Mexico Leverages Mobile Payments for Unbanked People

  • Payments , Banking
  • 20.02.2019 06:51 am

Mexico’s new leftist government is betting on financial technology to help lift people out of poverty. The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador recently announced measures aimed at making financial services more affordable in a nation where more than half the population is unbanked. It is planning a digital payments system run and built by the central bank that will allow Mexicans to make and receive payments through their smartphones free of charge. A pilot roll-out for the platform, known as CoDi, is expected by March.

Stephen Harkey, CMO of ViViPAY:

Financial services are crucial to empowering certain groups of people, age groups, and specific populations. Financial services pave the way toward evading poverty, as well as offering economic independence, growth and balancing inequality. With greater financial options, people gain economic freedom and stronger financial decision-making, as well as important tools to invest in personal or family livelihood. Unbanked and underbanked typically pay their bills in cash. If they need to borrow money it is usually from a local money lender at an elevated interest rate, and the vast majority of this population pay sharp interest rates when they are able to secure a line of credit, especially from a retailer.

Today’s innovative providers such as ViVi are developing customer-friendly financial ecosystems that will help lead the cashless revolution, and aid people who have been unable to get a traditional bank account. All of this innovation of financial service offerings means these populations will no longer have restrictions when in need for financial services, securing loans, transferring funds or making purchases, and they will be able to enjoy the same financial freedoms offered by traditional financial service providers.

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