Fintech And Financial Inclusion In Latin America And The Caribbean

Despite some improvement since 2011, Latin America and the Caribbean continue to lag behind other regions in terms of financial inclusion. There is no clear evidence that fintech developments have supported greater financial inclusion in LAC, contrary to what has been observed elsewhere in the world. Case studies by national policy experts suggest that barriers to entry in the financial sector, along with a constraining regulatory environment, may have hindered a faster adoption of fintech. However, fintech development seems to have accelerated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the support of recent policy initiatives.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), financial technology has been growing rapidly and is on the agenda of many policy makers. Fintech provides opportunities to deepen financial development, competition, innovation, and inclusion in the region but also creates new and only partially understood risks to consumers and the financial system. This paper documents the evolution of fintech in LAC. In particular, the paper focuses on financial development, fintech landscape for domestic and cross border payments and alternative financing, cybersecurity, financial integrity and stability risks, regulatory responses, and considerations for central bank digital currencies.

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have made important strides in promoting financial inclusion of firms and households. However, while the region is broadly at par with its peers on financial inclusion of firms, household inclusion lags behind. Nonetheless, there is substantial heterogeneity across LAC countries. Reducing borrowing costs and strengthening further the regulatory environment, while taking steps to protect efficiency and stability of the financial system, could help close financial inclusion gaps. Reducing financial participation and monitoring costs and relaxing collateral constraints will help spur growth and reduce inequality though trade-offs are likely, as illustrated in the case of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Peru.

During the 1980s and 1990s, financial sectors were the Achilles heel of economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Since then, these sectors have grown and deepened, becoming more integrated and competitive, with new actors, markets, and instruments springing up and financial inclusion broadening. To crown these achievements, the region s financial systems were left largely unscathed by the global financial crisis of 2008 09. Now that the successes of LAC s macrofinancial stability are widely recognized and tested, it is high time for an in-depth stocktaking of what remains to be done. Financial Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Road Ahead provides both a stocktaking and a forward-looking assessment of the region s financial development. Rather than going into detail about sector-specific issues, the report focuses on the main architectural issues, overall perspectives, and interconnections. The report s value added thus hinges on its holistic view of the development process, its broad coverage of the financial services industry beyond banking, its emphasis on benchmarking, its systemic perspective, and its explicit effort to incorporate the lessons from the recent global financial crisis. Financial Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Road Ahead builds on and complements several overview studies on financial development in both LAC countries and the developing world that were published in the past decade. It will be of interest to policy makers and financial analysts interested in improving the financial sector in the LAC region.

This paper analyzes the potential for fintech to facilitate cheaper and more efficient remittances, and to enhance financial inclusion in Central America. Digital remittances remain nascent in the region, primarily reflecting behavioral inertia, small cost advantages of digital over traditional channels, and inadequate financial literacy. Through expanded alliances between traditional and fintech operators, digital remittances can further reduce transaction costs and reach those remote, low-income households in a timely and secure manner. A meaningful expansion of fintech remittances necessitates an enabling regulatory environment for digital financial services, and KYC and AML/CFT requirements proportionate to the value of transfers.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), financial technology has been growing rapidly and is on the agenda of many policy makers. Fintech provides opportunities to deepen financial development, competition, innovation, and inclusion in the region but also creates new and only partially understood risks to consumers and the financial system. This paper documents the evolution of fintech in LAC. In particular, the paper focuses on financial development, fintech landscape for domestic and cross border payments and alternative financing, cybersecurity, financial integrity and stability risks, regulatory responses, and considerations for central bank digital currencies.

This paper examines the state of financial development in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region as well as potential growth and stability implications from further development. The analysis suggests that access to financial institutions has expanded notably in the past decade, and the region compares favorably with other emerging market regions on this dimension. The region, however, continues to lag behind peers on broader financial development, especially with respect to markets, though there is substantial heterogeneity across countries. Financial systems in many LAC countries are also underdeveloped relative to their macroeconomic fundamentals. Further financial development could convey net benefits to the region, provided there is adequate regulatory oversight to prevent excesses.