More than half of FinTech companies identify financial inclusion as their main area of opportunity in Latin America. The information was cited in the “Report on Fintechs in Latin America” recently published by LatAm Intersect PR and Fintech Nexus. Of the 250 professionals interviewed in the region, 53% believe that providing financial services to the unbanked remains a thriving field of activity.
The report also provides interesting data about the cryptocurrency market. Almost 73% of respondents see the cryptocurrency market as positive, up 3% compared to 2021. In addition, a third of Latin American fintech companies recognize that the Web3 ecosystem is important to their business.
Fintech companies are eyeing the cryptocurrency market
Brazil is the country leading cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America, according to data from a report published by Chainalysis in October. A recently published report on fintechs adds to this scenario, showing the willingness of these companies to interact with digital assets.
Latam Intersect PR co-founder Roger Drachah told Cointelegraph Brasil that he believes it is “extremely important” for fintech companies to include support for crypto assets. “Cryptocurrency is indeed a means of transfer in markets where traditional banks are either too expensive or inaccessible,” Darasha believes. “This has traditionally been the case in markets such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.”
Darasha says that cryptocurrencies have forced banks in Latin America to look for innovation. This is the case with names like Itaú and BTG Pactual, which penetrated the cryptocurrency market in 2022. He also mentions inflation, which is common in Latin American countries and is one of the main reasons why investors are turning to cryptocurrencies. These moves are not going unnoticed by fintech companies, Darasha assesses.
“It is impossible to imagine fintech innovation without the driving force of cryptocurrency, and no one disputes the positive impact of this. Despite the highly publicized declines, Bitcoin remains the best-performing asset class in the world during the decade 2011-2021, generating annual returns. by 230%.”
The growing popularity of Web3 and the metaverse
A third (33.3%) of professionals surveyed from the Latin American fintech ecosystem believe that Web3 and the metaverse are currently irrelevant to their business. However, 33.3% of the interview participants shared positive sentiments towards both areas.
Web3 was interpreted as “absolutely essential” to their business by 11.1% of fintech companies, who are already investing and developing services in the region. While the other 22.2% see Web3 and the metaverse as “a great opportunity in the future”. This means that although they are investing in both sectors, the fintech companies in this group have not yet developed solutions in these ecosystems.
The remaining third of respondents, to some extent, also view Web3 and the metaverse positively. The fintech companies in this group say there is a lot of expectation with regards to these new technologies, but for now, they prefer to wait for these sectors to mature.
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