Among the innovations introduced by Law No. 21,521, known as the Fintech Law (the “Law”), is the requirement for registration in the Financial Service Providers Registry of the Financial Market Commission (“CMF” for its initials in Spanish) for all individuals and entities that professionally engage in providing credit and investment advisory services, among other related activities covered by the Law. Exceptions to this registration requirement apply to certain entities already supervised by the CMF, such as general fund administrators and portfolio managers under Law No. 20,712, banks, insurance and reinsurance companies, and brokers of products under Law No. 19,220. 

By broadly defining the scope of those obligated to register under the Law, this requirement could even encompass influencers who create content on social media for third parties on such matters. This would qualify as advisory services characterized by professionalism and regularity. 

This obligation will require those registered in the registry to make publicly available, through their website (and social media), information about the type of activity or service they are authorized to provide by the CMF. This represents a shift in the “usual” activities of influencers, as their business model becomes institutionalized and regulated. 

It will be interesting to monitor the process of regulating influencer activity, which began with an official opinion from the Internal Revenue Service (“SII” for its initials in Spanish) regarding the tax treatment of their activities (Ordinary Ruling No. 642, March 9, 2021). This was followed by consumer-oriented regulation by the National Consumer Service (Exempt Resolution No. 00534, Interpretive Circular on Native Advertising and Influencers, June 16, 2022). Now, with the Law, a much more robust and comprehensive financial regulation has been introduced for certain types of specialized influencers.