Children and the Financial Regulatory Landscape in Latin America

In spite of the increasing evidence that has revealed that early access to financial services has long-term impacts, children and adolescents continue to face major obstacles to be financially included, particularly in the developing world. This document presents the main results of a survey conducted among 14 Latin American countries and reports the landscape of regulation and policies that may enhance child and youth financial inclusion in the region giving policy recommendations stemming from a cross-country analysis. The results of this mapping exercise suggest that a) there is a great diversity in approaches to financial service regulation for children and youth in the region, b) The policies or intentions from national authorities do not always resonate in either regulation or implementation and c) young people are not often seen as independent economic actors. ****** Este documento presenta los principales resultados de una encuesta a Autoridades Reguladoras del Sistema Financiero de catorce pa�ses de Am�rica Latina y el Caribe, exponiendo el panorama de la inclusi�n y la educaci�n financiera de ni�os y j�venes en la regi�n. El documento propone recomendaciones de pol�ticas a partir del an�lisis de las respuestas de las Autoridades Reguladoras en las tem�ticas de acceso a servicios financieros, protecci�n al consumidor financiero y educaci�n financiera. Los resultados sugieren que en la regi�n hay una gran heterogeneidad en el abordaje de la inclusi�n financiera de ni�os y j�venes, que las pol�ticas dise�adas no siempre redundan en un marco regulatorio o implementaci�n adecuados y que tanto j�venes como ni�os no siempre son vistos desde las pol�ticas p�blicas como actores econ�micos.