Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, spoke this week via video at the FORMIC 2018 conference which took place in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Speaking in her native Spanish, Máxima explained “how technology-led innovations are creating new solutions for customers” in the six-minute video.
The main topic of her remarks revolved around capitalising on the offered FinTech opportunities to expand financial inclusion throughout Latin American and the Caribbean.
Her Majesty stated, “Over the last ten years, as an advocate of the UN, I have had the privilege of witnessing the ways in which financial inclusion is changing people’s lives from Peru to Brazil, and from Mexico to Argentina.
“When the new Global Findex data came out this year, I was very happy to see that more and more people are accessing financial services in the region, which allows them to invest in their futures and protect themselves from risks, which helps them to avoid falling back into poverty.”
Continuing on with a focus on the 200 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean who remain outside the formal financial institutions, the Queen said that in some of these countries there has been an increase in financial exclusion. She added that FinTech could play a vital role in transforming this issue.
Máxima also touched on how important it is that the public and private sectors work together to expand the FinTech opportunities.
Queen Máxima, who is married to King Willem-Alexander, has been the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) since September 2009. She was promoted to the role by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. She travels extensively across the globe in her role to discuss financial inclusion problems and opportunities, especially in the developing world.
