In Latin America, 54% percent of Latino consumers are optimistic about the performance of digital assets as an investment. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Latinos want greater flexibility to use crypto and traditional payment methods interchangeably in their day-to-day operations. The digital payments revolution that began during the pandemic is consolidating and driving Latin American interest in cryptocurrencies. 51% of consumers in the region have already made a transaction with cryptoassets and more than a third say they have made a payment for an everyday purchase with stablecoin, reveals Mastercard’s New Payments Index 2022, a survey conducted between March and April of this year among more than 35,000 people around the world.
Mastercard’s New Payments Index 2022 reveals that 86% of Latino consumers have used at least one emerging payment method in the past year. While 77% of Americans and 74% of Europeans prefer traditional payment methods to newer ones, Latinos are willing to use emerging methods such as biometrics, digital currencies and QR code, in addition to contactless payments. When deciding which payment method to use, Latinos prioritize security (54%), but also look for the speed that financial technology offers. Biometrics is emerging as an option to find that balance between convenience and security. Three out of four Latinos say that “using biometric technologies for identity and payments is more secure than a PIN, password or another form of identification,” but concerns persist about which entities have access to their data.