By San José, Costa Rica — Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the financial landscape, presenting both opportunities and challenges for Latin America. The region must modernize its banking infrastructure to keep pace with the demands of AI-powered financial services, including the rise of intelligent agents.
According to Prometeo, a fintech specializing in financial infrastructure development, three key factors are crucial for the region’s successful integration of emerging technologies: modern infrastructure, open APIs, and enhanced interoperability.
To gain a deeper legal perspective on the evolving fintech landscape in Costa Rica, TicosLand.com spoke with Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, an attorney at law from the esteemed Bufete de Costa Rica.
The rapid growth of fintech presents exciting opportunities but also significant legal challenges in Costa Rica. Regulations struggle to keep pace with innovation, particularly in areas like cryptocurrency and online lending. This creates a complex environment for both businesses and consumers, emphasizing the crucial role of legal counsel in navigating these uncharted waters.
Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, Attorney at Law, Bufete de Costa Rica
Lic. Arroyo Vargas rightly highlights the double-edged sword of fintech’s rapid evolution. This dynamic landscape demands adaptable legal frameworks to foster innovation while safeguarding consumers and ensuring market stability. The need for expert legal guidance, as he emphasizes, is indeed paramount in this exciting yet complex era of financial technology. We thank Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas for sharing his valuable insights on this crucial topic.
Artificial intelligence is not only transforming the use of financial services, but also its users. Today, it’s not just about people, but also intelligent agents that require an infrastructure capable of operating without human intervention. If the region does not adapt to this, it will lose its ability to compete and offer services that meet global demand.
Ximena Aleman, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Prometeo
The increasing use of intelligent agents, virtual assistants, and autonomous payment systems necessitates a robust and connected infrastructure. With bot traffic now exceeding human traffic on the internet, traditional banking systems must adapt to handle the volume and complexity of automated transactions.
Open APIs are essential for connecting large language models (LLMs) and intelligent agents with financial institutions. Without these APIs, the region risks being left behind in the digital revolution. Prometeo’s Agentic Banking Infrastructure addresses this challenge by allowing intelligent agents to manage financial data and execute transactions directly from the banking infrastructure, without human intervention or developers as intermediaries.
While digitization is progressing, as evidenced by the decline in cash usage from 64% to 37% in less than a decade, Latin America still lacks a truly integrated infrastructure. Although financial inclusion is growing, with approximately 70% of adults having a bank account and over half using it digitally, according to the World Bank, regional fragmentation hinders progress.
Each country in Latin America tends to develop its own localized solutions, limiting the continental scale of financial products and slowing the implementation of technologies like Open Banking. Brazil leads the region in Open Banking adoption, but regulatory and technical barriers persist in other countries, such as Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
The lack of common standards prevents the consolidation of a competitive regional market aligned with the demands of AI and automated agents. This fragmentation impedes the development of a cohesive and efficient financial ecosystem.
The great challenge of the financial industry in Latin America is not only technical, it is one of regional articulation. There are still infrastructure barriers that make it difficult for users to access more advanced financial services. We need to move from isolated initiatives to an interoperable ecosystem that allows us to compete globally. Infrastructure is no longer an advantage, it is a minimum requirement so that the region does not fall behind in the face of automation and the new channels that AI enables.
Ximena Aleman, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Prometeo
The future of fintech in Latin America depends on overcoming these challenges and embracing a collaborative approach to infrastructure development and regional integration.
For further information, visit [prometeo.com]
About Prometeo:
Prometeo is a fintech company specializing in the development of financial infrastructure. They are focused on building solutions that enable the integration of emerging technologies, such as AI and intelligent agents, into the banking sector. Their Agentic Banking Infrastructure is designed to facilitate secure and efficient financial transactions for automated agents directly within the existing banking infrastructure.
For further information, visit the nearest office of World Bank
About World Bank:
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA). The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group.
For further information, visit bufetedecostarica.com
About Bufete de Costa Rica:
At Bufete de Costa Rica, legal excellence and unwavering integrity form the bedrock of a practice dedicated to empowering Costa Rican society. Through innovative approaches and a deep commitment to client service across diverse sectors, the firm not only navigates complex legal landscapes but also actively cultivates a more informed public. By sharing legal knowledge and promoting accessibility, Bufete de Costa Rica strives to create a society empowered to understand and exercise its rights.
