Licenses & regulation
Regulated where you operate
Localpayment has a licensed, registered or supervised presence in 18 countries across Latin America and Canada. Here is the exact status in each one, and the authority that oversees it.
- 18 countries
- Local authorities
- Reviewed October 2026
18 countriesBy country
License, registration and regulator
Status texts are published exactly as provided by our Compliance team. Select a country to see its local rails and payment methods.
- ArgentinaLicensed
PSP Aggregator — Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) and Financial Investigation Unit (UIF).
Authority: BCRA · UIF
- BoliviaLicensed
Financial Technology Company — Financial System Supervisory Authority (ASFI).
Authority: ASFI
- BrazilLicensed
Payment Institution — Central Bank of Brazil (BCB).
Authority: BCB
- CanadaRegistered / supervised
MSB Certificate — Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
Authority: FINTRAC
- ChileRegistered / supervised
Obligated Entity — Financial Analysis Unit (UAF).
Authority: UAF
- ColombiaRegistered / supervised
PSP — under the supervision of the Chamber of Commerce of Colombia.
Authority: Chamber of Commerce
- Costa RicaRegistered / supervised
Supervised Legal Entity — General Superintendence of Financial Entities (SUGEF).
Authority: SUGEF
- Dominican RepublicRegistered / supervised
PSP — Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo.
Authority: CCPSD
- EcuadorLicensed
Auxiliary Services Company for Public and Private Financial Sectors — Bank Superintendency.
Authority: Superintendencia de Bancos
- El SalvadorRegistered / supervised
Obligated Entity — Financial Investigation Unit (UIF).
Authority: UIF
- GuatemalaRegistered / supervised
Pay-in and Pay-out — Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT).
Authority: SAT
- HondurasRegistered / supervised
Pay-in and Pay-out — Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa.
Authority: CCIT
- MexicoRegistered / supervised
Money Transmitter — National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV).
Authority: CNBV
- NicaraguaRegistered / supervised
Payment Services — General Revenue Directorate (DGI).
Authority: DGI
- PanamaLicensed
Payment Methods Issuer — Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) and Financial Analysis Unit (UAF).
Authority: SBP · UAF
- ParaguayRegistered / supervised
Obligated Entity — Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering (SEPRELAD).
Authority: SEPRELAD
- PeruRegistered / supervised
PSP — National Superintendency of Public Registries (SUNARP).
Authority: SUNARP
- UruguayLicensed
PSP — Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU).
Authority: BCU
Supervision
How our entities are supervised
Last updated: October 2026.
Payments regulation in the Americas is not uniform. The same activity — collecting, paying out or converting funds for businesses — is licensed as a payment institution in one country, registered as a money services business in another, and supervised as an obligated entity for anti-money laundering purposes in a third. That is why we publish the exact status in each country instead of one simplified claim.
Two kinds of status
- Licensed — a regulator has authorized our local activity, for example as a Payment Institution with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), a Financial Technology Company with Bolivia’s Financial System Supervisory Authority (ASFI) or a PSP Aggregator with the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA).
- Registered / supervised — we are registered with, or supervised by, the local authority: a Money Transmitter with Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), an MSB Certificate from FINTRAC in Canada, a Supervised Legal Entity before SUGEF in Costa Rica, an Obligated Entity before the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) in Chile, the UIF in El Salvador or SEPRELAD in Paraguay, and PSP, Pay-in and Pay-out or Payment Services registrations in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.
What supervision means in practice
Supervised and obligated entities must run anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) programs, know their customers, monitor transactions and report suspicious activity to the competent financial intelligence unit. Depending on the country, they may also be subject to inspections, reporting duties and rules on how customer funds are handled. These obligations are the reason we verify every business during onboarding.
Verify it yourself
Most regulators publish public registers of the entities they authorize or supervise. The same information is available in our licenses documentation, and our team can share entity details for your due diligence.
Frequently asked questions
Is Localpayment licensed in every country where it operates?
No single status applies everywhere. We hold licenses in some countries, are registered or supervised in others. The table above shows the exact status for each of our 18 countries.
Does a license mean every product is available in that country?
No. Product and payment-method availability varies by country. Check the country pages in our coverage section, or talk to our team for the current offer in each market.
Which Localpayment entity will contract with my company?
It depends on the markets and services in your agreement. Our team confirms the contracting entity during onboarding.
How often is this page updated?
We update it whenever a license, registration or supervisory status changes. The date of the last review is shown on this page.
What does “Obligated Entity” mean?
In Chile, El Salvador and Paraguay we are an Obligated Entity: a supervised entity that applies AML/CFT controls and reports transactions under the oversight of the national financial analysis or investigation unit — the UAF in Chile, the UIF in El Salvador and SEPRELAD in Paraguay.
How often is this page reviewed?
Our Compliance team reviews the status texts and the review date is shown on this page. When a status changes, this page and our documentation are updated together.
Due diligence
Verify our status in four steps
Find the country
Locate it in the table above. The status text is published exactly as provided by our Compliance team.
Note the status and the authority
Licensed or registered / supervised, together with the entity type and the regulator or registry named for that country.
Check the public register
Most regulators publish registers of the entities they authorize or supervise. Our documentation mirrors this page.
Request entity details
For KYB or vendor due diligence, our team shares entity names, registration details and policies through the contact form or the Trust Center.
Need entity details for your due diligence?
Our compliance team can share the regulatory information your review requires.