There have always been good relations between the UK and the countries of Latin America, but there are still great opportunities to develop commercial links and encourage capital investment. Last week, Canning House, an institution with a mission to build understanding between Latin America and the UK, hosted a meeting on the future of finance and investment in fintech.

The panelists shared their previous experiences in Latin America, talking about what worked in the past and what didn’t. Countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina are very attractive markets for foreign investment, but growth rates in the last 20 years have been lower than expected.

The focus of the talk was on the growth opportunities that exist in financial services. JP Morgan, who hosted the evening, reiterated its commitment to the region, which began more than 150 years ago by establishing its regional presence in Chile. Martin Gilbert, Chair of the Revolut Board, spoke about his aspirations to join the event neo bank to countries like Brazil and Mexico, and also showed great admiration for their Brazilian competition neo bank Nubank, which already has 75 million users in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.

Obviously the most innovative guest is Dinie, a platform with the infrastructure to offer credit, in a simple and fast way. The founder and CEO of the platform, Suzy Ferreira, emphasized the importance of the availability of capital for our region and the relevance of legislation to facilitate the development and growth of these new businesses.

In the future, banks will become platforms that provide financial services. This is a trend already seen in some regions such as Asia, in Singapore, Grab, a leader in mobility services, started offering financial services through the platform and in 2020 obtained its banking license in Singapore. In some other areas we’re starting to see it, but also focused services linked to sustainability will gain more relevance and more capital.