Innovative Technologies in Microfinance for Latin America: Building Effective Delivery Channels

This paper summarizes the conclusions of microfinance workshop held in Costa Rica on the use of Information Technology (IT) in Latin America to deliver financial services.

The widespread use of IT services in financial corporations will increase when it becomes easier, more convenient and secure for consumers. Growth and success of MFIs in Latin America will depend on:

• Innovative use of existing technologies which can significantly improve quality of service, customer satisfaction, increase data collection and analysis, and reduce transactions costs;
• Adoption of new technologies in delivery channels like Automatic Teller Machines, smart cards, Personal Digital Assistants, mobile finance, remote transaction systems;
• Degree of cooperation among MFIs to reduce IT investment cost and increase standardization reaping economies of scale.

The paper concludes that the challenges facing the industry in Latin America include finding a technology that can break the existing paradigm in larger nations, expanding the offering of financial products, and revaluating the idea of serving the poorest and finding sustainable ways to serve them.