The Latin American financial system has faced troubles moving towards digital transformation over the last decades. While the pandemic helped expedite the process a bit, sustainability, digitalisation and inclusion remain the main challenges in the region.
The underlying issues feature mainly accessibility and general customer experience. According to a recent publication by financial newspaper El Dinero, there are roughly 450,000 businesses in the Dominican republic, yet only 35,000 accept card payments. That is just under 8%. Another example from Colombia puts online banking experiences under scrutiny – local publication La República has drawn attention to research stating more than 40% of customers abandon online banking if it takes more than 3 seconds loading, and that 52% of customers stated that response speed affects the brand’s loyalty.
These kind of topics burn in the back of the head of every customer, facing a decision whom to bank with. “Over the last years, customer’s demand has increased exponentially driving towards disruptive digitalisation, simplification of processes and self-serving,” the CEO of Banitsmo Panama stated in an article by Forbes Central America. A lion’s share of poor experiences with financial services brew down to what is happening behind the curtains – legacy technology and aged processes often reflect in the service and experience that customers see.
However, steering towards maximum efficiency and frictionless interactions has become significantly easier with modern fintech solutions. As collaborations between fintechs, financial institutions and regulators have been practiced more heavily in recent years, digital challenges have become a worry of the past.
At Bankish, we have helped European and African financial institutions of different sizes and functions to overcome these issues – it is time to change the status quo in Latam, and leverage the power of modern solutions!