Breaking the Rules of Banking: Why LATAM Needs Infinite Adaptation | Maria Mancuso & Ray Ruga, Co-Founders FinTech Americas

FinTech LaTam is booming; but it's not just just about digital transformation - we have the power to transform the region, but to do so, we must do a paradigm shift and focus on infinite adaptation and human-centered innovation.

In this episode, I speak with Maria and Ray from FinTech Americas, who share powerful insights about LaTam, building trust in financial services, driving true financial inclusion, and fostering innovation that puts people first. And of course, they reveal why LaTam's unique challenges require a paradigm shift from traditional transformation to continuous adaptation.

🔑 Key Highlights:

• Why trust remains the foundation of financial services innovation
• How COVID accelerated digital adoption but created new challenges
• The critical balance between technological efficiency and human connection
• Why Latin America needs "infinite adaptation" rather than linear transformation
• The role of collaboration between banks and fintechs in driving meaningful change

Follow for more discussions on building FinTech products with customer and commercial impact and to stay updated on the latest episodes.

👉 Follow Maria & Ray:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marialmancuso/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayruga/

Website: https://www.fintechamericas.co/en/

👉 Follow Monica:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moni_millares

We cover:

[00:00:00] Introduction to FinTech Americas' mission

[00:02:04] Key challenges in Latin American financial services

[00:04:32] Building trust in digital financial services

[00:07:34] Banking fundamentals and regulatory challenges

[00:09:33] Bank-FinTech collaboration benefits

[00:12:30] The infinite adaptation paradigm

[00:15:14] Power of peer-to-peer learning at conferences

[00:16:06] Human-centered financial inclusion

[00:18:09] Balancing technology with humanity

[00:20:51] FinTech Americas 2025 event details

[00:22:27] FemTech and leadership initiatives

[00:24:15] Networking and innovation opportunities

SEARCH QUESTIONS:

How to build trust in financial services in Latin America?

What is the future of banking in Latin America?

How are fintechs collaborating with banks in LATAM?

What is infinite adaptation in financial services?

How to drive financial inclusion in Latin America?

Why do people not trust digital banking in LATAM?

What is the unbanked population in Latin America?

How did COVID impact digital banking adoption?

What are the biggest challenges for FinTech in LATAM?

How to balance technology and human touch in banking?

What is the role of conferences in financial innovation?

How to create human-centered financial products?

What is the state of digital transformation in LATAM banks?

How are banks and fintechs working together?

How to build trust in digital financial services?

What is the future of financial inclusion in LATAM?

How to drive innovation in traditional banks?

What are the key fintech trends in Latin America?

How to succeed in Latin American fintech market?

What makes FinTech Americas different from other conferences?

#FinTechLatAm #FinancialInclusion #DigitalTransformation #BankingInnovation #FutureOfFinance

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.