IDB LAB and WEF launch joint initiative to unlock the potential of digital payments in LAC

IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Economic Forum launch the Payments to Advance Growth for All (PAGA) program to unlock the true potential of digital payments in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This initiative will bring together the public and private sectors, promoting practical recommendations for greater adoption of digital payments in our region.

The World Economic Forum, the international institution for Public-Private Cooperation, provides a platform for multistakeholder dialogue on digital policymaking and governance to incubate projects and initiatives that can help LAC realize its potential and make digital trade more inclusive. IDB Lab, as the leading source of funding and knowledge for development focused on improving lives in LAC, provides its extensive network of contacts and regional knowledge for this endeavor.

Both organizations will bring together businessmen, government officials, academia, and civil society to provide practical recommendations aimed at promoting the development of digital payments in LAC. Other additional partners are welcome in this initiative whose immediate goals are:

1. Identify three to five main obstacles to the development of digital commercial payments in the LAC region.
2. Recommend potential areas of public-private and private-private collaboration, as well as regional cooperation.
3. Explore opportunities for private collaboration, industry action, and policy implementation on the matter.

The information obtained will be used in a technical document (to made available in both English and Spanish) aimed at the broad ecosystem of payments in LAC and to promote policy changes for the next stage of the project.

For more information about PAGA, you can contact Sebastian Ogango, at the World Economic Forum ([email protected]) and Sergio Navajas, at IDB Lab ([email protected]).