Between July and October 2020, the number of people in El Salvador exploring mortgage options online increased by 18%, and the number of Costa Rican consumers looking to buy credit cards decreased by 60%.
CentralAmericaData's interactive platform Consumer Insights monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets in the region and in other Latin American countries, with fundamental information to understand their behavior, new trends and anticipate eventual changes in their purchase patterns.
In the last few months, interest in credit cards has been increasing in the digital environment, a rise that is mainly explained by the behavior of consumers in Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Through a system monitoring changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries in real time, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
In the countries of the region, more than 8 million people are looking for credit on the Internet. Of this group of consumers, approximately 9% explore options for taking out a student loan.
The interactive information system developed by CentralAmericaData monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets of the region, with fundamental information to understand the new commercial environment that has emerged in an accelerated manner.
At a regional level, nearly 16 million people are looking to purchase financial services online. Of this group of consumers, approximately 11% are exploring options for acquiring a credit card.
The interactive information system developed by CentralAmericaData, monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets of the region, with fundamental information to understand the new commercial environment that has emerged in an accelerated manner.
The coronavirus has left an economic impact in several countries. For this reason, some governments are developing exceptional measures to mitigate its effects. For example, the suspension of tax and mortgage payments to lessen the economic pressure on small businesses and households.
In the United States, interest rates were reduced to almost zero and a US$700 billion stimulus program was launched in a bid to protect its economy, says Mario Miranda, director of finance at MonederoSMART.
Limiting the fees charged in Costa Rica and establishing a law that defines market limits in Guatemala are part of the attempts being made in the region to regulate the use of credit cards.
A law proposal presented last January before the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, aims to regulate the percentage of the commission paid by businesses for credit or debit cards.
Visa has announced it will begin in Guatemala the process of eliminating magnetic stripe cards and replacing them with ones that have chips.
Guatemalan financial institutions are working on building the infrastructure necessary to meet this new technology, said the executive director of Visa Central America, Roger Sanchez. The delivery of the first chip card is scheduled for early next year.
New technologies will be the basis for changes affecting users of financial services in the future.
Accessing your account from Facebook and financing being offered at the time you buy a product are some of the innovations that we could be seeing in the coming years in the banking industry.
This is one of the conclusions from research conducted by experts in technology and financial services applications, which include, among other things, the ability to soon be able to sign agreements using just a smartphone.
Visa has launched an advertising campaign fostering the usage of debit cards in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Usage of Visa debit cards has grown 33% in the last five years. To take advantage of this movement, Visa has launched a new advertising campaign focused specifically on debit cards, called "yo paGO" ("I PAY"). It is part of its "More people GO with Visa" campaign, and aims to tell consumers the benefits of using debit cards over cash.
SkyMiles is the world's largest frequent flyer program.
Travelers choosing this card will obtain double miles for all their purchases, with a welcome credit of 4.000 to 20.000 miles, depending on the type of card.
"Members of this program have the flexibility of using their Delta miles in any flight, on any day", published Elfinancierocr.com, "this promotion will be valid from August 1 to October 31".
MasterCard is betting on the development of prepaid cards not just in Panama but in all of Latin America.
Credit and debit cards have been popular in Panama's market, where most of the population has access to banking services.
The director of sales and product delivery for MasterCard, Max Chion, says there's a long road to travel in the development of new products for the mass market.