Argentina improved in the Ranking of Countries with the Most Favorable Environment for Financial Inclusion
Argentina ranked seventh in the list of the 55 countries most conducive to financial inclusion, published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, the independent business unit of The Economist group. In this sense, the country rose two places above last year’s ranking and 33 in relation to 2015.
The “2019 Global Microscope: The enabling environment for financial inclusion” report published on Monday analyzes the practices adopted by governments and regulators around the world to promote financial inclusion, focusing on the regulatory environment and the impact of public policies.
Thus, in the 2019 edition of the “Global Microscope”, the regulations implemented by the Central Bank in November 2018 that enabled complementary agencies, generally called banking correspondents, to facilitate citizens’ access to the banking system are highlighted. Likewise, the report qualifies as a reference milestone the publication of the draft referred to a national financial inclusion strategy in April 2019, whose final version was ratified in August this year by Resolution 17/2019 of the Ministry of Treasury.
In this regard, The Economist Intelligence Unit concluded that Argentina has achieved significant advances in financial inclusion during the last four years. According to the report, Argentina stood out above the average of the countries evaluated in the categories of “Government and political support”; “Stability and integrity”; “Products and access points”; “Consumer protection”; and “Infrastructure”.
The “2019 Global Microscope” highlights global progress in financial inclusion, and identifies Latin America as the region with the most favorable regulatory framework and policies for its development. The report also recognizes the increasing adoption of national financial inclusion strategies, the overall improvement of regulatory frameworks for digital financial services, and the evolution of data protection and cybersecurity laws in response to the challenges of the digital age.