Peru's business association ComexPeru has warned that a technology breakdown at the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status, Reniec, is disrupting economic activity.
The total suspension of services followed an incident within the institution's technological infrastructure, the state agency confirmed.
State-owned bank Banco de la Nacion reported that the system crash temporarily prevented branch staff from completing in-person operations that require biometric fingerprint validation. The blocked transactions include issuing debit cards, opening bank accounts, processing loans and credit cards, and handling judicial deposits.
Peru's public records superintendency, Sunarp, was also unable to complete transactions following the outage, as the disruption spread across interconnected state platforms.
ComexPeru, the Sociedad de Comercio Exterior del Peru, said in an official statement that it was unacceptable for an institution holding critical national data to operate without contingency and redundancy mechanisms to maintain services.
The business group explained that the impact extends far beyond the civil registry itself, cutting off multiple government entities that rely on the system to verify citizen identity and process administrative paperwork. Private companies, commercial services, and business operations that require customer identity checks have also been affected.
ComexPeru stressed that the country cannot remain paralyzed by a technological failure at a single institution. It argued that state digital modernization requires resilient infrastructure, backup platforms, and disaster recovery plans to keep essential services running during emergencies.
Demands for immediate restoration and accountability
The association outlined five urgent demands, beginning with the immediate restoration of Reniec services, giving priority to critical platforms that serve the public and support public and private operations.
ComexPeru called for a public, technical, and transparent explanation detailing the causes of the failure, its full consequences, and the reasons why existing contingency systems failed to prevent widespread disruption.
The group also demanded the urgent installation and testing of redundancy and disaster recovery systems, backed by alternative infrastructure and protocols to ensure continuity during electrical, technological, or other breakdowns.
It requested a comprehensive review of the resilience of all critical state digital platforms, aiming to identify vulnerabilities and prevent similar crashes from disabling other public institutions.
To protect users from the impact of state failures, the organization called for emergency contingency measures, including alternative service channels and extensions to administrative deadlines for affected citizens and businesses.
Role of digital identity systems in Peru
The National Registry of Identification and Civil Status is an autonomous constitutional body responsible for issuing National Identity Documents and maintaining records of births, marriages, and deaths across Peru. The agency holds the centralized biometric and demographic data for all Peruvian citizens.
Biometric fingerprint verification against the registry database has become standard practice for commercial transactions in Peru over recent decades. Government offices, private banks, and notary agencies rely on real-time database checks to authenticate individuals and prevent identity fraud.
Banco de la Nacion functions as the state financial agency, operating branches in provincial areas where private banks do not operate. Sunarp, the Superintendencia Nacional de los Registros Publicos, manages national registries for real estate, vehicle ownership, and company incorporations.
ComexPeru represents major private companies, exporters, and retailers across Peru, regularly advising policymakers on trade policy, regulatory modernization, and economic competitiveness.
Warning against fragile state modernization
ComexPeru stated that the modernization of state services cannot proceed without ensuring the continuous availability, safety, and security of digital platforms. It warned that adding new digital procedures achieves little if they rely on fragile systems that risk paralyzing multiple institutions.
The business organization urged Reniec and government authorities to act with maximum urgency, take responsibility for the failure, and implement structural solutions that prevent future breakdowns.
The continuity of public digital services is not optional, ComexPeru said, calling it a legal obligation of the state and an indispensable requirement for public confidence, commercial competitiveness, and national development.
