Africa’s transformation to digital wallet technology and mobile money began more than a decade ago. Mobile network operators were predominantly responsible for driving this transformation. While Africa continues to attract venture capital, with Fintech investments estimated to surpass $10b by 2025, an increasing number of financial industry stakeholders are investing in Latin America’s Fintech sector.
Latin America is witnessing an unprecedented growth in Neobanks. Already, more than 50 Neobanks, serving more than 80m customers across South America, have been established and are operating. The focus of these Neobanks have been the underbanked or unbanked, where Fintechs are now servicing financial needs in a similar way to their African counterparts. Many of Latin America’s underbanked and unbanked consumers along with small business now have digital-only bank accounts or mobile wallets, with others using prepaid cards, BNPL loans, and other methods of point-of-sale finance.
Latin America’s financial sector has been traditionally dominated by remittance companies, enabling households to receive offshore funds through a local remittance agent. These agencies are being superseded by the rapid adoption of digital banking and wallets. Neobanks are providing their customers with digital wallet technology coupled with a debit card, mutual funds, personal loans, and money management tools.
Youtap is at the forefront of the digital banking transformation, with Neobanks and traditional banks adopting its technology across both Africa and South America. Our products provide a range of white-label applications for business, consumer, and retail management banking.
Recently, American Banker reported that Fintechs see fresh opportunities in Africa while investing in Latin American FinTech. The following links provide a comprehensive view of the
opportunity:
https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/why-citi-and-other-big-banks-are-investing-in-latin-american-fintechs,
and
https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/fintechs-see-fresh-opportunity-in-africa
