Venezuela Country Report

Venezuela Payments Market | Country Report

A comprehensive overview of the cards, payments and consumer banking market in Venezuela.

VENEZUELA CARDS & PAYMENTS REPORT | KEY FACTS

• Economic and social conditions in Venezuela have deteriorated dramatically in recent years under the watch of a socialist government which has been in power since 1999.
• The decline in global oil prices triggered a series of crises. Continuous government intervention and price controls have resulted in hyperinflation.
• A shortage of officially published data combined with the fact that there are three official exchange rates makes it difficult to get a true picture of Venezuela's economy.
• The financial industry has been subject to continuous regulation in recent years. However, financial institutions have managed to adapt to these changes, increasing productivity and profitability.
• A large gap between inflation and capped interest rates makes borrowing very attractive to consumers.
• Credit card loans have overtaken mortgage loans as the largest segment of consumer credit. Delaying payment for everyday goods offers large savings to consumers.
• Venezuela's cards market has also been boosted by the fact that paying in cash is often impractical as inflation has eroded the value of banknotes.
• To address this problem, the government began the rollout of a new series of higher-denomination notes in January 2017.
• Around ten million Venezuelan workers are partially paid in food vouchers. These vouchers are being migrated from paper coupons to prepaid plastic cards.
• Acquiring in Venezuela is carried out by the issuing banks. Merchants typically have contracts with multiple banks with separate POS terminals.