Latin America's Central Banks Establish Digital Payments Used By Hundreds of Millions (msn.com)
- Reference: 0181612388
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/04/12/0053202/latin-americas-central-banks-establish-digital-payments-used-by-hundreds-of-millions
- Source link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/mexico-s-62-billion-in-us-remittances-shifts-away-from-cash/ar-AA1YPa0m
> Latin America has been able to build up sleek and effective payment systems in record time because it is not held back by legacy payment technology that isn't built for instant money movement. In the likes of the U.K., U.S. and Europe, payment systems are built on infrastructure that is often decades old. The process of building new systems is therefore incredibly operationally complex. Money must continue moving, so these systems can't just be "switched off."
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> Emerging markets, such as those in Latin America, did not have to contend with legacy technology on the same scale. Many of these communities were cash dominant until recently, due to the high fees associated with card usage and the lack of banking infrastructure in rural regions. However, while many people didn't have a local bank on their corner, they did have mobile phones... Through these digital channels, money moves instantly, via account-to-account transfers, QR codes and mobile wallets... Beyond this, real-time and traceable digital payments generate valuable cash-flow data that can transform credit underwriting for small and medium-size businesses, or SMEs. Historically, many SMEs in emerging and cash-reliant markets have struggled to access credit due to a lack of documented transaction histories, audited accounts or formal credit records...
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> Mexico is now poised to be the next success story. In Mexico, a third of people are unbanked, but 96% of the population owns a mobile phone. This creates the perfect launchpad for a digital-first payment system that can reach those historically excluded from traditional banking systems.
In fact, something already changed in 2025. Bloomberg reports that for the first time, [2]digital payment transfers in the U.S.-to-Mexico remittance corridor exceeded cash transfers (with physical pickup locations like Western Union), according to Mexico's central bank. It's part of a Latin American market "worth more than $160 billion a year, roughly $62 billion of which goes to Mexico."
And Mexico's digitalization efforts will continue, according to the country's president, who said at a March banking conference that [3]digital payments will now be encouraged for gasoline and tolls .
[1] https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/mexico-is-about-to-leapfrog-over-the-us-in-real-time-payments
[2] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/mexico-s-62-billion-in-us-remittances-shifts-away-from-cash/ar-AA1YPa0m
[3] https://www-gob-mx.translate.goog/presidencia/prensa/celebra-presidenta-compromiso-de-la-banca-de-incrementar-creditos-al-sector-privado-en-inauguracion-de-la-89-convencion-bancaria-de-la-abm?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
US should have had this already (Score:1)
I'm annoyed that the current government thinks crypto is the answer. The US banking system was working on such a system but apparently a well governed and well regulated electronic payment system just doesn't make money for the "right kind" of people.
Story fails to clarify what's truly new in this (Score:2)
Consumers in African countries have famously had mobile banking that skipped legacy system for many years now, maybe even a decade. European consumers have long had instant payments with no fees. So far as I remembered, practically the only country where consumers still don't have this is the US, thanks to its crazy patchwork of banking systems with embedded corporate and anti-consumer interests. Just like the US is the only country where checks are still in regular use, and paying with a card can still som
Re: (Score:2)
The problem is not the incumbent technology per se. These "sleeker" systems can be implemented every bit as easily in the US as elsewhere. The problem is economic. Merchants already invested money into the incumbent systems, which they have to continue to support to maintain their current revenue. The new technology imposes additional costs for minimal revenue because most consumers will slowly ramp up with the new technology. If the new technology could be implemented with zero additional cost to the
Europe does have a system (Score:2)
> In the likes of the U.K., U.S. and Europe, payment systems are built on infrastructure that is often decades old
Not entirely correct, European countries do have an instant payment systems and their merger is now developing into a solution as large as Pix. One difference is it is a federation of systems and does not have a single marketing name.
Southern Europe started different national systems (from European Payments Alliance, EuroPA), interoperating between Italy (Bancomat) / Spain (Bizum) / Portugal (MB Way) / Andorra / Poland (Blik) / Norway (Vipp) / Sweden (Vipp) / Greece (IRIS).
Western Europe started a system ca
Australia (Score:1)
Good for them. Australia has had PayID/Osko (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Payments_Platform) since 2021.
Slop (Score:1)
This article has so many inacurate statements, it is not worth reading.
You really had a great thing going on. (Score:4, Insightful)
This, and million little (and colossal) shifts like this are why every American patriot, as in, person who has any actual love for and devotion to USA, or even simple opportunists eager to utilize the worldwide advantage being American gave them, should be blood curdling angry at the current governmental kleptocracy in power (and I do /not/ even mean MAGA exclusively).
Perfect example of a formerly world wide order that provided every single account holder of almost any American bank with worldwide privilege of ease and access that people from other countries would generally have to pay at least a little bit extra to receive.
And like so many things the world just let Americans have it, because the deal still wasn't that bad for the rest of them. But now it will be lost, as pretty much everywhere in the world, systems independent on USA's infrastructure, physical, legal and commercial, are being built, because the deal is garbage now. There's no more promise of stability. No more impression of benevolence and cooperation, with just oh so little exploitation on the side.
It will be the same with military spending. Yeah, rest of NATO might be compelled to spend more on their military, but they gonna think twice on whom they buy from. It will be the same with culture, with science, with software and with diplomacy.
I guess every empire is bound to eventually find a way to fuck it all up, but it is bizarre to see how few people actively enabling and supporting the fucking up are even remotely cognizant of what's going on in front of their very eyes.
Re: You really had a great thing going on. (Score:2)
What makes me laugh is the assumption that US military spending will reduce if it withdraws from NATO.
Re: (Score:2)
You're pointing the finger in slightly the wrong direction. It's not the fault of the political system as such, this is because we have allowed our society to be captured by the psychopaths who rule Corporate America. In their unending greed and eternal search for quick easy money and ever more power they have de-industrialized the country, gutted research and development into new technologies, stunted the migration to renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, and on and on. This financial tech is ye
Re: (Score:2)
See, your issue is that when the other "right wingers" lied to you about who the "lefties" are and what do they want, you fell for it.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not even sure that I'm pointing a finger at anyone "at fault"; the people at direct, specific "fault" are very clearly benefiting beyond most people's wildest dreams and as long as there's someone willing to mash the "betray" button, they're eventually gonna find their way to wherever it happens to be in any given environment by the simplest of gradient descents.
What baffles me is the ultimate girth and heft, and... density of the group that seems to legitimately believe they did search for what's the b
Re: You really had a great thing going on. (Score:3)
It is often a preliminary to producing results though. Not necessarily peacefully, and not always improvements, but results nonetheless. A number of revolutions come to mind.
Re: (Score:2)
Wouldn't the US leaving NATO also greatly reduce the influence they have over other NATO members ?