NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

By Andrés Abumohor

Latin America’s Fintech industry is booming, with more than 1,166 Fintech startups creating more inclusive financial systems and boosting economic growth in the region. According to the recently published report Fintech in Latin America 2018: Growth and Consolidation, by the Inter-American Development Bank and Finnovista, the number of fintech startups in the region rose 66% from 2017 to 2018.

There are a number of factors driving Latin America’s Fintech growth. For one, the region is one of the fastest-growing in the world for mobile usage. With an increase in smart devices also comes an increase in mobile Internet usage, which has led to a demand for more mobile financial services. An estimated 70% of consumers in Latin America are unbanked or underbanked, having been excluded from traditional financial services because they could not provide the appropriate documents or information to open an account or obtain credit.

Photo courtesy of Brooke Patterson / USAID.