Costa Rica

According to Kepios, 82% of Costa Ricans had access to the Internet at the end of 2020.

There is no dedicated regulatory entity or specific law governing Open Banking in Costa Rica yet.

The model for retail payments adopted in Costa Rica is a market-wide approach requiring that most payment service providers (PSPs) seamlessly transfer retail payments among themselves.

According to The Global Findex Database, 68% of Costa Ricans had bank accounts in 2021, leaving 32% unbanked. Financial inclusion is much higher in Costa Rica than in any other country in Central America. In addition, 60% of the adult population of Costa Rica made payments through their mobile in 2019.

Statista ranks Costa Rica as the fourth largest market of Fintech users in Central America, with around 2.3 million digital payments users and 100,000 customers of personal financial services. 

The Fintech sector is rapidly growing in Costa Rica. Given the popularity of the sector, users and businesses must make privacy a priority, and calls for regulation have been made.

45 Fintech operates in Costa Rica. 40% of the Fintech specialise in enterprise technology for financial institutions, 32% in payment solutions, and 12% in enterprise financial management.

Costa Rica ranks 24th globally in the availability of scientists and engineers and 18th in growth in the number of digital academic articles in Wiley’s Digital Skills Gap Index 2021.