The 2008 crisis left the financial system weakened: traditional banks lost public trust and many of them had to be rescued by governments and central banks. Against this backdrop, profound changes took place in regulation and public opinion which, together with technological advances, paved the way for new players, including neobanks.
“In this new scenario, neobanks not only emerge as an agile digital alternative, but also as a concrete opportunity to move towards broader and more equitable financial inclusion,” highlights Alejandro Chiappe, Partner and Leader of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton Argentina. “An inclusion understood not only as formal access to a bank account, but as the real possibility for people of different generations, abilities and socio-economic contexts to operate within the financial system autonomously, securely and in line with their needs.”
What is a neobank?
A neobank is a financial institution that offers its services entirely digitally and does not have physical branches. Account opening and all its operations are based on blockchain technology and cloud computing.
Unlike digital banks —which are usually business units of traditional—, neobanks are born within a technological ecosystem, with a culture oriented towards innovation, user experience and the elimination of access barriers. In many cases, they begin operating without their own licence, working in partnership with a traditional bank or as a payment service provider (PSP), until they obtain their own licence.
Once licensed, they are regulated by the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA - Central Bank of the Argentine Republic), with the same requirements in terms of transparency, security and protection of users’ funds as traditional banks. Until then, they are governed by the BCRA regulations for Non-Financial Institutions. This means that neobanks are responsible for deposited funds and must have a deposit guarantee fund.
The Banco Central de la República Argentina, in its semi-annual Financial Inclusion Report[i], notes that year after year there is a deepening of joint ownership of bank accounts and payment accounts, as well as an increased use of the latter. In a context where adult users of payment accounts grow at an annual rate of 10 percentage points, neobanks appear as an alternative to avoid having multiple accounts in banking and non-banking entities to access different financial services.
“Neobanks include elements of traditional banks such as access to loans, fixed-term deposits, debit and credit cards, ATM cash withdrawals and current accounts, among others, in addition to being subject to the regulatory framework of the monetary authority (BCRA). They also offer services provided by digital wallets, such as interest-bearing account, QR payments, customer service exclusively through digital channels and 100% digital account creation, facilitating inclusion processes for new generations,” comments Chiappe.
Intergenerational inclusion
Neobanks respond to changes in consumption behaviour and in the way people relate to money. The consumption habits of digital natives, especially Generation Z, differ greatly from those of previous generations. Gen Z, who grew up with a mobile phone in their hands, favour digital solutions and feel reassured knowing that their funds are protected.
In Argentina, in 2019, the Central Bank enabled account opening for adolescents aged 13 to 17 without requiring authorisation from parents or guardians. As of December 2024, according to the latest Annual Financial Inclusion Report by the BCRA, 67.6% of adolescents in the country had a bank account. Of this figure, 38.3% corresponds to those with exclusive ownership of payment accounts. However, if those operating through digital banks are included, the percentage rises to 45%.
“These Central Bank figures show us the evolution of the banking product offering, accompanying the use of digital tools that are very common among the new generations and of those of us who have gone through different stages of transformation in our society, significantly increasing our ability to adapt to change and evolve in order to incorporate skills and abilities needed to learn and adopt new technologies,” comments Chiappe.
The familiarity of new generations with the digital environment and their preference for carrying out transactions and purchases remotely is a key factor to consider when thinking about the future of the financial system: virtual operations without the need to visit branches or access points, and a preference for electronic payment methods[ii] over the use of cash (in the first half of 2025, cash usage in Argentina remained at historic lows: 6.2% of GDP[iii]).
“Adults and older adults often encounter barriers due to the complexity of in-person procedures or poorly intuitive platforms. However, neobanks stand out for their ability to design user-centred products, with simpler processes, clear language and customisable experiences,” comments Matiana Behrends, Partner in Advisory Services and Leader of Human Capital Services at Grant Thornton Argentina.
The use of advanced analytics, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence allows these entities to obtain and leverage data with the aim of getting to know their customers better, developing new products and services tailored to each individual, and offering personalised experiences in the use of mobile applications that meet the needs of different generations.
“This difference becomes key when analysing the inclusion of young people and digital natives -who prioritise immediacy, mobile use and electronic payments-, older adults -who seek simple interfaces and guided processes-, people with lower incomes or who are underbanked -who need flexible, low-cost products adapted to variable incomes- and people with disabilities, for whom accessibility is not an added value but an indispensable condition,” adds Behrends.
