By 2021, only 31% of Chile's country's population over 15 had saved in a financial institution, with especially low rates among the very poor, depriving them of the benefits of a range of financial services, including savings accounts, credit, and insurance products. The issue of how to increase financial inclusion and, in the process, boost savings in in Latin … [Read more...] about Boosting Financial Inclusion Among the Vulnerable
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A New Miracle? The Promises of Digitalization and Financial Inclusion in Latin America
Latin America and the Caribbean has made a big leap towards using digital technologies to expand financial inclusion, and there are reasons to be hopeful: Several initiatives in the region have expanded the supply of innovative digital financial products which, in theory, should untap inclusive growth by enabling millions of micro and small firms and households to integrate … [Read more...] about A New Miracle? The Promises of Digitalization and Financial Inclusion in Latin America
Leveraging Foreign Remittances for Financial Inclusion
Personal financial transfers made by foreign migrants - known as remittances - are common for countries with high levels of economic migration. Yet, in many cases the transfers occur outside the banking system. This keeps remittance recipients from accessing safe financial services, such as savings, credit, or insurance, that improve their economic condition. Mexico is a … [Read more...] about Leveraging Foreign Remittances for Financial Inclusion
How Bank Robberies Stoke Financial Digitalization in Brazil
The bank robberies sweeping the small towns of Brazil are swift and destructive. Teams of ten people or more from sophisticated crime syndicates hit a bank in the middle of the night, blowing open its vaults, seizing its cash, and destroying the rest of its physical infrastructure with explosives. By the time local inhabitants have risen, the criminals are long gone. The … [Read more...] about How Bank Robberies Stoke Financial Digitalization in Brazil
When Lower Barriers to Firm Creation Translate Into More Resilient Economies
By Alan Finkelstein Shapiro and Victoria Nuguer Registering a business in Latin America is not for the faint of heart. Multiple procedures -- ranging from establishing by-laws and a legal structure to registering the company with authorities -- have to be carried out. Labyrinthine bureaucracies have to be negotiated. Lawyers and accountants are often hired to avoid … [Read more...] about When Lower Barriers to Firm Creation Translate Into More Resilient Economies