The financial technology (Fintech) industry has increased its activities in Latin America. A study by the Inter-American Development Bank and Finnovista states that services in this area have risen by 112% between 2018 to March 2021.

For our junior associate lawyer, Rebeca Galdámez, in El Salvador the increase in digital financial services has been reflected because different situations have been propitiated that have made this “explode”.

One of the main causes was the Covid-19 pandemic that began in the first months of 2020. According to Galdámez, the population needed the help of different electronic services to carry out procedures and e-commerce: “We could no longer go to stores to buy physically. So, people had to scramble to make sure their businesses did not collapse and they could still continue shopping”.

Likewise, our expert recognizes that some time ago the implementation of digital financial services was “popularized” as in banks and in the supply of goods and services. Likewise, another factor was the approval of the Bitcoin Law that helped the country “put itself in the focus of the whole world”.

“At Torres Legal we have had the opportunity to advise several Fintech companies and we see the usefulness of them, especially in these times when financial inclusion has increased a lot”, she described.

However, our lawyer believes that there is still a long way to go for digital financial services to be enhanced. In that sense, it should be taken into account that the financial technology industry must harmonize with the different financial institutions in the country, as well as give good legal advice to such companies.

-Written by Torres Legal Team.