GBF LATAM 2022 examines growing importance of virtual assets in revolutionising finance and banking

(MENAFN- BCW Global) Dubai, UAE: Growing momentum behind digital banking in Latin America presents significant avenues for collaboration between industry players in the region and their counterparts in the UAE and Middle East,according to panellists speaking on the final day of the Global Business Forum Latin America (GBF LATAM 2022) in Dubai.
Leading financial and banking institutionsfrom the UAE, Colombia and Mexico, revealed new insights into the development of the financial sector across the Latin America and Middle East regions, including discussions around blockchain, cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
The panel session titled ‘Promoting Digital Finance’ saw participation from Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer of ENBD Group; Eduardo Coello, Regional President of VISA Latin Americaand Caribbean; and Erez Zaionce, Executive Director of The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Qassem spoke about the UAE’s position as a global financial hub, leading the way in embracing fintech development to future-proof the country’s financial services and effectively contributing to the growth of the local economy. Referencing the recent Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Lawand the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), he noted that such anadvanced legislative environment will yield dividends in further accelerating the country’s rapiddigital transformation in the finance, banking, and investments sectors – an outlook that is shared by the Latin America region.
“The UAE is a country blessed with a visionary leadership that encourages private and public sector to advance their digital journeys. Regulatory authorities like the UAE Central Bank, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) havebeen active advocates forfintechs. Key global challenges revolve around governance and compliance, but it is only a matter time before blockchain technology rises to the fore in the UAE and we begin acknowledging crypto and digital assets as valid currencies,” he said.
For his part, Zaionce asserted the transformational powerof blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) on investors and global markets.
“Adopting cryptocurrencies is the biggest technological advancement in the sector, as we see in the case of El Salvador who recently accepted crypto as legal currency. We look to examples like Dubai on how to move forward to overcome challenges in realising synergies between the government and private sector. Latin America needs the window to go global, and there lies the biggest opportunity for the UAE: tapping into an untapped market that has yet to be explored by large-scale global players,” he said.
Coello recognised that as consumers go digital, they are creating opportunities for innovative financial services providers to disrupt the market.
“Democratising the credit system in Latin America is where the money lies. We are keen to continue working with new governments – like the UAE – to shape technological, regulatory, and financial innovations,” he said.
The final day of GBF LATAM 2022 took a closer look at new business opportunities emerging across Latin American and the Caribbean to examine synergies with the UAE and the wider Middle East region.
Organised by Dubai Chamberof Commerce, in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, the fourth edition of GBF LATAMsaw the participation of government officials, policymakers, economic experts and business leadersto tackle timely issues such regional trade integration, tax reforms and policies to drive foreign investment and trade in the post-COVID-19 era.

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