Chilean fintech Shinkansen is preparing to launch a new low value payments chamber that will challenge the current processing monopoly held by Centro de Compensación Automatizado. The company is awaiting final operational authorization from the Financial Market Commission after securing central bank approval for its operating rules in December. As part of this push, Shinkansen has strengthened its governance by appointing former finance minister Ignacio Briones to its board.
Strengthening the Board
Ignacio Briones Rojas joins the board after the departure of BancoEstado director Pablo Correa, whose exit was made public last week. Briones is an economist, former finance minister, and one-time presidential candidate, and he currently leads Horizontal, teaches at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and serves as a director of Tenpo Bank Chile. Shinkansen said his appointment reflects a shared view that open competition produces better markets and fewer inherited privileges.
A Board Designed for Market Opening
The company was founded in 2022 by Leo Soto, Ubaldo Taladriz and Francisco Larraín, and its payments chamber board is led by Pamela Auszenker as president. Pablo García, former vice president of the central bank, serves as vice president alongside lawyer Vanessa Facuse and technology expert Tomás Vera. Cofounder Francisco Larraín said the company has assembled a very strong board because it intends to build something very significant for the market.
Regulatory Milestones and Launch Timeline
Shinkansen obtained its existence authorization from the Financial Market Commission two and a half years ago, the first step required to operate its own financial infrastructure. In December, the central bank approved its operating rules, the most important regulatory milestone before launch. The company now expects to begin operations this year or no later than the first quarter of 2027.
Competing with the Established Clearinghouse
The new chamber will compete directly with the Centro de Compensación Automatizado, the support company owned by Banco de Chile, Santander, and Bci that currently processes all electronic fund transfers in Chile. Shinkansen wants its infrastructure to become the road through which banks, cooperatives, and fintechs send money to each other. The company has spent more than two years preparing the necessary regulatory approvals for this role.
Instant Payments Vision Inspired by Pix
Once the payments chamber is operational, Shinkansen plans to introduce an instant payments project that some observers have compared to Brazil's Pix system, although the company notes there are differences. CEO Leo Soto said in December that the technology Shinkansen will make available should ensure Chile has nothing to envy from Pix in the medium to long term. He described Pix as the best system in the world today.
Final Approval and Market Entry
Shinkansen remains focused on completing the final verification process with the Financial Market Commission, which is expected to confirm that the company is implementing everything as originally proposed to the central bank. This last approval is described as an operational authorization rather than a new design review. Once granted, it will allow the firm to move from regulatory preparation to active market participation.
By adding Briones to a board that already includes central bank and regulatory experience, Shinkansen is signaling its ambition to reshape Chile's payment infrastructure with a strong competition agenda. The company still faces the challenge of unseating an entrenched clearinghouse controlled by major banks, but it is close to clearing its final regulatory hurdle. If its timeline holds, Chilean consumers and businesses could soon see a more open and innovative domestic payments market.