for people invisible to traditional finance. The technology is the lever; financial inclusion is the outcome.