Buenas Tardes from Argentina!

Welcome to the latest edition of #MovenAroundTheGlobe. Today, I’m in sunny Buenos Aires where I’ve just finished a full day of meetings and I’m sitting down to have a glass of Malbec. I’m just starting to feel a bit of jet lag realizing that I’ve clocked 16,500 km so far and I’m only just getting started!

In my pre-meeting preparations for this trip, I noted that financial inclusion and alternative financing were top of mind for the banks in the region. Additionally, I managed to get my hands on a report which concluded that “80% of organizations [in Argentina] expect to partner with a fintech in the next 3 years.” With this information in mind, I was very excited about this leg of the trip.

I was able to meet with 3 banks today and during those meetings I quickly understood that Argentina is becoming a hotbed for fintech/bank partnership. Not only that, during my meetings today, I also noted that the opportunities were far greater than anticipated. For example; 50% of Argentinians are considered unbanked. In addition, only 20% of Argentinians have a credit card to make (international) online payments. This resulted in one of the most successful FinTech startups I have come across in recent times where a small firm (16 people), which is a spinoff from one of the country’s leading banks, formed a partnership with PayPal, linking them to all bank accounts in Argentina, creating a new payment eco-system. Within 5 months they were break-even. The next step is to discuss with Moven how we can assist them improving overall financial literacy and create a financial wellness platform for all Argentinians. Our wishlist and savings features are a perfect fit by the looks of it.

If you’re looking for an interesting market where fintech/bank collaboration is a hot topic, Argentina should certainly be on your radar. I’m sad to leave… but excited to share my next post from Santiago, Chile! Stay tuned.

Adios,

Morten Kriek
VP EMEA
Moven Enterprise