Internet-based products have grown substantially in recent years, and constitute an important source of innovation for the remittance industry. Although these products present important opportunities for businesses and consumers, the low rate of penetration merits further discussion and analysis. The article concludes that perhaps the issue is still more structural, that the ecosystem of payment services is performing unevenly, partly due to poor financial access among clients and merchants.
In 2016, the flow of remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed US $70 billion. In the 20 countries for which there is data available, the flow reached US$69 billion. This increase demonstrates continued growth since the post-recession period. In this article, we find a range of factors shaping this growth,
Enabling tools that motivate remittance recipients to access and use a variety of financial services needed to increase assets is key to wealth generation.
