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The 54 Most Innovative Banks in Their Countries Across Latin America

Published by Fintech Americas on April 5, 2023

Fintech Americas announced the winners of the coveted Country Award of the Financial Innovators of the Americas. Meet them here.

Meet the Winners of the 2023 Country Awards of the Financial Innovators of the Americas

Latin America is fertile ground for financial innovation. Banks, financial institutions, and fintechs demonstrate a constant ability to adapt to market changes, regulations, customer demands and expectations, and new technologies.

The recently announced winners of the Country Awards of the Financial Innovators of the Americas are proof of this. Through these awards, Fintech Americas has tracked the transformations of the financial ecosystem over the past nine years. Each edition recognizes the region’s most innovative banks and professionals, who are leading the transformation of their organizations and the lives of their customers.

Fintech Americas has witnessed, time and again, the region’s potential to position itself as a global leader. And the 2023 edition of the awards was no exception.

About the Fintech Americas Financial Innovators Awards

The Financial Innovators of the Americas Awards aim to identify, highlight, and promote people, teams, and projects that are reinventing finance in the Americas to make it faster, more efficient, and more inclusive.

Since 2015, more than 200 awards have been granted, and the number of submissions has grown by around 50% year after year.

The awards are divided into three categories:

Country Awards

Created to highlight initiatives in specific countries, expanding the reach and positive impact of these efforts in Latin America.

Disrupt Awards

The highest recognition for the largest and boldest financial innovations developed across the Americas.

Fintech Awards

Recognition of the progress and impact driven to advance the regional financial ecosystem.

Announcement of the 2023 Country Award Winners

The 2023 Country Award winners were selected from hundreds of submissions from nearly 20 countries.

Submissions included projects involving Artificial Intelligence, chatbots, blockchain, open banking, BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later), financial inclusion, climate sustainability, and much more.

One common element across all projects was the incorporation of a human perspective into technology, enabling organizations to better adapt to their own needs and goals, as well as the needs of the customers they serve.

As Ray Ruga, CEO of Fintech Americas and member of the judging panel, explains:

"The new normal is not static and is creating new challenges and opportunities at a rapid pace. This year’s submissions reflected the importance of adaptability in continuing to innovate and offer disruptive solutions for the financial services sector. I am proud, once again, to witness how professionals and institutions across Latin America work every day to improve the experience of customers and employees, promote financial inclusion, and, at the same time, make their organizations more sustainable, responsible, and efficient."

All submissions were evaluated by a panel of four judges using a scoring methodology based on seven attributes called VERITAS (truth in Latin):

  • V – Viability
  • E – Empathy
  • R – Rigor
  • I – Ingenuity
  • T – Traction
  • A – Achievable Economics
  • S – Sustainable Impact

Judges

  • Juan Laresgoiti (Deloitte Mexico)
  • Emiliano Porciani (PayWay)
  • Rafael Bello (EY)
  • Ray Ruga (Fintech Americas)

List of 2023 Country Award Winners

Argentina

Cybersecurity

PLATINUM: Pedro Adamovic, CISO, Banco Galicia

Social Impact (ESG)

  • GOLD: Maria Julia Martínez, Marketing Manager, Bancor – Banco de Córdoba
  • SILVER: Lucas Aníbal Sarco, Innovation Manager, Banco Patagonia

Customer Experience (CX) and Innovation in Customer Service

Bolivia

Social Impact (ESG)

SILVER: Ricardo Pericón Romero, Deputy Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility, Banco BISA

Product or Service Innovation

SILVER: Marcelo Renzo Jiménez Córdova, General Manager, Banco Unión

Strategic Innovation

PLATINUM: Carlos Eduardo Mojica Ribera, Vice President of Innovation and Digital Transformation, Banco Nacional de Bolivia

Disruptive Innovation in Financial Services

GOLD: Marcelo Trigo, General Manager, Banco de Crédito de Bolivia

Brazil

Infrastructure

PLATINUM: Bruno Peuker, Associate Partner, BTG Pactual

Product or Service Innovation

GOLD: Eduardo del Guerra Prota, CEO, N26 Brazil

Chile

Financial Inclusion

PLATINUM: Daniel Hojman Trujillo, President, BancoEstado

Organizational Culture

GOLD: Sol Castro Lechtaler, Head of Organizational Development and Talent Management, Banco BCI

Colombia

Financial Inclusion

  • PLATINUM: Santiago Ceballos Aristizabal, Director of Frictionless Payments, Bancolombia
  • SILVER: Mary Luz Giraldo López, Vice President of Technology and Operations, FGA Fondo de Garantías
  • SILVER: Javier Díaz, President, Bancóldex

Cybersecurity

PLATINUM: Fabián Arturo Zambrano Smith, Corporate Cybersecurity Director, Banco Davivienda

Innovation with Fintech Partners

GOLD: Ronny Ramírez García, Vice President of Operations and Technology, Banco Cooperativo Coopcentral

