Latinos and the future of finance: Why we need to examine the motivations and effects of Latinos' fintech adoption

Over the last several years, two important economic trends in the United States have become intertwined. This first is the rise of the Latino community as an economic force, as the demographic rapidly expands across the country while still facing barriers to wealth-building and opportunity that other groups do not. The second is the exploding popularity of financial technology, or "fintech"--new products and services that promise to revolutionize banking, investments, and other areas, especially for historically excluded groups. Today, Latinos are embracing fintech at high rates compared to other groups, yet a stark absence of data and research is preventing policymakers and other stakeholders from understanding the technology's impact on this critical segment of the population.