FICCAR members achieve financial inclusion milestone, with over $500 million in digital, "deposit-to-account" remittances in first six months

Washington, D.C., September 23, 2024 – The Partnership for Central America (PCA) is excited to announce a significant achievement by the Financial Inclusion Consortium for Central American Remittances (FICCAR). In just the first six months since its launch in November 2023, FICCAR members have expanded financial inclusion by successfully facilitating over $500 million in digital remittances deposited directly to recipients' accounts. This milestone not only underscores our collective commitment to enhancing financial inclusion but also sets the stage for our goal of digitizing nearly $14 billion in remittance transactions over the next five years.

The consortium, which includes key members such as Banco Cuscatlán, Banco Ficohsa, Banco Lafise, BAM, Banco Agrícola, Davivienda, Viamericas, and Millicom (Tigo Money), was formed to address the urgent need for digitizing remittance transactions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The initiative is aligned with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' Central America Forward initiative aims to increase the rate of remittance-to-account transfers by at least 20 percentage points over the next five years​ as part of larger financial inclusion strategies.

Through these efforts, we are not only improving the safety and efficiency of remittance transfers but also helping to foster savings habits, build assets, and support the growth of small businesses. The impact of this initiative goes beyond financial transactions—it contributes to a stronger, more resilient Central America.

"By making remittances more secure and inclusive, we are bringing more people into the formal banking system and supporting the economic growth of Central American communities," said Dr. Phil Gordon, National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States

PCA, alongside its members and partners, is committed to maintaining this progress and expanding financial inclusion across the region. We look forward to building on this success over the  next five years.

Members

BAM Guatemala (Grupo Bancolombia), Banco Agrícola - ES (Grupo Bancolombia), Banco Cuscatlan, Banco Ficohsa, Banco Davivienda, Banco Lafise, Millicom (Tigo Money), Viamericas.

Observers

Accion, Better Than Cash Alliance (BtC), Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), JA Americas, Mastercard, Meta, Money Services, Business Association (MSBA), Visa, World Bank.

For more information, please contact:

Andrea Orellana aorellana@centampartnership.org

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The Partnership for Central America is a non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works with a multi-national coalition of private organizations to advance economic opportunity across underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The Partnership serves as a coordinating body of Vice President Harris’s Call to Action and aims to facilitate and support practical solutions to advance economic opportunity, address urgent climate, education and health challenges, and promote long-term investments and workforce capability in support of a vision of hope for Central America. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to membership@centampartnership.org.