Digital money index in Latin America places Peru in 7th place

Compared to other countries in the region, Peru is located in the middle of the table in terms of digital money penetration. After Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay, according to the annual report of the Digital Money Index in Latin America 2023.

Driss Temsamani, American Head of Digital for Treasury & Trade Solutions at Citi, highlights that although progress is still slow, the implementation of laws that regulate the participation of actors in the financial system to open up to the still reticent population –39% at the level worldwide – or with problems of access to digital platforms would generate a flow from the informal to the formal economy.

In that sense, Temsamani considers that in terms of digital money policies, our country is located between an emerging and transitional scale. That is, they are still beginning with some basic regulations, but there is a wide level of informality. At a global level, Peru is the fourth country with the highest informality, targeting 69% of its population, after Uganda (94%), Guatemala (74%) and Honduras (73%).

The report presented by Citi, in collaboration with The Center for Financial Technology at Imperial College London, highlights five key pillars for the penetration of digital money: government and private support, information and communication technology infrastructure, modernization of the financial market, digital money solutions and the predisposition to adopt all these guidelines.

Along these lines, the pillars with greatest strength for Peru are both government and private support, as well as the information and communication technology infrastructure.

Evidence of this is the new platform promoted by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) that promotes the making of digital payments without discriminating against the unbanked sector. That is, 50% of the adult population in Peru could participate in this market, with 76.6% of that universe residing in urban areas, with a concentration of 27.6% in metropolitan Lima.

With the pilot, which should take its first steps in July, entities that already have their digital wallets registered will be presented to the BCRP, an option that 70% of Peruvians have incorporated into their daily transactions.

The latest financial stability report published by the BCRP indicates that in March of this year, the number of transfers through digital wallets increased by 113%, compared to the same period in 2023, highlighting Yape as the fastest growing channel.

Data

39% of people worldwide still do not trust financial services, according to the Citi study.

50% of the adult population in Peru is unbanked, but they could use digital money starting in July.