Title page
Contents
Abstract/Resume 4
Regional landscape and recent policy initiatives 7
Where does Costa Rica stand? 8
Boosting household financial inclusion 18
Boosting financial inclusion of SMEs 25
Embracing FinTech to boost financial inclusion 30
References 35
Table 1. Using credit card debt for commercial activities hurts smaller SMEs more 17
Figure 1. Financial inclusion in Costa Rica lags behind the OECD 8
Figure 2. Insurance penetration is low 9
Figure 3. Mobile or internet-based financial services use is more frequent than the peers 10
Figure 4. Intermediation margins have historically been high 10
Figure 5. Costa Rica's Fintech firms lag behind their peers 11
Figure 6. Regional disparities in financial inclusion are large 12
Figure 7. Poor and less-developed counties have lower financial inclusion 14
Figure 8. Costa Rican consumers deem financial services to be expensive 15
Figure 9. The distribution of credit among households displays large inequality 15
Figure 10. Smaller SMEs face difficulties in having access to financial services 16
Figure 11. The interest premium paid by smaller SMEs is higher than in peer countries 17
Figure 12. Gender gaps in financial inclusion are large 19
Figure 13. Priority groups mainly rely on savings accounts 19
Figure 14. Indigenous populations suffer from severe financial exclusion 20
Figure 15. Household indebtedness has increased rapidly 22
Figure 16. Financial literacy outcomes are low 24
Figure 17. Financial inclusion of agricultural SMEs is low 26
Figure 18. Micro-entrepreneurs are discouraged from applying for loans 27
Figure 19. Smaller SMEs find it hard to borrow from private banks 28
Figure 20. Development banking credit is scarce 30
Figure 21. The payments system supports an increasing number of digital and mobile transactions 31
Boxes
Box 1. Financial Inclusion Index 12
Box 2. Boosting financial inclusion of the Indigenous 21
Box 3. Protecting financial consumers is essential to meaningful financial inclusion 23
Box 4. The National Financial Education Strategy of Costa Rica 24
Box 5. Smarter Financial Education 25
Box 6. Promoting entrepreneurial activities and innovation in Costa Rica 29
Box 7. Recent initiatives to promote FinTech in Costa Rica 32
Box 8. Regulatory sandboxes in FinTech 33