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Costa Rica’s Regulatory Compliance Requirements: What You Need to Know

In a bid to ensure the stability and security of its financial system, Costa Rica has put in place a robust regulatory framework that governs the operations of financial institutions using cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this overview, we will delve into the main legal and regulatory requirements that apply to financial institutions in Costa Rica using AWS.

Who are the Main Financial Regulators in Costa Rica?

The Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero (CONASSIF) is responsible for providing uniformity and integration to the regulation and supervision activities of the Costa Rican financial system. CONASSIF directs and supervises the activities of regulators within the Costa Rican financial system, including:

  • Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF): Responsible for the authorization and supervision of financial institutions in Costa Rica, including banks, non-banking financial institutions, credit unions, foreign exchange market institutions, and other financial institutions.
  • Superintendencia General de Valores (SUGEVAL): Responsible for the regulation and supervision of the stock markets.
  • Superintendencia General de Seguros (SUGESE): Responsible for the authorization and supervision of entities and individuals involved in acts or contracts related to insurance, reinsurance, public offering of insurance, and any insurance business.
  • Superintendencia de Pensiones (SUPEN): Responsible for the supervision of the pension regime, regulation, and oversight of plans, funds, and managers related to the national pension system.
  • Agencia de Protección de Datos de los Habitantes (PRODHAB): Responsible for ensuring compliance with data protection regulations by individuals and legal entities.

What Regulations Apply to Financial Institutions in Costa Rica Using AWS?

Financial institutions in Costa Rica may be subject to a number of different legal and regulatory requirements when using cloud services. Key legislation and guidelines include:

  • CONASSIF Agreement 5-17: General Regulation for the Management of Information Technology and its guidelines.
  • SUGEF Agreement 2-10: Administrative Regulations for Risk Management.

Financial institutions in Costa Rica are permitted to use cloud services, provided that they comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, such as those described above.

Key Considerations for Financial Institutions in Costa Rica Using AWS

AWS is committed to offering customers a strong compliance framework and advanced tools and security measures to help evaluate, meet, and demonstrate compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Key considerations include:

  • Data privacy and protection requirements from PRODHAB, including the Ley de Protección de la Persona frente al tratamiento de sus datos personales (Law 8968) and Reglamento a la Ley de Protección de la Persona frente al Tratamiento de sus Datos Personales (Regulation 37554-JP).
  • Data transference of personal information outside Costa Rica, which is authorized provided that they comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Steps to Better Understand Compliance Needs

Financial institutions using or planning to use AWS services can take the following steps to better understand their compliance needs:

  1. Consider the purpose of the workload(s) under consideration and the relevant categories of data in order to anticipate which legal and regulatory requirements may apply.
  2. Review the AWS Shared Responsibility Model and map AWS responsibilities and customer responsibilities according to each AWS service that will be used. Customers can also use AWS Artifact to access AWS’ audit reports and conduct their assessment of control responsibilities.
  3. Assess the relevant workload(s) in light of requirements from the superintendencies regulated by CONASSIF, and the data privacy and protection requirements from PRODHAB.

Additional Resources

For more information on AWS compliance programs, please visit: