The Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) is participating in the development of Lúmina, a regional project intended to make payments between countries easier. The aim is to let bank customers make international transfers as easily as domestic ones by bringing participating countries’ instant payment systems closer together.
The BCP announced its participation in an official social media post on September 30, reproduced by La Nación on October 1. The bank’s video presents the initiative as a first step towards simplifying transfers abroad, rather than a service already available to customers.
The Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) is promoting the project. Participants include the central banks of Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay, Colombia’s Bank of the Republic and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru. The institutions intend to share experience, strengthen their instant payment systems and work towards interoperability, allowing different national systems to communicate.
In Paraguay, transfers through banking websites and mobile apps rely on infrastructure that has evolved since SIPAP was created more than ten years ago. The instant payment system, now known as SIP, has been incorporating new features, including QR payments. Previously, that payment method was offered mainly by payment processors.
A future regional connection could help people pay for products and services across the participating countries. However, the announcement provides no availability date, fees, participating banks or transfer limits. Institutional participation is confirmed, but Lúmina remains in development: the announcement does not establish that customers can already use it to send money abroad.