At a presentation event of Kuara, the digital payments platform developed by Global Bank, MMG Bank and Banesco, another local banking giant joined this initiative: Banistmo.  The four banks have more than 900 thousand clients and total more than 20 percent of the country's private banking deposits.  It is, therefore, a milestone in the technological history of the country, which is now reinforced with a platform whose objective is to promote payment alternatives.  Kuara is a term that millions of Panamanians give to the 25 cent coin or quarter.  Kuara's original presentation took place at an event held on April 25 that you may have read about in Newsroom Panama.  It appears to be a competitive product to Banco General’s Yappy.  The bankers anticipate that this tool will have the ability to improve the experience of making payments and transfers for users of multiple banks in the area. Yappy, Nequi, Zinli, and now Kuara compete in the digital payments market in Panama. 

In 2023 the person-to-person transaction market was 2.3 trillion.  “We might think that we are late in Panama, but that is not the case: it is estimated that by 2030 that figure will increase to 12 trillion, so the moment is ideal.  One of its advantages is that it allows the cell phone number to be used as an identification mechanism.  But in the short term, new identifying mechanisms will be added, for example, mobile devices located abroad and the email address, which will be available from the electronic systems of the banks affiliated with Kuara.  Other banks are on the way to joining this initiative.  Then, in a matter of months, more users will be empowered with the ability to “choose” a new payment alternative that is different from the others, among other reasons because they will not have to share their key number or confidential information with third parties. Kuara does not keep sensitive information from any of the banks, making it a very attractive, robust, and undoubtedly secure platform.  24 hours a day, seven days a week, customers will be able to make transactions quickly and safely.  If you are using one of these 4 banks you will have to contact them as to when Kuara will be functioning and how to use it.