Visi Money
TLDR:
- Financial institutions in the Caribbean can benefit from leveraging fintech to serve the unbanked and underbanked market segments.
- Regional institutions need to adapt quickly to compete with international players and provide better customer experiences.
Discounting the notion that the unbanked and underbanked are low-volume contributors to the bottom line, fintech expert Kathryn ChinSee emphasizes the benefits that regional financial institutions can reap by leveraging technology to serve these market segments. ChinSee argues that although digital transformation became a necessity a decade ago, many regional institutions have fallen behind international players. Despite the advantages of digital transformation, adaptation in the region has been slow, although some progress was made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ChinSee urges regional institutions to leverage their deep understanding of the Caribbean market to compete effectively with larger global fintechs. She stresses the importance of focusing on the “lifetime value” that customers generate rather than immediate profits and losses. By digitally transforming services, institutions can capitalize on the potential of the unbanked and underbanked, ultimately building stronger communities and economies.
Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon highlights the need for customer-centric experiences in financial services, emphasizing the importance of making processes intuitive and easy to understand. She also discusses the development of the Jamaica Data Exchange platform to streamline data verification for online banking services.