Reaching where traditional banking does not
According to data from the World Economic Forum[iv], 70% of the Latin American population is classified as unbanked or underbanked. In this context, neobanks can expand the reach of the financial system towards segments and territories where traditional banking does not reach or does so at high cost. By not relying on physical branches, they can increase the level of financial inclusion of the population and bring people with informal or variable incomes, or those living far from large urban centres closer to microcredits, loans and new investment vehicles, contributing to greater financial formalisation and resilience.
In countries as vast as ours, for people living in rural areas or far from major cities, going to a bank often involves long distances, transport costs and loss of time. By operating entirely online, neobanks overcome the problem of not having a bank account simply because “there is no bank nearby”, democratising access to the financial system and making it possible for historically excluded people to have an account in their own name.
In addition, by reducing entry barriers and costs, they facilitate access for people with informal jobs, casual work or irregular incomes who do not meet the minimum income requirements imposed by many banks and who also lack formal proof of employment.
Neobanks build a financial history for users through which they can assess credit risk and offer microloans, advances or financing, adjusting amounts and terms to users’ real circumstances. This particularly benefits small entrepreneurs and business owners, who can access loans that, even if the amounts are small, can make a significant difference to working capital or in emergency situations. By not discriminating based on socio-economic profile, they energise local economies that were previously outside the financial system.
Furthermore, combining elements from traditional banking and digital wallets prevents service fragmentation and the need to operate multiple accounts across different platforms, which that tends to have a greater impact on people with lower of digital or financial literacy. This facilitates day-to-day money management and improves financial decision-making.
Neobanks not only broaden access to financial services but also contribute to the economic formalisation of vulnerable sectors and the development of local economies, representing an important step towards a more accessible, flexible and inclusive financial system.
The challenge of true financial inclusion
Neobanks aspire to meet the population’s basic financial needs, but they have even greater potential: the inclusion of older people and people with disabilities. This is particularly relevant in a country like Argentina, where, according to the National Secretariat for Disability, there are more than 1,680,723 people with a Unique Disability Certificate, of whom 77.3% are over 15 years old[v]. According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC - National Institute of Statistics and Censuses), in 2022, 16.2% of the population was over 60 years old and, in 2024, 89.3% of people over 60 used ICT (Information and Communication Technology) goods and services[vi].
“Accessible banking begins with understanding the real challenges people face every day, and then addressing inclusion and promoting systemic action to improve accessibility. Thanks to their technological design, neobanks can optimise their applications to work smoothly, even with poor internet connections,” reflects Behrends.
According to research on accessibility in the banking sector conducted by Edisonda, a consulting firm and member of Grant Thornton Poland,[vii] respondents with disabilities highlighted the difficulties they face when interacting with physical or digital banks: interfaces that do not allow screen settings to be adjusted (text size, contrast, among others), ATMs without braille instructions, apps elements that cannot be read by screen readers, issues with authentication factors and tokens, and limited responsiveness from institutions, among others.
Neobanks can also be a strong ally for people with cognitive or mobility difficulties. For some, simply leaving their homes represents a barrier, and neobanks offer a solution that allows them to manage their finances independently. They also have the capacity to present information in multiple formats and in a simple way, guiding users and helping them understand processes.
Neobanks, being conceived and designed in a 100% digital environment, have the hability to adapt to multiple realities and enable favourable experiences for users with visual, hearing and/or cognitive disabilities. However, to truly become the banking of the future, their greatest challenge lies in account opening: allowing the replacement of image- or audio-based CAPTCHAs according to user preference, adapting biometric authentication factors, or even allowing support from third parties or bank employees.
“The financial inclusion promoted by neobanks and the ease they offer for managing assets and investments make them a strong alternative to drive access to financial services for the entire population, fostering the economic development of society,” concludes Chiappe.
“The banking of the future will not be only digital: it will be inclusive, empathetic and people centred. Along this path, neobanks have a unique opportunity to redefine the financial system as a tool for autonomy, equity and social development for the entire population,” adds Behrends.
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i. Informe de Inclusión Financiera – Segundo semestre 2024. Banco Central de la República Argentina.
ii. Credit and debit cards, electronic funds transfer (EFT), payments with links or via QR codes or NFC (Near Field Communication).
iii. Informe de Inclusión Financiera – Primer semestre 2025. Banco Central de la República Argentina.
iv. How centralized regulation is driving a fintech revolution in Latin America. Julio 2025. Foro Económico Mundial.
v. Registro Nacional de Discapacidad (pdf, 343 kb). 2023. Datos elaborados por el equipo de Estadística e Investigación Social. Dirección Nacional de Política y Regulación de Servicios - ANDIS. Argentina.
vi. Dosier estadístico de personas mayores 2025 (pdf, 15,4 mb). Septiembre 2025. Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos.
vii. Accessibility in banking - a mission posible. 2025. EDISONDA.