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dc.titleDigital Payments Adoption by Consumers and Firms: Implications for Financial Inclusion
dc.contributor.authorVlaicu, Razvan
dc.contributor.orgunitDepartment of Research and Chief Economist
dc.date.available2025-06-17T00:06:00
dc.date.issue2025-06-17T00:06:00
dc.description.abstractDigital payments have increasingly been adopted by consumers and firms in Latin America and the Caribbean. This policy research paper analyzes recent post-pandemic data on digital payments in the region to describe adoption patterns, measure adoption gaps, and identify adoption barriers. The data reveal a positive trend in the use of financial accounts for receiving wages, and of payment apps and digital wallets for purchases in-person and online. Despite increased average adoption, sizable gaps remain both between countries and within countries. At the consumer level, factors associated with delayed adoption include low income, old age, indigenous status, and rural location. At the firm level, factors include small size, retail sector, and limited credit access. Four types of adoption barriers appear to be important: technological, economic, informational, and behavioral. These observations are supported with detailed microdata from Mexico. The paper proposes policy solutions for achieving digital payments inclusion of vulnerable consumers and firms.
dc.format.extent35
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0013575
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Digital-Payments-Adoption-by-Consumers-and-Firms-Implications-for-Financial-Inclusion.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectSmall Business
dc.subjectDigital Payment
dc.subjectDigital Technology
dc.subjectFinancial Inclusion
dc.subjectMobile App
dc.subjectDebtor Finance
dc.subjectFintech
dc.subject.jelcodeD18 - Consumer Protection
dc.subject.jelcodeG23 - Non-bank Financial Institutions • Financial Instruments • Institutional Investors
dc.subject.jelcodeG50 - General
dc.subject.keywordsdigital payments;Adoption gaps;Adoption barriers;Financialinclusion
idb.identifier.pubnumberIDB-WP-01705
idb.operationRG-E2044
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