Over the past decade, Latin America has made significant progress in financial inclusion. Colombia is a clear example: with a financial inclusion rate of 96.3%, access to the financial system is no longer the primary challenge.

However, meaningful usage of digital money remains limited.

Why? Because in practice, the system is still fragmented. Individuals and businesses continue to face barriers when moving money across platforms, often forcing them back to cash.

With the introduction of Decree 0368 of 2026, Colombia is taking an important step toward changing this reality. The country is shifting from a closed banking model to an Open Finance framework, laying the foundation for a more connected, competitive, and user-centric financial system.

At the Interledger Foundation, we see this not just as a regulatory milestone, but as validation of a long-standing belief: financial infrastructure should be as open and seamless as the internet itself.

Why Colombia, and why now?

As explored in our strategic paper The Internet of Opportunity, global financial infrastructure has evolved far more slowly than the technologies built on top of it. The result is an ecosystem where systems don’t easily connect, limiting the potential of individuals and businesses.

Colombia now has a unique opportunity to change that narrative.

The new decree, which mandates standardized access to financial data with user consent, is a critical first step toward breaking down these silos. But for this transformation to be complete, it’s not enough for data to flow, money must move just as easily.

That is the true enabler of an Internet of Opportunity: a system where anyone, anywhere, can send and receive money as easily as sending a message.

Three fronts for real transformation

Interledger’s arrival in Colombia is focused on helping to turn this vision into reality, complementing Open Finance with an open, interoperable payments infrastructure across three key areas:

• Payments, not just data: Decree 0368 enables the flow of financial information. The next step is enabling the flow of value. Through the Interledger Protocol (ILP), we are working to make payments instant and interoperable across any wallet or bank—regardless of provider. This allows Open Finance to evolve from a data-sharing framework into a truly transactional ecosystem.
• Real inclusion: from access to usage: Having an account is not enough if it cannot be used in everyday life. By promoting open standards, we aim to ensure that more Colombians, including those in rural or underserved communities, can use digital financial tools without friction. For example, when a merchant can accept payments from any platform without being locked into a single ecosystem, reliance on cash decreases and local economies can grow.
• Expanding opportunities for SMEs. Access to up to 12 months of transactional history under the new regulatory framework enables thousands of small businesses to become visible to the financial system.

Interledger supports this ecosystem by promoting neutral, open infrastructure that lowers barriers to entry for new fintechs. The result is greater competition, better products, and more financing options for entrepreneurs.

An invitation to co-create

As Briana Marbury, CEO of the Interledger Foundation, puts it: “When it’s easier and more affordable to manage your money, more people participate, and participation is what drives opportunity.”

Our approach in Colombia is grounded in a simple principle: we are not here to build another silo, but to connect existing ones.

We look forward to collaborating with regulators, financial institutions, and the fintech ecosystem to help evolve Colombia’s financial system into one that is more open, inclusive, and efficient. Read more about our involvement in Colombia in El Tiempo.