Only three in 10 people aged 15 or older obtained a loan from a financial institution in the last year.
Latin America is one of the most neglected regions in terms of financial services, according to research by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). And among the countries in the region, Mexico stands out with one of the lowest levels of financial inclusion.
According to information released by the organization, 26% of people over 15 years of age in the region do not have access to formal financial services. In Mexico, this proportion doubles to 51% of adults who do not have access to this type of services.
A symmetry that is far from the 3% of the population over 15 years of age that does not have this opportunity in high-income countries.
The FinLac report, released during the launch of the “single window” to promote financial inclusion among the most vulnerable in the region, showed that only three out of every 10 people aged 15 or older obtained a loan from a financial institution in the last year in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This proportion once again contrasts with the Mexican case, where 1.5 people obtained financing in Mexico in the last year. To take the case of advanced economies as a reference, they report that in countries like the United States or the United Kingdom, 6 out of 10 obtained some type of loan from a financial institution.
"If we manage to close these gaps, some 70 million people would benefit," they noted.
REMITTANCES, ALTERNATIVE ENTRY TO THE MEXICAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
At the launch of the report, the IDB's chief economist, Eric Parrado, explained that a large part of the people who receive remittances in the region enter through a bank or a financial institution.
But they usually take out these resources almost immediately. So one way to encourage greater inclusion could be to convince them in some way to maintain those entries in the financial system.
The IDB initiative seeks to educate the population and encourage them to take advantage of the benefits of accessing financial services, especially in rural populations, among indigenous people, migrants and small businesses. In Mexico alone, 4.9 million households receive remittances.
FINLAC, THE ADVANCE IN INCLUSION
FinLac is a one-stop shop where governments in the region can go to accompany companies and promote innovation in the development of inclusive financial markets.
They plan to lead strategies to promote digital transformation to accelerate financial inclusion, improve payment ecosystems and facilitate fast retail transactions.
It is a hub that can support stakeholders from the public and private sectors with their initiatives and projects to promote financial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The FinLac website offers a panel of data by country organized into four areas: financial institutions, infrastructure, barriers to access and ownership of financial products.
