Access to digital transactions leads to the financial inclusion of the unbanked, underbanked and vulnerable populations, while boosting the resilience and growth of micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
Thematic bonds—and transparently measuring and reporting their impact—are a powerful tool for mobilizing resources and deepening financial inclusion for microenterprises within the most vulnerable groups of society who have yet to be served by the financial sector.
The ecosystem growing around sustainable funds offers a source of financing for companies in the region, which may help international and local investors to develop their own sustainability agenda with transactions classified as impact investments in their portfolios.
Success stories of sustainable banking services pave the way for possible competitors and new players in the financial sector. There are few bigger success stories than Banco Familiar’s in Paraguay.
Open banking, allowing third-party service providers to access financial data from financial institutions through APIs, is growing rapidly thanks to secular global trends and the region’s thirst for innovation.
The digitization of financial cooperatives, a fundamental component of the financial sector in the region, is accelerating. There are numerous examples of progress, from Ecuador to Jamaica, that provide grounds for optimism.