Electronic fund transfers between individuals in Chile totalled 989 million in the twelve months to March 2025. Those transfers moved US$246,414 million, equivalent to 72% of GDP. Only 10% of interbank TEF transfers are payments from individuals to businesses. The Banco Central de Chile will publish draft rule changes for consultation in the second half of 2026 to make TEF usable as a means of payment at merchants.
Chile enabled interbank transfers with immediate availability of funds for the recipient in 2008. Alberto Naudon, the central bank's vice-president, told Diario Financiero that the challenge is not building the rail but turning it into a payment experience that competes with cards. The bank's August 2026 Payment Systems Report counted 435 digital payments a year per person over 15. That figure is 15% higher than in the previous report. Diario Financiero reported that electronic transfers grew 15% over the same period. The central bank's report describes the use of electronic transfers as payment to merchants as still limited.
The consultation will propose common standards for aliases, interoperable QR codes, APIs, authentication and immediate confirmation of transactions. Diario Financiero reported in June that a separate third-quarter consultation would cover rules for low-value payment clearing houses and payment initiators under the Fintech Law. Chilean banks have been working for about a year on a project to launch interoperable person-to-person instant payments, La Tercera reported on 2 August 2026.
If the standards take effect, TEF would carry merchant payments on the existing 24/7 rail rather than on a new central-bank-operated system like Brazil's Pix. The first measurable test will be whether the 10% merchant share of interbank transfers moves once the rules are in force.