Open Finance Brazil — Regulatory Implementation Workshops
The portfolio's most multilateral interpretation environment: regulator, banks, fintechs and international specialists at the same table.
▶ QUICK SUMMARY
Open Finance Brazil is the open financial data sharing ecosystem regulated by the Central Bank, implemented in 4 phases between February and December 2021 — the largest and fastest implementation of its kind in the world, with more than 800 participating institutions. Alex Barros interpreted the implementation workshops, which brought together UK Open Banking specialists (a global pioneer since 2016) with the Central Bank, Febraban, and Brazilian banks and fintechs.
The workshop's actors — an entire ecosystem around one table
The Central Bank as architect and regulator. Its Regulation Department coordinated technical working groups with the market.
The Brazilian Federation of Banks, representing and coordinating major banks in the implementation.
The UK was the global pioneer in Open Banking since 2016. The Open Banking Implementation Entity's expertise was a central reference for the Brazilian workshops.
S1 to S4 institutions (large to small), fintechs, Payment Institutions, technology companies and international consultancies.
4 phases in 12 months — the world's most ambitious timeline
Institutions opening their data, without customer data sharing yet. Beginning of API standardization.
Consented sharing of personal, registration and transaction data. First direct consumer involvement.
Integration with the PIX ecosystem, enabling third-party-initiated payments (TPPs). The highest point of technical complexity.
Brazil goes beyond the UK's scope, including sectors no other country had covered. Open Finance in its broadest sense.
Why regulatory workshops require different interpretation than M&A or governance
In a regulatory implementation workshop, there's no buyer and seller, no investor and company. There are dozens of actors — regulator, large banks, mid-sized banks, fintechs, technology providers, international consultancies — each with their own technical vocabulary and distinct interests.
The interpreter must navigate API terminology, financial regulation, data science and public policy — all at once — while different parties ask adversarial questions of each other. It's one of the most multilateral simultaneous interpretation environments in lingo's portfolio.
The vocabulary — API, financial regulation and data
| Term (EN) | Equivalent (PT) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Open API / RESTful API | Open API / standardized API | Open Finance's technical backbone — standardized interfaces enabling secure data exchange. Brazil adopted the UK standard (FAPI) with local adaptations |
| TPP — Third Party Provider | Third-party service provider | Fintechs and companies accessing customer data with consent — regulation defines what each TPP can and cannot do |
| Consent management / LGPD | Consent management / LGPD | Customer consent is Open Finance's pillar — valid for up to 12 months, revocable at any time |
| PSD2 / UK Open Banking | European directive / UK model | PSD2 is the European open payments directive; UK Open Banking (2016) was the global pioneer, a central reference for Brazilian workshops |
| FAPI — Financial-grade API | Financial-grade API | The highest security standard for financial services APIs, adopted by Brazil as Open Finance's foundation |
| Account aggregation | Account aggregation | One of the main consumer use cases — seeing all accounts in a single app |
Frequently asked questions
What is Open Finance Brazil?+
An open financial data sharing ecosystem regulated by the Central Bank, implemented in 4 phases starting February 2021 — the largest implementation of its kind in the world, with 800+ institutions.
What were the 4 phases?+
Phase 1 (Feb/2021): product and channel data. Phase 2 (Aug/2021): registration and transaction data with consent. Phase 3 (Oct/2021): PIX payment initiation. Phase 4 (Dec/2021): FX, investments, insurance and pension.
Why did the workshops need interpretation?+
They brought together international specialists from UK Open Banking and the EU with the Brazilian market — Central Bank, Febraban, banks, fintechs. Technical expertise exchange required English-Portuguese simultaneous interpretation.
What made Open Finance Brazil unique in the world?+
The broadest scope in the world implemented in 12 months — including insurance, investments and FX that pioneer UK didn't cover, with 800+ participating institutions.
Does the interpreter sign an NDA for regulatory workshops?+
It depends on the content — for technical discussions with sensitive market information, lingo signs a bilateral NDA before the service begins.
Regulatory events with international specialists?
Workshops, technical working groups and multilateral events — lingo interprets financial regulation with precision.
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