Veriff joins Fintech Guatemala to boost digital trust and financial inclusion

Veriff has officially joined Fintech Guatemala, an association strengthening the country’s financial ecosystem by uniting fintech companies and strategic actors to promote innovation and transparency. By becoming part of this network, Veriff provides the critical “trust infrastructure” to help businesses scale securely and inclusively.

Guatemala’s fintech ecosystem is scaling fast – experiencing an expansion of nearly 23% during 2025 – and with that growth comes a defining challenge: how to build trust at the same pace as innovation. “Veriff’s presence in the market directly addresses this by helping businesses stay compliant and prevent fraud while protecting users in an increasingly digital world,” said Cindy Taveras, Senior Account Executive at Veriff.

“This collaboration aligns with Veriff’s broader expansion strategy; in 2025, the company reinforced its commitment to the region by opening its Americas headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil, serving as a central hub for growth and support across Latin American markets,” Taveras added.

A market of opportunity: closing the financial inclusion gap

The digital landscape in Guatemala is at a turning point, driven by a vibrant, young, and mobile-first population where 59.7% of people are under 30 years old and there are 1.13 cellular lines per inhabitant. This environment presents a massive opportunity for digital financial services.

Yet, a significant gap remains: while 56% of the population has internet access, the region still faces the lowest level of bancarization when comparing emerging economies. 

Fintech has become the primary vehicle for driving innovation by powering digital payments, unsecured lending, remittances, neobanks, and crypto-enabled services.

“However, for many users, these platforms represent their first interaction with the formal financial system. In this context, trust is not just a “nice to have” – it is existential,” noted Enrique Galdámez, CEO of Fintech Guatemala. “Financial inclusion only works if users trust the systems they are onboarding into. Secure identity verification is the foundation of that trust.”

Securing innovation: addressing high-stakes risks in digital onboarding

Guatemala’s fintech ecosystem spans multiple critical verticals, including digital payments, digital lending, neobanks, cryptoassets, insurtech, and financial infrastructure for banks and cooperatives.

Many of these models rely on remote, fully digital onboarding at high volumes. This digital-first approach makes fintechs particularly vulnerable to evolving threats, including: identity fraud and impersonation; synthetic identity fraud; account takeover; regulatory exposure related to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements.

As the ecosystem scales, manual or legacy identity checks simply cannot keep up with the speed of innovation.

A partnership built on ecosystem collaboration

Fintech Guatemala brings together 115 ecosystem participants, including fintechs, financial institutions, and strategic partners. Through specialized working groups, the association is actively shaping the conditions for sustainable growth.

By partnering with the association, Veriff aims to bring its global expertise in identity verification and authentication on how businesses can stay compliant, prevent fraud, protect their users, and scale globally, enabling a safer, more transparent internet for everyone.

Q&A with Enrique Galdámez, CEO of Fintech Guatemala

To get a glimpse on what’s happening in the market, we asked Enrique Galdámez’s take on the current state and future of the fintech space.

1) Where is Latin America and Guatemalan fintech heading in 2026? What are the biggest trends?

The fintech ecosystem in Latin America continues to undergo a stage of consolidation, with more than 3,000 fintech companies operating in the region. Specifically in Guatemala, the Association has identified 119 fintech companies currently operating in the country. When analyzing the ecosystem by economic activity, the three main verticals are: Digital Payments (38.5%), Digital Lending (15.9%), Technology for Financial Institutions (15.9%)

During 2026, we estimate that the main trends in the ecosystem will revolve, first, around the strengthening of anti-money laundering measures across different business models. This follows updates to Guatemalan regulations that will integrate new business models into compliance obligations.

Second, we anticipate the energizing of the payments ecosystem through public-private dialogue regarding the implementation of a fast payment system. This follows the relevance these systems have gained in other regional ecosystems, such as Bre-B in Colombia and SINPE Móvil in Costa Rica.

Finally, we estimate that the year will be marked by a growing wave of collaboration between ecosystem players, with increased exploration and appetite for Banking-as-a-Service models.

2) With the fintech sector’s continuous growth, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for new companies entering the Guatemalan market?

The growth of the fintech ecosystem in Guatemala opens clear opportunities to expand access to digital financial services, as nearly 60% of the population still lacks access to any formal financial product or service. However, new companies face significant challenges that they must consider from the moment they enter the market.

One of the primary hurdles is the gap in financial literacy and user trust. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics, only 5.2% of the adult population has a deep understanding of the concept of interest rates, and more than 50% do not know which institution to approach to file a complaint regarding a problem with a financial product. This requires fintechs to prioritize transparent operating models, clear user service processes, and robust identification and risk control mechanisms.

Additionally, the dominance of cash – especially in low-value transactions, where nearly 93% of purchases under Q200 are made in cash – highlights the need for digital solutions that are efficient, low-cost, and designed for daily use to incentivize digital payments over cash.

3) How does joining forces with Veriff can help Guatemalan fintechs scale?

In this context, onboarding and digital identity solutions become a critical component for fintechs to scale securely and efficiently. Having robust verification processes allows for the reduction of friction during access, improves the user experience, and mitigates risks associated with fraud and identity theft from the earliest stages of the customer relationship.

The adoption of international standards in identity verification and validation not only has a positive impact on conversion rates but also strengthens the trust of financial partners, users, and the public sector, facilitating operational expansion and the development of new products.

From Fintech Guatemala, we see specialized digital onboarding providers – such as Veriff – as key allies in raising the ecosystem’s operational standards, strengthening user protection, and supporting sustainable fintech growth in the country.