Argentina is set to position itself in the big Fintech game that is being played across LATAM. To do so, regulators are adopting new rules to support financial inclusion through FinTech.
The first good news is that Argentina is slowly and steadily showing an improvement of its macroeconomic indicators. The second good news is that the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) recently announced its will to push further the development of new technologies and promote innovation across the country to achieve inclusive growth.
More specifically, the BCRA is aware that these emerging technologies could highly contribute to give financially excluded people access to a broad range of financial services. Of course, there is much more to be done by the government and private companies in regards to financial inclusion, but it is already a great achievement for the country to see Fintech as a way to improve the lives of millions of people.
The truth is that in Argentina less than 50% of the population has access to a bank account, a percentage that is reduced to 28% if we take 40% of the low income. In this regard, policies must be conducted to increase the basis of banking standards for everyone.
Among the policies that were recently implemented, the BCRA regulated the free transfer of all transfers between individuals through home banking and ATMs. Regulators also raised the amount from which banks can charge for transfers of companies up to USD 15,000.
Among the economic adjustment policies, the government continues to extend “state assistance” through direct subsidies, family allowances, non-contributory pensions, and scholarships. The BCRA knows how important it is to adapt to the unbanked to let them pay even if they don’t have access to a bank account.
The BCRA also seeks to open the financial system and make it more competitive. In June 2016, regulators simplified the authorization process for opening branches, reduced building requirements in areas with lower population density, allowed all banks to use mobile branches and created the automated dependency figure.
Last month took place the BCRA Hackathon in Buenos Aires. The objective was to help young entrepreneurs on their way to create new solutions with a customer focus approach, something that banks have left aside.
