María Laura Mancuso

🌎 Discover the future of fintech in Latin America with insights from our LATAM CEO, Federico Balige! As of April 2023, Latin America boasts 1,000 active fintechs, with a primary focus on financial inclusion—a critical step in addressing the 70% of the population lacking access to formal financial services. 💰 Peruvian financial habits are rapidly evolving, driven by the rapid digital transformation sweeping the finance sector. With many turning to digital wallets and payments, the demand for innovative fintech solutions is higher than ever. 🚀 In an insightful interview with The Fintech Times, Federico explores the changing payment trends in Peru and beyond. From the rise of digital wallets to emerging technologies, he provides valuable insights into the future of payments in Latin America. 📱 Join the conversation on Latin America's fintech revolution and learn how PayU GPO is driving innovation in the region. Read the full article below 👇 #Fintech #LatinAmerica #Payments #Innovation #PayUGPO #TheFintechTimes

57

CBDC and the future of payments integration in Latin America This is to share that I participated in a wonderful conference organised by the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú - BCRP, Inter-American Development Bank and Marc Uzan of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee in Cusco on 19-20 July. It has been the 15th edition of the conference, and probably my 7th participation. The conference has clearly established itself as a fixture and one of the leading central bank conferences in Latin America. In my brief introductory remarks, I offered an idea about a regional payments initiative for Latin America based on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) following similar regional initiatives in Europe and in Asia. It could provide a new approach to assess possible trajectories towards greater use of local currencies and financial and economic integration in the region. My comments were made against the background of the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference. 19 out of the 45 participant countries at the conference were from Latin America. No region had more countries present at Bretton Woods. And yet, it has not quite brought the level of cooperation and integration to the region, the spirit of the conference intended to produce. Latin America does not trade very much with itself or invests in itself. Its currencies play almost no role in international transactions. It may make Latin America depend unduly on third countries, thereby being vulnerable to adverse geopolitical shocks and constrain the growth potential and relative attractiveness of the region. This may have many reasons. One could be that it is difficult to move money around in Latin America. If moving money around is difficult and if the monies being used are mostly foreign monies, it may impose undue disincentives to seek greater regional integration. Hence, I outlined an idea for a new project to advance international payments integration in Latin America using CBDC. CBDC has brought a new thinking and new approaches to cross-border and foreign exchange settlement. It could act as catalyst to promote the use of local currencies and attain greater diversification in the international monetary system. This would reduce undue reliance on a very small set of currencies and help shift the relative attractiveness of currencies enhancing choice and resilience in international payments. While the Bretton Woods spirit of cooperation may not quite have infused Latin America as it had Europe and now seeming increasingly Asia, a regional CBDC initiative may help offer a new perspective about regional integration in Latin America. You can find my prepared remarks at https://lnkd.in/emanh8R5 #cbdc #bis #IMF

42

2 Comments

Well done Inter-American Development Bank. Getting the unbanked closer to the financial system must be a national priority. At The Belize Bank Limited Financial Inclusion initiatives drive our strategy. #financialinclusionmeansyoutoo

13

2 Comments

Proud moment. Cecabank, Spain's largest custody bank and leading wholesale bank, officially joins our cap table at Bit2Me alongside Telefonica, BBVA Spark, and Investcorp. We're honored for the trust and recognize the great responsibility that comes with partnering with regulated entities that share our vision in co-building the future of digital assets in our region. Bravo andrei manuel & Abel Peña for leading this whole process! I'm even more proud to be working with you both! Notable points in English: “With this operation, Cecabank strengthens its capabilities in the face of the changes and novelties that the new European regulation on cryptoassets will entail. The MiCA Regulation will enter into force in two phases: the first, starting next June 30, 2024, will affect the authorization regime for the issuance of e-money tokens and referenced tokens; the second, which will begin on December 30 of this same year, will be extended to the rest of the cryptoassets and applicable rules of conduct. This new regulation will provide a new legal security framework for the digital asset market. In the words of Aurora Cuadros, corporate director of Securities Services at Cecabank: "Our entity already has solutions and continues to build more with the aim of guaranteeing the comfort of institutional investors and financial institutions with an appetite to operate in these new markets with the same standards of quality and excellence that exist in the universe of traditional assets. The alliance with Bit2Me is one more step on that path." For those keen to learn more about the intersection of crypto and banking, Ana Ucedo Laorden and team prepared this report you can download: https://lnkd.in/dhyXhPpA :)

114

32 Comments

Last week, F-Prime Capital’s Rocio Wu published her deep dive "FedNow Turns One: What Have We Learned About US Real-Time Payments?" in Forbes, reflecting on the first year of #FedNow, the U.S. government's real-time payments (#RTP) system, and her predictions on its impact and future trajectory. From the rise of consumer use cases to the challenges of mass connectivity and the evolving landscape of #digitalwallets, Rocio's analysis provides valuable insights into the state of #RTP and its implications for the fintech industry, which she also touches on in her recent Wharton Fintech Podcast interview alongside Nick Stanescu, Chief FedNow Executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Want to learn more about the future potential of RTP in the U.S.? Check out her full article here: https://lnkd.in/e-dec582 #FedNow #RealTimePayments #Fintech #FPrimeCapital #Innovation #RocioWu #Forbes #Payments #VC #InvestmentTrends #MarketAnalysis #Finance #Technology 

3