The Future is Banked

In recent years, we have been hearing more about “bankarization” and new forms of payment to break down the barriers that prevent financial inclusion in our country. Generally, when this term is heard, these words come to mind: institution, contracts and perhaps even credit cards. While a part of bankarization works in this way, it has a very complex meaning that we cannot take for granted, or at least cannot be simplified.

The bankarization that we want to implement in the country goes beyond a financial contract; it is about bringing more and more people closer to obtaining benefits that cash alone does not provide and with this, help to improve the informal economy of micro and small entrepreneurs.

This model gives them access to credit and money-saving plans and even provides them the opportunity to obtain different financial products that they could not get otherwise, allowing them to grow and strengthen their commercial assets. In fact, thanks to the pandemic, we were able to discover the importance of having banking channels and the need to strengthen the alternatives for digital payments among micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

With this, we could say that the foray into bankarization can only help financial institutions and their users, but its benefits extend even further. The constant use of banking channels also improves the growth of the general economy of the country, since they become accessible to a greater number of people. In addition to this, tools would be created that guarantee transactional security for both merchants and customers.

Achieving inclusion does only concerns banks; in fact, fintech also plays an extremely important role in achieving it, from the implementation of low-cost devices that allow the acceptance of different payment methods to the creation of solutions to facilitate electronic commerce. These types of companies play with the innovation of financial systems, reaching even the smallest merchants and helping them boost their growth.

Many people fear bankarization because of the myths around it, in addition to misinformation. The collective view regarding banks does not help to diminish these legends, and the only thing it does is to keep millions from enjoying the great benefits that help businesses. One of the most popular myths, for example, is the disappearance of cash.

To be honest, we can predict a long life for the use of cash, since it is still not possible to introduce the required technology to all corners of the country, so we cannot totally do without it. We also have employers who continue to deliver envelopes of money as payment for labor, and hundreds of services such as transportation are usually paid with coins from the change we keep from previous cash payments.

Although cash is accessible and basically the national payment method, it comes with some disadvantages, such as when a person is subject to a scam; there is no entity to help them recover their money if there was no contract or proof of the transaction. The same happens in the case of loss or theft.

Like all actions that cause change, there will always be many doubts, and above all, uncertainty of what may come. But just as various everyday elements have evolved over time, so must our way of thinking and growing.

We still have a long way to go to consider Mexico a completely financially inclusive country, but I am sure many companies, just like Sr. Pago did from the very start, will share this goal as a top priority. Let's continue promoting the use of technology on any business scale and make Mexico a country with greater access for everyone.