South America is home to a large number of unbanked and unbankedconsumers, who mostly operate outside of the e-payments ecosystem andsubsequently miss out on the inherent benefits that e-payments can bring tothem and to the local economy.
The Mercator AdvisoryGroup estimates, based on historical data from the World Bank’s Global Findexdatabase in 2013, there were approximately 160 million unbanked adults, whichrepresents around 53% of the total adult population of South America.Estimating conservatively, we believe another 17 million adults across the same10 markets were underbanked in 2013. (Data is not available for Guyana,Suriname and Guyane.)
Now as electronic paymentgrowth emerges, how do you reach those under-served markets successfully?
According to MercatorAdvisory Group’s recently released report, Unbanked and Underbanked Consumersin South America: A Market for E-Payments, the key is providing information ondebit and credit card penetration, learning about ATM and branch use and about theprospects of prepaid and mobile payments in South America.
With a potential of 170million users at stake, the report provides a better understanding on theextent of the unbanked and unbanked populations across South America, how localpublic and private organizations are attempting to improve financial inclusionand how e-payment use in this market is boosted.
Go to the Mercator Advisory Group’s website to purchase the entire report and obtain previous reports, The BrazilianPayments Market: Ready for the Limelight and Profiling in the South AmericanATM Landscape.
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