Uruguay BCU tightens rules on payments, virtual assets

The Central Bank of Uruguay ordered Quickly Remesas to stop its funds-transfer operations because the company was acting as a money transfer provider without being registered or authorized by the BCU. The move signals tighter oversight of digital financial services and comes alongside new requirements for virtual asset providers and a draft open finance framework.

What did the BCU decide about Quickly Remesas?

The BCU said the company had to stop operating because it was acting as a funds-transfer provider without appearing in the registry or having central bank authorization. According to coverage by El Observador and a version republished by MSN, the Superintendency concluded the setup involved receiving and sending international transfers through the purchase and sale of virtual assets.

The regulator also said the use of virtual assets does not change the nature of a funds-transfer service. In that context, the case signals that the authorization and registration regime applies to entities offering financial services, with direct implications for compliance obligations and security controls in payment channels.

What changes does Circular 2507 introduce?

BCU Circular 2507 sets a daily limit of USD 1,000 per customer when automated terminals are used to operate with a PSAV. A review by Abogados.com.ar adds that it also requires tests for access, consultation, download, and export of information, along with continuity and recovery tests.

Those tests must be carried out within 60 calendar days of the start of processing and then once a year, according to that reading of the rule. In practice, the circular expands technical and control requirements for virtual asset service providers, at a stage when Uruguay had already updated its legislation to bring them under central bank oversight, according to The Fintech Times.

How does this connect with Open Finance?

The BCU's open finance draft aims to create a regulated, interoperable, and interconnected infrastructure for sharing financial and payment information securely. El País says the design includes informed and revocable user consent, along with standardized interfaces.

That model places the central bank at the center of a broader supervisory perimeter, one that already includes virtual asset providers and now also sets how data will be exchanged among system participants. The result is a framework with more rules for funds transfers, access to information, and technical validation of continuity and recovery.