Big Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence

GOLD: Angélica Valencia, Executive Director, J.P. Morgan

Channel Innovation

GOLD: Ana Margarita Albir Sarmiento, President, ADL Digital Lab

Costa Rica

Innovation with Fintech Companies

PLATINUM: Oscar Hidalgo, Corporate Manager, Grupo CS

Dominican Republic

Social Impact (ESG)

PLATINUM: Mercedes Canalda de Beras-Goico, President, Banco ADOPEM

Customer Experience (CX)

GOLD: Shariff Medina, 2VP Digital Factory, Asociación Popular de Ahorros y Préstamos

Ecuador

Product or Service Innovation

PLATINUM: Paola Nuñez, Credit Card Product Manager, Banco Solidario

Customer Experience (CX)

  • PLATINUM: Gandhi Javier Trujillo Rueda, Senior Product Owner, Banco Pichincha
  • SILVER: Alexandra Segura, Deputy Financial Manager, Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito OSCUS Ltda.

Channel Innovation

GOLD: Juan Luis Reca, VP of Technology and Operations, Banco Guayaquil

Organizational Culture

SILVER: Herman Patricio Guamán Rodríguez, Head of Commercial Systematics, Banco de Loja

Marketing Innovation

SILVER: Juan Fernando Maldonado, VP of Business, Diners Club Ecuador – Innovation Center

El Salvador

Financial Inclusion

PLATINUM: Alejandro Poma, Vice President, Grupo Autofácil

Organizational Culture

GOLD: Álvaro Zúñiga, Change Management Lead, Banco Cuscatlán

Channel Innovation

SILVER: Claudio Gochez, Director of Channel Strategy, Banco Agrícola

Guatemala

Big Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence

PLATINUM: Herbert Hernández, General Manager, Grupo Financiero Bantrab

Customer Experience (CX)

GOLD: Carlos Ernesto Vides Díaz, Deputy Manager of Modern Banking, Banco Industrial

Honduras

Marketing Innovation

PLATINUM: Carlos Girón, Corporate Vice President of Image and Communications, Banco Atlántida

Mexico

Blockchain / Crypto / DeFi

PLATINUM: Humberto San Juan Sosa, Foreign Exchange Director, Banco Azteca

Channel Innovation

PLATINUM: Paola Herrera, Director of the Engagement Center, Banco Santander México

Strategic Innovation

  • GOLD: Miguel Felipe Valero Canas, Executive Director, Grupo Financiero Banorte
  • GOLD: Roberto Hernández de Hita, Chief Transformation Officer, BanBajío

Financial Inclusion

SILVER: Carlos Marmolejo, General Director, Finsus

Panama

Innovation with Fintech Companies

PLATINUM: Jaime Martínez, Executive Vice President of Payment Methods, Banesco Panamá

Strategic Innovation

  • GOLD: Miguel González, Executive Vice President of Support, Credicorp Bank
  • PLATINUM: Gabriel Campa, Head of Towerlab Crypto and Blockchain, Towerbank International Inc.

Customer Experience (CX)

SILVER: Edison Mejía Ardila, General Manager, Microserfin

Product or Service Innovation

SILVER: Aimeé Sentmat de Grimaldo, CEO, Banistmo

Paraguay

Financial Inclusion

PLATINUM: Silvia Bracho, Business and Marketing Manager, Vision Banco

Product or Service Innovation

GOLD: Miguel Vázquez, CEO, Financiera Ueno

Strategic Innovation

SILVER: Ma. Epifanía González, Director of Technology and Operations, Banco Atlas

Peru

Financial Inclusion

PLATINUM: José Miguel de la Peña, Tribe Leader of Segments and Products, Mibanco

Big Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence

GOLD: Richard Fernando Fernández Vásquez, Models and Data Analytics Executive, Agrobanco

Channel Innovation

GOLD: Yuri Dolorier, Division Manager of Operations, Technology, and Channels, Financiera Confianza

Disruptive Innovation in Financial Services

GOLD: Wilber Dongo Díaz, Chief Business Officer, Caja Arequipa

Payments and Digital Wallets

SILVER: Gustavo Villaverde, Chief Administration Officer, Wayki App Digital Wallet

Puerto Rico

Payments and Digital Wallets

PLATINUM: Mushegh Tovmasyan, Chairman and Founder, Zenus Bank

Venezuela

Customer Experience (CX)

GOLD: Odalys Torres, VP of Customer Experience and Analytics, Bancaribe Banco Universal

PLATINUM: Alejandro Rojas Utrera, Product Owner IA MIA, Mercantil Banco Universal

Fintech Americas is proud to recognize these winners, whose innovations represent a victory for the progress of Latin America.

Every year, the Financial Innovators of the Americas Awards recognize the boldest professionals and projects transforming the financial sector and impacting millions of customers across the continent.

Submissions for the 2024 Awards are now open, and this could be your opportunity. You have until February 14 to participate.

What are you waiting for?

DISCOVER EVERYTHING ABOUT THE 2024 AWARDS HERE!