The report measures three fundamental variables: access, use and perceived quality of financial instruments and institutions.
Mobile payment applications have become the main driver of financial inclusion in recent years in Latin America, a region that improves for the fourth consecutive year in this area and approaches the approved one.
“These apps have become the main driver of financial inclusion, a trend we’ve been starting to notice since last year. This type of product has a considerable advantage: it is extremely simple to use and allows people to dispense with cash,” Credicorp Corporate Affairs Manager Enrique Pasquel told EFE.
He added that in a context of high inflation and predominance of cash, the rise in the use of digital means for transactions and receipt of income “is encouraging” and what digital wallets have achieved in terms of access and use “is outstanding.”
Credicorp, a financial group of Peruvian origin, has promoted a study carried out by the company Ipsos to learn about the reality of financial inclusion and the main challenges and advances from 2021 to the present in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Mexico.
In this measurement, the Financial Inclusion Index has recorded an overall score of 47.6 out of 100, representing a significant advance of 9 points since 2021.
First is Chile, with a score of 58.3, followed by Panama (56), Argentina (54.4), Ecuador (53.2), Colombia (48.3), Peru (46.1), Bolivia (43.7) and Mexico (42.6)
The report measures three fundamental variables: access, use and perceived quality of financial instruments and institutions.
Main findings “I think the main finding has to do with the steady improvement in the level of financial inclusion of the region, which, although marginal between 2023-2024, is significant between 2021-2024,” Pasquel said.
In the “access” dimension, the report shows that the region has risen 17 points since 2021, from 33 to 50 in 2024.
In this area, Argentina is positioned in the first place, followed by Panama and Chile.
In analyzing access to financial products and services, the study concludes that, while digital channels are preferred by many, there is still a considerable figure of the population dependent on physical channels.
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“Parmaence (banking agencies, cashiers or agents) remains important for promoting financial inclusion. Overcoming barriers such as distance and lack of financial education is key to democratizing access,” Pasquel said.
The study highlights the increase in the possession of financial products such as debit cards, from 36 per cent to 58 per cent, from digital wallets (from 11 per cent to 36 per cent) and credit cards (16 per cent to 25 per cent)
On the “use,” the report shows that, despite the advance of digital means of payment, cash maintains its domain as the most widely used payment method (96 per cent), followed by debit cards (34 per cent) and mobile wallets (18 %).
In this area, Chile is in the first place (with 56.9 points), followed by Argentina, Panama and Ecuador.
The “perceived quality” remains the highest of the measures (59.2), with Ecuador at the top of the list, ahead of Panama and Colombia.
The report also shows data such as that users of digital wallets in Peru have grown by more than 10 points each year between 2021 and 2024 and currently 58 per cent of Peruvians claim to have at least one of these wallets.
Also, that 62 percent of respondents in Colombia reported having a payment application or a digital wallet, a figure that far exceeds the current regional average, which is 36 percent.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Panama America