PANAMA CITY, Panama – Panama has secured the third-highest position in Latin America for financial inclusion, according to the 2025 Financial Inclusion Index (IIF) released by Credicorp, a Peru-based financial holding company with a presence in Panama through ASB Bank. The country achieved a score of 55.5 points in the annual study, placing it behind only Argentina and Chile in the regional ranking and reflecting a competitive and consolidating financial system.
The index, now in its fifth edition, measures levels of access, use, and perceived quality of the financial system across eight Latin American countries. Panama has demonstrated a positive trend throughout the study’s history, with a cumulative growth of nearly 3 points, rising from 52.6 in 2021 to 55.5 in 2025. This sustained improvement underscores the nation’s advancing financial health.
“Five years ago, the Credicorp Financial Inclusion Index was born, a key tool for diagnosing and monitoring gaps in this area. This study is based on the conviction that understanding the environment is essential to act on it, and to provide valuable information for the design of public policies and to incentivize companies to innovate with solutions aligned with the current needs of the population. In its fifth edition, it also allows us to identify trends and progress in the evaluated countries,” stated Gianfranco Ferrari, CEO of Credicorp.
Sustained Growth in Financial Inclusion Levels
The data reveals significant progress in the population’s financial standing. Currently, 42% of Panama’s population is in the “Achieved” level of financial inclusion, representing a 4 percentage point increase since 2021. Concurrently, the proportion of people in the “Low” level has decreased dramatically by 11 percentage points, falling from 23% to just 14% in 2025. This shift highlights a robust, positive trend in bringing more citizens into the formal financial ecosystem.
Panama Excels in Access and Perceived Quality
A deeper analysis of the index’s dimensions shows where Panama’s strengths lie. In the “Access” dimension, Panama scored 59 points in 2025, earning it second place in the region after Argentina. This score is the result of sustained growth since 2021. The country leads the region in knowledge of financial products, with citizens recognizing an average of 11 products, significantly higher than the regional average of 8.
In the “Use” dimension, Panama obtained 39 points. It showed a notable increase in the monthly frequency of using financial products, which rose to 14 times per month. This figure is well above the regional average and positions the country behind only Chile and Argentina in this specific metric.
Most impressively, Panama leads all countries in the “Perceived Quality” dimension with a high score of 69 points. It stands out for its confidence in the financial system, scoring 3.32—the highest in the region. This indicates a strong level of trust among Panamanians in their financial institutions.
Digital Wallet Adoption Soars in Panama
Panama has positioned itself as one of the leaders in mobile wallet adoption in Latin America. According to the 2025 IIF, 69% of citizens report having a mobile wallet, a level only surpassed by Argentina and Colombia. This figure confirms the deep integration of this digital product into the daily lives of the population.
Beyond mere access, usage is also expanding forcefully. 49% of Panamanians now use these wallets to make payments and purchases, a figure more than double the regional average of 22%. Mobile wallets are also the most used medium for conducting transfers (68%), significantly outpacing mobile or internet banking applications (34%) and money transfer companies (25%).
This transformation in consumption habits is further evidenced by the fact that only 14% of the population now receives their income in cash. This marks a significant migration towards safer and more modern methods of managing money, a key indicator of digital financial maturity.
Economic Context and Future Challenges
While the overall picture is positive, experts caution that the data also reflects underlying economic pressures. Catalina Morales Llanos, Sustainability Manager at Credicorp, provided a nuanced evaluation of the results.
“When evaluating the results of the Financial Inclusion Index, the first thing to assess is that, although the country has lost some points in terms of financial inclusion, on average, its performance remains well above the regional average, which is 48.5 points,” Morales noted. [Translated from Spanish]
She highlighted that the index also reflects a decrease in the use of some financial services in Panama, including reduced access to credit, the holding of savings accounts, and the level of formal savings. Morales suggested this is likely a consequence of the country’s economic situation.
“The index shows us a snapshot of what is happening in society; it doesn’t give us the reasons for this trend, but one can intuit that this reflects macroeconomic factors recorded in the country, such as a drop in employment and an economic slowdown. That will be reflected in the Index, and that’s why circumstances change year by year,” she emphasized. [Translated from Spanish]
The Credicorp Financial Inclusion Index serves as a critical barometer for the region’s economic health. For Panama, the 2025 results paint a picture of a nation making significant strides in digital adoption and building trust in its financial system, even as it navigates broader economic challenges that impact the depth of financial service usage.