You have to ask. The banks aren't advertising this option.
En Chile, la modernización del sistema bancario avanza con una fecha límite inapelable: el 1 de agosto de 2026, las tarjetas de coordenadas dejarán de ser válidas como método de autenticación. La Comisión para el Mercado Financiero ha trazado este umbral en nombre de la seguridad digital, pero también ha inscrito en sus propias normas una cláusula de humanidad —una excepción silenciosa para quienes el progreso tecnológico amenaza con dejar atrás. Lo que está en juego no es solo una tarjeta de papel, sino la pregunta de siempre: ¿a quién le pertenece realmente el acceso a la vida económica?
- El reloj corre hacia agosto y los bancos ya están migrando clientes a sistemas biométricos sin anunciar que existe una salida alternativa para los más vulnerables.
- Miles de adultos mayores, habitantes de zonas rurales y personas con escasa alfabetización digital podrían quedar bloqueados de sus propias cuentas si no actúan antes de la fecha límite.
- La CMF construyó una red de protección —excepciones formales para quienes no pueden adaptarse— pero la dejó enterrada en el lenguaje burocrático, lejos del alcance de quienes más la necesitan.
- La carga de reclamar la excepción recae enteramente en el usuario: hay que pedirla, navegarla y hacerla valer ante un banco que, por omisión, empuja hacia el sistema nuevo.
- El tiempo para actuar se acorta: quienes necesiten mantener su tarjeta de coordenadas deben contactar a su banco antes de agosto o arriesgarse a perder el acceso funcional a su dinero.
Chile fijó el 1 de agosto de 2026 como fecha límite para que los bancos dejen de aceptar las tarjetas de coordenadas, ese cuadrícula física que durante décadas fue el estándar de seguridad bancaria. El reemplazo llega bajo el nombre de Autenticación Reforzada de Clientes (ARC): reconocimiento facial, huella dactilar, verificación por aplicación móvil. Para quienes tienen smartphone y conexión estable, el cambio será invisible. Para muchos otros, puede ser una crisis.
Lo que pocos saben es que la CMF incorporó excepciones explícitas en su normativa. Tres grupos pueden solicitar mantener la tarjeta de coordenadas: adultos mayores sin acceso a tecnología moderna, personas en zonas con conectividad deficiente, y clientes identificados como vulnerables digitalmente. La intención es clara aunque el lenguaje sea técnico: no abandonar a quienes no pueden seguir el ritmo.
El problema es estructural. Los bancos —BancoEstado, Santander, Banco de Chile— están empujando activamente la migración digital sin informar sobre esta alternativa. Las notificaciones llegan, los plazos avanzan, y la excepción permanece invisible para quienes más la necesitan. Para reclamarla, hay que saber que existe, llamar al banco y pedirla expresamente antes de agosto.
La consecuencia de no actuar es concreta: sin tarjeta de coordenadas ni acceso a los nuevos sistemas biométricos, miles de pensionados y habitantes rurales podrían perder la capacidad de transferir dinero, pagar cuentas o simplemente operar su cuenta. La CMF tendió una red, pero es una red que hay que saber agarrar —y el tiempo se acaba.
Chile's financial regulator has set August 1, 2026, as the final deadline for banks to stop accepting the coordinate card—the physical grid-based authentication tool that has been standard for decades. But before you panic, there's a crucial exception that the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) quietly built into the new rules, one designed to keep thousands of older Chileans and others from being locked out of their own bank accounts.
The shift is part of a broader push toward what regulators call Reinforced Customer Authentication, or ARC in Spanish. The new standard requires banks to use more sophisticated security methods—facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, app-based verification—the kind of technology that assumes you own a smartphone and know how to use it. For most people under 60 with stable internet, this transition will be seamless. For everyone else, it's a potential crisis.
Here's what the CMF actually allows: banks can keep issuing coordinate cards to three specific groups. The first is elderly people, particularly those without modern smartphones or who struggle with digital access. The second is anyone living in areas where mobile banking apps don't work reliably—which in Chile still includes significant rural and remote regions. The third is what regulators call "digital vulnerability cases," a catchall category for customers whom banks identify as at risk of financial exclusion. The language is bureaucratic, but the intent is clear: don't abandon people who can't keep up.
The problem is that most people don't know this exception exists. Banks like BancoEstado, Santander, and Chile are already pushing customers toward digital enrollment, sending notifications about the new "Digital Pass" and biometric systems. If you're an older adult and this feels overwhelming, you have a right to push back. You can ask your bank representative or call customer service and request to keep your coordinate card based on the flexibility the CMF has explicitly permitted. The regulator's rules give you legal ground to stand on.
But there's a catch: you have to ask. The banks aren't advertising this option. They're moving people toward the new system by default, and if you don't speak up before August, you may find yourself unable to transfer money, pay bills, or access your account. The burden of knowing about the exception, and of navigating the bureaucracy to claim it, falls entirely on you. For someone who already struggles with technology, that's a significant barrier.
The stakes are real. Thousands of Chileans—pensioners, rural residents, people with limited digital literacy—could lose functional access to their money if they don't either adopt the new authentication methods or successfully request an exemption. The CMF has tried to build a safety net, but it's a net you have to know how to grab. The clock is ticking toward August, and the banks are moving fast.
Notable Quotes
The CMF allowed banks to maintain coordinate cards for elderly people without modern smartphones, those in low-connectivity areas, and customers identified as at risk of financial exclusion.— CMF Reinforced Customer Authentication (ARC) regulations
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the regulator create this exception at all? Why not just force everyone to upgrade?
Because they recognized that forcing everyone into a digital-only system would literally exclude people from the financial system. An elderly person without a smartphone or with poor internet isn't being stubborn—they're being locked out.
But doesn't this slow down security? Coordinate cards are old technology.
Yes, they're less secure than biometrics. But the CMF decided that incomplete security for everyone is worse than perfect security for most people and partial security for vulnerable groups. It's a pragmatic trade-off.
So if I'm 75 and I want to keep my coordinate card, I just call my bank and ask?
In theory, yes. But the banks aren't promoting this option, and they're already pushing people toward digital systems. You have to know the exception exists and be assertive enough to claim it.
What happens to someone who doesn't know about this and just gets locked out on August 2nd?
That's the real risk. They'd have to go to their bank in person, explain the situation, and hope the bank will help them recover access. It's a mess that could have been prevented with better communication.
Is the CMF doing anything to tell people about this?
Not visibly. The exception is in the regulations, but the banks are the ones talking to customers, and they have an incentive to move everyone to the new system. The CMF set the rule but didn't do much to publicize the lifeline it created.