Friday Briefing: EBANX and PayPal discuss payment trends for this year

January 13, 2023

#TopStory 🔝

A2A payments and social commerce will be trends in 2023

Credit and debit cards may still be the primary vehicle for digital payments in Latin America but for e-commerce, account-to-account (A2A) methods such as instant payments and wallets are expected to continue gaining market share this year.

Cards are not available to most consumers in Latin America, where the majority of the population is unbanked and, as a result, businesses are seeing a steady increase in the use of solutions such as Pix for online shopping, according to spokespersons for global processors EBANX and PayPal.

“In this gulf between those that are account holders and those that are card holders, there’s a space for alternative payment methods to emerge, prosper and be successful,” Juliana Etcheverry, EBANX’s director of strategic payment alliances, told iupana.

PayPal also expects sales via social networks to flourish, fueling the A2A trend and setting the stage for greater competition among payment processing companies.

Find out more about what’s to come for digital payments in 2023 in our iupanaExclusive on Monday.

#Strategic Plays 📊

Fiserv acquires Yacaré in Argentina

The payment solutions platform Fiserv bought Yacaré, a local digital wallet, claiming a stake in the market for payments with QR codes. The move pits Fiserv against incumbents such as payment giant Mercado Pago.

Also…

• BBVA developed a new application aimed at the elderly to make it easier for them to use digital services. The product will be launched initially in Peru and subsequently rolled out in Argentina and Mexico.
• Openbank, the Santander Group’s digital bank, opened technology hubs in three cities: Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Miami. The company plans to hire more talent to bolster its digital program.

#Regulation ⚖️

62% of our readers predict that regulation will be the determining issue for the LatAm fintech market in 2023. Regulatory developments for crypto, payments and digital banking are seen changing the panorama for businesses. For this reason, iupanaPRO, our specialized regulatory service, has published a special series of forecasts for 2023:

Regulatory forecast 2023: Mexico, awaiting more fintech licenses

The CNBV is expected to accelerate the pace of approvals following an internal reorganization

Regulatory forecast 2023: Peru reviews open finance amid volatile politics

The country wants to chart a path for open banking, but instability will weigh on the agenda

Regulatory forecast 2023: Colombia charts ambitious regulatory path

The plan includes setting rules for an instant payment system, digital assets and open banking

Would you like to learn more about our special iupanaPro series Regulatory Forecasts 2023? Read about the issues that decision makers will be evaluating this year in countries such as Costa Rica, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Chile.

#Investments 📈

Chile’s Bemmbo raises capital for expansion

Chilean fintech Bemmbo, which specializes in the automation of payments and collections, raised US$500,000 with the aim of bolstering its product offering and reaching new markets, such as Mexico, Colombia and Peru.

#iupanaExclusive 🔥

The Outlook for digital banking, fintech and payments in Latin America 2023 is a survey about the technologies and trends that our readers think will set the tone this year and influence decision-making. And the results are in!

• Regulation, open finance and payments top the list of the priorities for 2023.
• The incursion into digital finance by big tech firms, such as Meta and Apple, is expected to have major repercussions.
• Only 6.2% of our readers said crypto will be among the sectors receiving most investment, down from 20% last
  year.

Find out more about the issues at the top of the agenda for 2023 in this week’s iupanaExclusive.