A survey has revealed that 51% of consumers in Latin America have made transactions using cryptocurrencies, and a third of citizens have used stablecoins.
The MasterCard study, entitled New Payments Index 2022, was conducted between March and April this year and sampled opinions from over 35,000 people globally.
It evaluates consumer payment behavior focusing on financial innovations such as blockchain technology, decentralized finance (DeFi), cryptocurrencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to the executive vice president for products and engineering, Latin America and the Caribbean, Walter Pimenta,
Latin Americans are turning to technology to conduct their financial transactions, and this trend is expected to continue to rise.
95% of the respondents plan to use one digital payment method next year, while 29% claim they used less cash in 2021.
More than 54% of consumers in Latin America believe that digital assets will perform well as investments. But there’s a clear need for trusted institutions within the space.
And 67% are confident in using crypto as a payment method, and 69% will be more confident investing if a trusted organization should they support crypto assets.
Latin Americans want more blockchain solutions
There is also a clamor for more cryptocurrency and blockchain technology solutions. 82% of the respondents want their financial institutions to have crypto-related options. Around 66% want more flexibility in switching between traditional and crypto payment methods.
The results of surveys show that Latin Americans are more open to accepting innovative payment methods than Americans and Europeans. 75% of American and European consumers prefer traditional payment methods.
But a significant majority of Latin Americans, 86%, used emerging payment methods such as digital currencies, biometrics, digital currencies, or QR code last year.
Latin American financial instability is pushing citizens to crypto?
Financial instability in the Latin American region is a major reason behind the growing adoption.
With several countries battling inflation, residents are using crypto as a store of value. This is the prevailing opinion among Argentines whose national currency, the peso, crashed due to inflation.
Additionally, heavily sanctioned Venezuela uses cryptocurrencies as a store of value to bypass sanctions. According to Chainalysis,
Venezuela has one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency usage in the world, placing third on our Global Crypto Adoption Index, as many Venezuelans rely on cryptocurrency to receive remittances from abroad and preserve their savings against hyperinflation.
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