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A 2019 Ernst & Young report found Colombia has the highest "fintech adoption" rate in Latin America, with 76% of its population using fintech services and the industry growing at about 120% a year. Investors have poured more than $1 billion into the industry in the past three years, $300 million of which came during the first five months of the pandemic, according to Fintech Colombia. Investors find Colombia attractive because it is a large market with a history of stable macroeconomic policy. Also, national authorities focused on boosting start-ups for at least 10 years, including Colombia setting up Latin America's first regulatory sandbox.

Superfinanciera Colombia is pursuing a consultation on open banking.  Feedback is accepted from the public until May 31, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ana-mar%C3%ADa-zuluaga-tafur-765252119_superintendencia-financiera-de-colombia-activity-7066915486826946561-3HPM/

El Banco de la República Colombia participated in a blockchain bond program pilot. Issued by Colombian commercial bank Davivienda, with counseling from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), this pilot pilot saught to explore the benefits of the new technology and study its application for future bond issues. The bonds will be issued and managed using IADB's Lacchain blockchain platform, and the role of the central bank will be to run an observing node in the blockchain and support settlement in its high-value payments system.

Banco de la República (Banrep) published a working paper that concluded that assessed the need for and potential consequences of introducing a retail CBDC in Colombia. Based on an extensive review of the CBDC literature, it concluded that there is not currently a convincing case, but this conclusion does not exclude the possibility that one of these might justify the issuance of the retail CBDC in the future. That could be the case under a sudden popularization of unregulated stablecoins or a retail CBDC issued by another country, which could reduce the transmission of monetary policy, lead to a fragmentation of the payment system, and represent potential risks to financial stability. However, the paper stressed that the central bank has not taken a final decision on CBDC issuance, instead aiming to roll out a fast payment system by 2025.

Banco de la República de Colombia (BRC) published a report outlining its cautious stance on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It underscores the BRC's concerns over potential financial risks and policy challenges associated with CBDC adoption, and potential financial stability threats and monetary policy transmission channel disruptions. Hence, the BRC does not see reasons for CBDC issuance in the short term, but it will continue investigating the possible advantages, risks and costs of its issuance in the future. (In Spanish)

The Colombian Stock Exchange is joining the Consorcio Colibrí, a private initiative that promotes the adoption of blockchain technology within the finance industry. Consorcio Colibrí was formed by major financial institutions such as Bancolombia, BBVA, Santander Caceis Colombia, Deceval, Contrato Marco, Porvenir and Skandia. Via a partnership with member firm Contrato Marco, the CSE will use the Colibrí platform's blockchain tech to improve operational efficiency in the over-the-counter derivatives market.

According to the World Bank, Latin America's formal remittance market is around $96 billion. But traditional services like Moneygram or Western Union can come with high commissions, unfavorable exchange rates, limited office hours, long transmission times and daily exchange limits. Crypto remittances are a different story. For example, money can be sent from Venezuela to family members in Colombia and Spain using the peer-to-peer platform LocalBitcoins. These transactions are often faster and cheaper than their traditional finance counterparts, with fewer steps to send money. Crypto remittances organized on messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Telegram and WeChat can be even more competitive.

The Governor of Colombia's Banco de la República, Leonardo Villar, reportedly confirmed that the central bank is evaluating the possibility of issuing central banks digital currency (CBDC). No details were provided. [Read more at El Colombiano] A few days ago, Luis Carlos Reyes, head of Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), the country's tax authority, reportedly said that the government was planning to issue a digital currency to curb tax evasion. It's not clear whether these two stories are related.

Ripple is partnering with Colombia's central bank to explore blockchain technology use cases. Banco de la República, in conjunction with The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) will pilot use cases that will enhance Colombia's high-value payment system using the Ripple CBDC Platform, powered by the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The pilot will be run with Spain-based blockchain technology firm Peersyst Technology.

According to Chainalysis, global crypto adoption has leveled off in the last year after growing consistently since mid-2019. Emerging markets dominate the index. Out of the top 20 ranked countries, ten are lower middle income (:Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Morocco, Nepal, Kenya, and Indonesia), eight are upper middle income (Brazil, Thailand, Russia, China, Turkey, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador) and two are high income (United States and United Kingdom).

The Latin American (LATAM) Journal of Central Banking published a paper on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, by staff from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Central Bank of Colombia, and American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The paper draws heavily from the Committee on Payments and Infrastructures (CPMI) annual survey of central banks regarding interest in, and motivations for, exploring CBDC in their jurisdiction.

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov announced that Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan will become BRICS partners on January 1, 2025. These would be in addition to the existing member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, over two dozen more countries have shown interest in a systemic dialogue with BRICS: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Laos, Kuwait, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. https://tass.com/politics/1892171

Ripple has unveiled a major redesign of its website, wiping out any mention of central bank digital currency (CBDC). Ripple said they have a "new look" in its products that reflects a refocus on building for the firm's "next chapter" with a focus on the "internet of value" and transforming the way value moves around the world. Ripple has been a major player in the CBDC space, launching a complete CBDC and stablecoin platform in 2023, and advising countries like Colombia, Bhutan, Palau, Montenegro in their CBDC projects. In 2023, Ripple launched its CBDC platform for the development of CBDCs and stablecoins. https://x.com/ripple/status/1890489428809863170 https://ripple.com/

Colombia's Banco de la República (BanRep) is exploring the use of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a tokenized financial market based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). As part of this agenda, BanRep, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, Ripple and Peersyst, is conducting an experiment to issue wholesale CBDC and tokenized securities. This involves building a scalable blockchain prototype in a test environment with simulated participants. The experiment evaluates efficiencies in delivery versus s payment (DVP) for primary issuance and in the clearing and settlement of transactions in the secondary market, as well as direct CBDC transfers between the wallets of financial entities on the blockchain.

The Colombian government is reportedly planning to launch a digital currency to curb tax evasion and enhance the traceability of citizens' transactions, according to Luis Carlos Reyes, head of Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), the country's tax authority.