Mexico tightens Fintech rules, advances AI

Update August 26, 2026: This note has been expanded with background and the current status of Mexico’s Fintech Law, including its publication in 2018, the progress of authorizations and the lack of secondary regulation for open finance. It also adds details on the scope of the reform Morena is pushing to legislate artificial intelligence.

The Congress of the State of Mexico received an initiative from Governor Delfina Gómez Álvarez to enact a new Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information and a new Law on Personal Data Protection Held by Obligated Parties in the State of Mexico and its municipalities, while Morena lawmakers announced a constitutional reform to Article 73 so the federal Congress can legislate on artificial intelligence.

What does the new transparency and data framework in the State of Mexico propose?

The initiative calls for the creation of a decentralized public body called Transparencia Mexiquense, under the Comptroller’s Office, to concentrate the exercise of rights to access public information and personal data protection under a new institutional model that would continue and strengthen the functions of Infoem.

According to the information released, the proposal also seeks to establish the basis and conditions for personal data processing and for exercising ARCO rights, through simple and expedited procedures.

What other reforms are included in the State of Mexico proposal?

The reform package in the State of Mexico is not limited to two new laws. It also includes a draft decree introduced by lawmaker Gerardo Pliego Santana to enact those same laws and amend several state provisions on public administration, archives, anti-corruption, administrative law and financial matters.

That proposal lays out an integrated legal framework to strengthen transparency, accountability and personal data protection, with alignment to the general laws on the matter.

What would happen to Infoem if the reform advances?

Under that scheme, Transparencia Mexiquense would take over Infoem’s functions through a simpler structure, although the new body would have technical, financial and management autonomy.

According to local coverage, the new body would no longer retain the status of an autonomous constitutional institution that Infoem had.

How does this reform connect with the general laws published in 2025?

The reform is part of a harmonization process with the General Transparency Law and the General Personal Data Protection Law published in March 2025.

It also contemplates the transfer and reassignment of Infoem’s functions to already established authorities and to the new body, with the stated goal of reducing operating costs and duplication.

How is the replacement of Infoem being read politically?

In local political circles in the State of Mexico, the creation of Transparencia Mexiquense is seen as part of the state’s alignment with a national policy to eliminate autonomous constitutional transparency bodies and concentrate decisions on access to information in comptroller offices.

What happened with the Fintech Law and why is open finance still unresolved?

Mexico’s Law to Regulate Financial Technology Institutions was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on March 9, 2018 and took effect the next day, but as of July 2026 secondary regulation for transactional open finance data under Article 76 had still not been issued. That article requires prior authorization and compliance with regulations issued by the Bank of Mexico to share financial, aggregated and transactional information with third parties.

What does Article 76 of the Fintech Law say?

Article 76 of the Fintech Law states that financial entities providing financial information, aggregated information and transactional data services to third parties must obtain prior authorization and comply with general provisions issued by the Bank of Mexico.

The rule also underpins information exchange through standardized APIs, a framework commonly associated with open banking or open finance.

How many Fintech institutions and applications are there today?

As of July 2026, Mexico had 89 authorized Financial Technology Institutions under the Fintech Law, while the novel models program had received 9 applications and had not recorded any approvals.

By the end of 2025, a total of 198 applications had been filed across the Fintech authorization ecosystem and the interagency committee had resolved 139 cases, according to the report cited by Mexico Business News.

An official Banxico breakdown, cited by El Economista, specifies that of the 198 total applications under the Fintech Law through the end of 2025, 134 were for Electronic Payment Funds Institutions, 55 for Collective Financing Institutions and 9 for Novel Models.

The authorization of Moneki as an Electronic Payment Funds Institution, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation and reported by El Economista, brought the number of authorized Financial Technology Institutions to 88 by October 2025, of which 61 were IFPEs and 27 were IFCs.

What still remains pending in open finance?

At the start of 2026, only open data obligations, such as product information and basic ATM and branch locations, were fully operational in Mexico, while rules on transactional data and payment initiation services were still waiting for secondary regulation.

The Holland & Knight analysis cited by WAU says the CNBV published the first set of rules for open data linked to Article 76 on June 4, 2020, but the rules for aggregated and transactional data had still not been issued at the start of 2026.

The firm SMPS Legal estimated that that secondary regulation was more than 2,170 days behind the deadline originally set by law.

How is shared data being used in practice?

An analysis by Creditolab said the mandate to share financial data with user consent was being implemented gradually in 2026, with greater progress in open and aggregated data schemes, while the transactional layer remained in pilot phase at many institutions.

Legal Paradox’s guide explains that, beyond FTIs, Article 76 requires money transmitters, credit information companies and clearinghouses to set up standardized APIs to share open, aggregated and transactional data, and notes that access to that information requires prior authorization from the supervisory commissions or from the Bank of Mexico, depending on the case.

KYC Systems and CryptoSlate agree that transactional information can only be shared with the customer’s express authorization, which keeps the open finance debate tied to consent, technical standardization and responsibility for how the data is used.

What is Morena pushing on artificial intelligence?

Morena lawmakers announced they are preparing a constitutional reform to Article 73 to expressly give the federal Congress authority to legislate on artificial intelligence, while Gabriela Jiménez Godoy, deputy coordinator of the party’s caucus in the lower house, said the legislative agenda will include digital platforms and AI, with an emphasis on protecting children and teenagers.

Jiménez Godoy introduced an initiative on August 7 before the Permanent Commission to amend Section XVII of Article 73 and expressly establish Congress’s authority to legislate on the use, development and implementation of artificial intelligence systems.

What legislative path does Morena propose for AI?

The proposed route envisions that, once the constitutional reform is approved, the federal Congress will call on state legislatures to submit opinions and proposals before drafting the secondary legislation.

National media report that the issue is already part of a broader legislative agenda in the Chamber of Deputies.

What other issues are being discussed alongside AI in San Lázaro?

Ricardo Monreal said AI regulation would be one of the main issues in the next ordinary session, and the next Morena caucus plenary will also include regulation of social networks, AI and changes to the National Anti-Corruption System.

According to specialized coverage, the strategy points toward a General Artificial Intelligence Law with participation from state legislatures.

What did Gabriela Jiménez Godoy say about the next step?

Separately, Gabriela Jiménez Godoy said publicly that the work will begin with the reform to Article 73 of the Constitution and continue with a general law on the matter.