Latin America’s Informal-Economy Shift Opens New FinTech Growth Frontier

Much of Latin America’s employment and commerce remains in an unregistered, cash-based informal economy, where merchants also lack access to credit, digital tools and tax frameworks. The OECD’s Latin American Economic Outlook 2025 said one in every two workers held an informal job. The United Nations Development Programme estimates that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than 99.5% of businesses in the region, making merchant digitization critical to FinTech expansion.

PYMNTS reported on April 14, 2026, that Brazil’s Pix had processed about 196 billion transactions worth approximately $16 trillion, with users representing 90% of the population. PayPal announced that same week that it would integrate Pix into its services for small and medium-sized businesses. MercadoLibre’s revenue rose 45% at the start of the year, while Nubank’s customer base increased 15% to 131 million, indicating that financial services are rapidly penetrating informal commerce.