The Fintech sector, comprised of companies that use technology for financial services, grew 340% between 2017 and 2023 in Latin America and the Caribbean, surpassing 3,000 startups, according to a study published this Thursday.
Specifically, it went from 703 companies in 18 countries in 2017 to 3,069 in 26 states in 2023, according to a report published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Finnovista company as part of the fifth annual FintechLAC meeting held in Bogotá.
This growth “is due to high demand from financial consumers, the state of digital financial infrastructure, and the availability of a specialized workforce,” the study indicates.
Brazil remains the country in the region with the highest number of fintech ventures, with 24% of the total, followed by Mexico (20%), Colombia (13%), and Argentina and Chile with 10% each.
The countries that grew the most in this area in the last two years were Peru, with 5.3% of the number of companies, followed by Ecuador (3%) and the Dominican Republic (2.1%).
The latter, along with Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, can be considered emerging markets in the Fintech ecosystem and are developing “with notable dynamism,” the IDB stated in a press release. At the regional level, the segment that stands out the most is payments and remittances.
Fintech ventures in Latin America “focus on underbanked or unbanked individuals and businesses, which shows the positive impact of this sector on financial inclusion,” the text notes.
