When Chile's Banco Central launched the Sistema de Liquidacion Bruta en Tiempo Real in 2004, it became one of the earlier Latin American central banks to operate a modern real-time gross settlement system independently. Twenty years later, the institution is undertaking a dual-track modernization that could reshape how high-value payments settle in Chile's financial system.
The LBTR currently serves a narrow participant base. Access is restricted to commercial banks, local central counterparty entities, and securities clearing and settlement systems. Chilean banking consolidation has reduced the number of commercial banks from twenty-five in 2007 to approximately seventeen, shrinking the LBTR's participant pool alongside the broader banking market.
Recognizing this constraint, the Banco Central initiated a public consultation on a proposal to regulate access to the LBTR for non-banking financial entities. The move aligns with Chile's 2023 Fintech Law, which established a regulatory framework for new categories of payment service providers and financial technology firms. Opening the RTGS to these entities would allow payment institutions and other authorized financial companies to settle obligations in central bank money, reducing their reliance on commercial bank correspondent arrangements for final settlement.
In parallel, the Banco Central published regulation to implement a new LBTR subsystem dedicated to interbank payments in US dollars. This reflects the substantial role of USD-denominated transactions in Chile's trade-oriented economy, where copper exports and foreign direct investment generate significant cross-border dollar flows. The subsystem would allow participants to settle USD obligations domestically through the central bank's infrastructure rather than routing them through correspondent banking channels abroad.
The broader Chilean payment landscape has evolved significantly around the LBTR's core settlement function. ComBanc, a private high-value clearinghouse established in 2005, operates alongside the LBTR to clear large-value payment orders with end-of-day net settlement through the RTGS. TEF, Chile's near-real-time retail transfer system operating since 2008, provides interbank transfers typically completing within seconds. In 2024, two new financial market infrastructures began processing immediate payments and foreign exchange market payments under risk management frameworks aligned with international standards.
Chile's approach to RTGS modernization reflects a broader Latin American pattern where central banks are expanding access to settlement infrastructure beyond traditional banking institutions. Brazil's STR already accommodates 581 direct participants including payment institutions, a figure that grew by 48 new entrants in 2024 alone. Chile's consultation process positions it to follow this regional trajectory while maintaining the risk management standards that have underpinned two decades of LBTR operations.