Payment Change in Latin America

A recent McKinsey survey in Latin America found that the number of people who said cash was their preferred payment method had halved between 2021 and 2023.

These results are based on two surveys, one in 2021 which surveyed respondents in eight countries: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, and Peru. A second in 2023 which added Costa Rica and Uruguay. The 2023 survey of 10 countries represented roughly 60% of the GDP of Spanish-speaking Latin America. In 2021 9,440 respondents took part and, in 2023, 6,008.

This transition is striking given that Latin America is still predominately cash-based with a high rate of informal labour. Many people are still paid in cash and use it for a lot of transactions, as many small merchants take only cash.