In 2021, 1.5 million new consumers were linked to financial institutions, with which the total figure closed at 33.5 million adults with at least one product, that is, 90.5% of the total, according to the 2021 Financial Inclusion Report presented by the Financial Superintendence and the Bank of Opportunities.
(See: In one year, the total portfolio of the financial system grows 14%).
The last indicator is 5.5% above the goal set by the National Development Plan for 2022 of 85%.
On the other hand, low-amount deposits, among which are products such as virtual wallets, electronic deposits and simplified processing accounts, had the highest penetration in 2021, reaching 23.8 million active products, of which 67.2% belong to women and 32.8% to men.
Among the most used channels to make payments and transfers, among others, the annual growth of 71.9% that mobile telephony had with more than 1,000 million monetary operations stands out. At the same time, internet transactions reached 703 million with an increase of 7.2% compared to 2020.
Between 2018 and 2021, it went from having 23.5 million adults with at least one active financial product to 27.7 million.
(See: Financial system improves in innovation).
The usage indicators went from 66% in 2018 to 74.8% in 2021, approaching the goal set in the National Development Plan for 2022 at 77%.
Deposit products played a fundamental role in the growth of this indicator. The percentage of the adult population that had at least one product of this type in 2021 was 89.1%, a figure that was 3.4 percentage points higher than that of 2020.
As for the number of Colombians with a current credit product, in 2021 it reached 34%, a figure 1.1 percentage points lower than that presented in 2020.
(See: Plurall, the ‘fintech’ that seeks to compete with ‘drop by drop’).
The implementation of mobile and digital correspondents has contributed to greater coverage of the financial system at the national level.
As of December 2021, there were more than 390,000 correspondent contracts, of which 957 were mobile or mobile points that can provide financial services without being located in a fixed place, and 161 digital (web or mobile application that connects with the financial institution to carry out its operations).
The report highlights an increase of 42% with respect to the total points of attention and provision of financial services (with dataphones, correspondents, offices, ATMs) compared to those registered in 2020.
At the end of 2021, a total of 919,751 dataphones were registered, 34.4% higher than that achieved in 2020.
This type of terminal has had sustained growth thanks to the adoption of technologies that speed up its adoption by businesses with simpler equipment in terms of size and need for connection, portable, with QR and contactless technologies, the report mentions.
(See: ABC of the project that seeks to end the so-called ‘drop by drop’ credit).
In addition, it reveals that the insurance penetration indicator in Colombia (written premiums / GDP) remained at 3% between 2020 and 2021. The figure came despite the real growth of 9.8% registered in premiums issued by that industry.
Expenditure on insurance per inhabitant reached $692,348, a figure that is $93,473 higher than in 2020.
Microinsurance is a challenge for the sector. These policies conceived and designed to cover the risks of lower-income populations and MSMEs represented 2.4% of the premiums issued in 2021.
Regarding the mass insurance market, this maintains a solid expansion and represented 36.4% of written premiums in 2021, highlighting that the main line of business was debtors group life.
“The incursion of technology gave a new dynamic to the transactions carried out by businesses and electronic commerce on a daily basis, given the security and efficiency that digital channels represent for the financial consumer. Making inquiries, payments or transfers digitally has simplified the use of financial products and services, which also contributes to generating well-being in people”, said the Financial Superintendent, Jorge Castaño Gutiérrez.
(See: Women continue to access credit in a lower proportion: why).
For his part, the president of Asobancaria, Hernando José Gómez, said that the figures “demonstrate the commitment of the financial and banking system to be an ally of Colombian families in fulfilling their dreams.”
The director of the Bank of Opportunities, Freddy Castro, ris high growth in the use of financial products, an indicator that has not stopped growing since 2020, and the increase in access to and use of financial products in the younger population.
For its part, the Credicorp Group presented the Digitalization and Financial Inclusion Study prepared by Ipsos, which analyzes and compares the progress of the use of digital financial platforms in Colombia and six other countries in the region (Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico and Panama).
According to the study, only 1 in 5 Colombians (21%) carry out digital financial transactions on a recurring basis, behind the levels recorded in Chile (41%), Panama (38%) and Ecuador (25%).
In Colombia, according to the data collected by the study, 60% of citizens are considered “non-digital users”. This means that, today, 6 out of 10 Colombians still does not use digital means to carry out financial transactions; a figure slightly below the average of “non-digital users” recorded by the 7 countries evaluated (64%).
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