At a high level during the pandemic, digital wallets and contactless payments became the only option many customers had for accessing products and services, she said. As the pandemic hit hard and businesses shuttered their brick-and-mortar locations, gateways became highly relevant — and consumers’ embrace of digital payment methods began to grow in Colombia and the world, especially in Latin America. The data show just how rapid the decline of cash has become. Research conducted by PYMNTS in partnership with Kushki shows that cash transactions totaled 80% of payments in 2018; by 2020, in the throes of the pandemic, that figure was a mere 25% across Latin America.
As many as 1.6 million Colombians downloaded and activated digital wallets for the first-time last year. Millennials, as tech-savvy consumers used to digital interactions, have been especially enthusiastic adopters. That growth has come as tighter government regulations have helped block fraud and set operating criteria for firms across the payment’s spectrum. Each gateway operating in the market must be certified to meet payment card industry (PCI) compliance standards. The digital initiatives don’t have to be the sole domain of FinTechs and neobanks, she noted. Traditional banks can and should examine how to transform their own digital and established brick-and-mortar approaches to better serve the needs of niche audiences. By way of contrast, the digital world provides complete traceability of the IP, the place, the device (PC or mobile), the purchase, the currency, and the platform.