Financial technology companies or fintech has grown 20% in Peru so far this year 2019, according to local newspaper El Financiero.
The media explained that in the South American country there are more than 80 companies operating at this time, of which the online loan segment is the most dominant. “24 percent of these digital platforms are dedicated to crowdfunding, demonstrating that they are the technological investment tool chosen by Peruvians,” they explained.
Oscar Salas, Country Head of Afluenta, commented:
“During Cyber Ahorro, Afluenta increased the income of funds by 342%, evidencing that Peruvians are adopting fintech in their lifestyle, to obtain loans online and managing their finance from the cell phone”.
The aforementioned “Cyber Savings” is a period of time in which benefits were offered to users.
As for the investments of Afluenta Peru, they doubled in the last week with an increase of 200% in the average register of investors, who managed to finance more than 700 thousand loans online in April.
They were mainly destined to consolidate and refinance debts (24.79%), and secondly to investment in commercial real estate and home renovation (15.73%).
According to La República, the use of fintech allows users a wider range of services and products, facilitating the entry of the population into the financial system.
Regional panorama
In this way, Peru seems to begin to reverse its situation with respect to the number of these companies. A recent study by the Inter-American Development Bank shows that the countries with the most Fintech ventures in the region are Brazil (33% of the total), Mexico (23%), Colombia (13%), Argentina (10%), Chile (7%) ) and Peru (5%). Venezuela ranked in last place, with only 11 ventures (1% of the total).
According to the study, the countries that experience a very high growth (above 100%) of fintech companies are those that have emerging ecosystems.