51% Of Latin American Consumers Experienced Transacting With Crypto

51% of Latin American consumers experienced crypto transactions and the survey was conducted among more than 35,000 people around the world so let’s read more today in our latest cryptocurrency news.

51% of Latin American consumers conducted at least one transaction with crypto assets and more than 33% of them used stable coins for daily purchases according to a survey conducted by digital payment giant Mastercard. Dubbed “New Payments Index 2022” the study focused on financial innovations like crypto, blockchain, NFT, and DEFI which all aim to evaluate consumer behavior regarding emerging payment methods.

According to the survey, 54% of Latino consumers are optimistic about the performance of digital assets as an investment while two-thirds of Latinos went on a payment option that includes both crypto and traditional payment methods for daily operations. Latinos were driven by financial products related to crypto and 82% said they will like to have crypto functions available directly from the current financial institution. Also, the majority of the consumers in the region felt comfortable dealing with trusted organizations when it comes to crypto transactions.

Compared to Americans and Europeans, Latinos showed a higher degree of flexibility to adopt new payment options and 75% of consumers in Europe and America prefer traditional payment methods with 86% of Latinos using one emerging payment method at least like QR codes, digital currencies, and biometrics. The executive vice president of Mastercard commented on the matter:

“The future of payments is already here. Increasingly Latin Americans are turning to technology to conduct their financial transactions and this trend is expected to continue to rise, with an overwhelming 95% planning to use a digital payment method in the coming year and 29% acknowledging having used less cash in the past year.”

The financial instability and rising inflation could have been the major cause behind some of the South American countries diving deep into digital assets. Plagued by inflation, over 73% of Argentinians saw crypto as the most efficient saving mechanism a few years ago. The perspective corresponds to the view that BTC is a hedge against inflation or a digital gold that is seen as a store of value. Venezuela whcih is under heavy sanctions from the US government, took crypto as a store of value and means of payment to bypass the sanctions. The reports from Chainalysis on the issue stated:

“The country has reached 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.”