Colombia’s Bre‑B Hits More than 500 Million Transactions as ACI Worldwide and Banco de la República Take the Stage at Fintech Americas 2026

WHY THIS MATTERS: Colombia’s Bre-B system is a new benchmark for real-time payments in Latin America, establishing a critical foundation for greater financial inclusion across the region. Processing half a billion transactions and registering over 100 million keys in its first five months is a feat of national-scale financial market infrastructure that validates the central bank’s approach to public-private collaboration. This adoption rate is not just a statistical milestone; it signifies a massive shift in consumer and business behavior, proving that interoperable instant payment systems—when properly implemented—are immediately sticky. This success offers a direct roadmap for other emerging economies looking to modernize their payment rails and drive transactions away from cash. For global fintechs and financial institutions, Bre-B’s trajectory signals that the next competitive frontier in LatAm lies in building services on top of these high-velocity, low-cost rails, particularly as the focus now shifts toward seamless cross-border capabilities.

Colombia’s real-time payments transformation is accelerating at remarkable speed. In just five months, Bre‑B has processed more than 500 million transactions and registered over 100 million payment keys, firmly establishing the scheme as one of the most rapidly scaled real-time payment systems in Latin America.

For this achievement, ACI has been named the winner of this year’s Central Banking Financial Market Infrastructure Services – Retail Award. The awards judges highlighted the collaborative nature of the scheme, the implementation in record time, and ACI’s flexibility in addressing design challenges to deliver the Bre-B implementation on schedule, ensuring a highly successful launch.

These milestone results will be in the spotlight at Fintech Americas Miami 2026, where Mauricio Fernández, real-time payments lead, Latin America, ACI Worldwide, and Ana Carolina Ramírez Pineda, deputy director of retail payments, Banco de la República, will share insights into Bre-B’s rapid rise and outline what comes next for the national scheme.

Powered by ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) and operated by Banco de la República, Bre‑B is redefining how Colombians send money, pay merchants, and engage with digital financial services. Its early performance reflects both the scale and inclusivity of Colombia’s new real-time payments infrastructure, representing one of the strongest national real-time deployments anywhere in the world.

A New Foundation for Colombia’s Real‑Time Economy

Launched to modernize the country’s payment infrastructure and expand financial inclusion, Bre-B enables instantaneous, interoperable transfers across all participating financial institutions. Built on ACI’s Digital Central Infrastructure, the scheme is already reshaping how consumers, merchants, government entities, and utilities conduct transactions. It also represents a regional first: a nationally coordinated real‑time payments scheme jointly developed by the central bank, regulators, commercial banks, and technology partners, setting a new standard for collaborative digital payments innovation in Latin America.

ACI Worldwide: Powering Colombia’s National Real-Time Scheme

As Banco de la República’s technology partner, ACI Worldwide provides the addressing directory, 24/7 clearing and settlement engine, and interoperability services that underpin Bre-B’s reliability and scale.

“Bre-B’s first five months demonstrate what coordinated leadership and modern infrastructure can achieve at national scale,” said Mauricio Fernández, real-time payments lead, Latin America, ACI Worldwide. “Colombia is now one of the region’s most advanced real-time payments markets. We are proud to support Banco de la República in building a system that strengthens financial inclusion and sets a new benchmark for Latin America.”

“Bre-B has fundamentally transformed how Colombians transact, creating faster, more transparent, and more inclusive financial services,” said Ana Carolina Ramírez Pineda, deputy director of retail payments, Banco de la República. “The first five months highlight the power of interoperability and strong public-private collaboration. As we move into the next phase, continued partnership with ACI Worldwide will be essential in expanding innovation and exploring real‑time cross‑border opportunities.”

Looking Ahead: Real‑Time Cross‑Border Opportunities

With domestic real-time payments firmly established, attention now turns to the cross‑border dimension, particularly the high‑volume corridor between the United States and Latin America.

At Fintech Americas, ACI Worldwide will outline how domestic real-time schemes like Bre-B can interoperate with global real-time networks, positioning regional banks to compete in the fast‑growing remittances and international payments space.

Fintech Americas Miami 2026: ACI Worldwide and Banco de la República on Stage

Bre‑B will take center stage at Fintech Americas as ACI Worldwide and Banco de la República share their journey, insights, and lessons learned.

Featured Session: Real-Time Payments and 24/7 Economies, The New Competitive Advantage in Latin America, Wednesday, March 25, 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

Speakers:

• Mauricio Fernández, Real-Time Payments Lead, Latin America, ACI Worldwide

• Ana Carolina Ramírez Pineda, Deputy Director of Retail Payments, Banco de la República

Together, they will unpack Bre-B’s governance model, operational rollout, adoption trajectory, and its wider economic impact.

FF NEWS TAKE: The rapid scalability and adoption of Bre-B moves the needle significantly for the entire Latin American payment landscape. It confirms the region’s readiness for large-scale real-time payments adoption, setting a high bar for speed and government-led execution. The most important area to watch next is the transition to real-time cross-border payments. Given the high-volume remittance corridor between the US and LatAm, Bre-B’s future ability to interoperate with global networks like FedNow or Pix will determine if regional banks can successfully capture a greater share of the international payments and remittances market.