One of the goals of digitalization is inclusion, the possibility of democratizing technology. Cooperatives reach where banks do not, that is why advancing in their digital transformation process is the first step to achieve the financial inclusion of thousands of people who need solutions that simplify their day-to-day lives..

• Ágil Pagos is a virtual wallet developed in conjunction with SG Financial Technology, created on Microsoft Azure, and with the support of Banco Coinag. Designed exclusively for any mutual or cooperative to use and adapt, it allows connecting the mutual with its affiliates and allowing them to make payments, transfers, save and carry out any procedure online, and definitively change the way of operating by opting for a more agile and secure digital culture.
• Aginco is the first cooperative to adopt Ágil Pagos and also the first cooperative to make a transfer from a virtual wallet to a bank account with CBU (this was validated by COELSA, the Electronic Clearing Chamber created by most of the large public and private banks to implement the New National Payment System). In less than six months, more than 8400 people were using it, representing 20% of their members. They were able to add new services and product lines from the cooperative to the wallet. Additionally, during the pandemic, it helped them a lot to reduce the circulation of affiliates in branches and preserve everyone’s health.

Cooperatives reach where banks do not. They are part of the Social Economy since they are non-profit entities. They organize under their values and principles to provide services and mutual aid to workers, the most disadvantaged sectors, as well as SMEs and middle classes. In Argentina, there are an estimated 38,500 cooperatives and 5700 mutuals (INAES, National Institute of Social Economy)..

“In an economy like Argentina’s, where millions of people are not banked, without access to electronic payments, and who carry out almost all operations and procedures in person and with physical money, moving towards the digital transformation of cooperatives and mutuals is the initial kick to the financial inclusion of its users. It is not only about the implementation of technological solutions but also an educational process towards a market niche that is neglected by innovation and that must be a central part of the innovation revolution”, commented Mauro Pincolini, manager of SG Financial Technology.

There is an increasingly greater demand on the part of members to have a solution that simplifies their financial day-to-day, to which is added the fact that in 2020, many people looked for a mutual to request a loan, but due to isolation measures, they had no way of doing so since they could not physically go to branches. In this scenario, Ágil Pagos was born, where associates who requested economic assistance could be credited and then access the money without the need to move.

The solution integrates with cooperative entities and mutual cooperatives so that members can carry out 100% online and automated processes without amount limits or restrictions. For example: payment of services, transfers to third parties (although, today, mutuals can do it in closed and internal systems, they do not have the necessary tools to do it to another bank account or another virtual wallet), etc. This development allows, in simple steps, to connect the mutual with its affiliates and carry out any type of operation, all digitally.