Brazil, notorious for its bureaucracy and complexities, has created one of the most efficient payments systems in Latin America, with blow-out numbers proving its success. Banco Central do Brasil rolled out PIX in Nov. 2020, which it built for efficiency and financial inclusion purposes. It now has 107.5 million registered accounts, more than half of…
The country’s finance minister has called major banks a “cartel” with sky-high interest rates. With the introduction of both open banking and PIX, the central bank is looking to change that. Brazil finance minister Paulo Guedes didn’t mince words. During a recent congressional hearing, he called the country’s banking federation, Febraban, and its largest banks…
Both traditional banks and financial technology firms have benefited from a surge in digital account openings during the COVID-19 pandemic, though questions remain on how some of these companies can monetize these new customers. The country’s three largest private banks added 3.5 million digital clients in the first half of the year, averaging a roughly 7.7%…
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the first critical test to digital lenders in Latin America, as the crisis strains funding resources and raises serious concerns over asset quality deterioration. Some weaker players, experts say, won’t survive. “It feels like a wartime effort rather than an economic crisis,” Rafael Pereira, founder of Brazilian fintech Rebel, said…
As Brazilian regulators push to create an open banking system to help drive competition and convenience, some market experts are raising red flags on the cybersecurity challenges it will create for a financial industry already under siege. In April, Banco Central do Brasil laid out guidelines that effectively require financial institutions to share key client data…
Banco Central de la República Argentina is increasingly betting on private fintech initiatives to help foster financial inclusion in the country, though several barriers remain, according to a report obtained by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The institution noted there is “a strong potential for the emergence of relevant actors” in the digital transformation of banks…
Plataformas amigables. Intuitivas. Bots que resuelven o intentan resolver las dudas del cliente. Créditos por celular. En menos de 24 horas. Inmediatez. Sin formularios. Sin colas. Sin demasiadas preguntas. A dos clicks de distancia. Son los jugadores de nicho que irrumpen en el sistema financiero tradicional: las empresas fintech, que combinan finanzas con tecnología. Descomponen…
Ya sucede en Estonia. O en “eStonia”, como se la conoce en el círculo de tecnólogos. En este pequeño país, gracias a un proyecto sin precedentes por parte del Gobierno, un ciudadano acreditado en el registro oficial del Estado -el 98% de la población lo está- puede: firmar documentos por celular; realizar transferencias, pagos y…
Julián W. trabaja como desarrollador en una empresa de software en Buenos Aires. Hace unos meses realizó su primera inversión en criptomonedas: se volcó por un mix de divisas por un valor total de 0,75 bitcoins y guardó los datos para acceder a la billetera virtual en un archivo de su computadora. Hace una semana,…
Por estos días se discute en el Congreso mexicano una iniciativa que, en caso de aprobarse, podría convertirse en un faro regional: una ley madre para las compañías fintech . Un marco para empresas de crowdfunding , activos virtuales como Bitcoin y pagos electrónicos. Londres tejió gradualmente un desarrollo que la pone a la vanguardia. China tiene en la…