San Salvador, El Salvador October 28, 2025: El Salvador’s biggest bank Bancoagrícola, part of Cibest Group, is partnering with global nonprofit Accion and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth (the Center) to provide clients with a wider range of responsible financial services to low-income clients in the country, including the option to receive international remittances through its digital banking and payments platform Nequi.
Accion will work with Bancoagrícola to transform Nequi into a digital ecosystem for everyday financial management. Through the partnership, Bancoagrícola and Accion are identifying new use cases to drive balance retention and wallet activity, such as making regular payments like school fees and local merchant transactions. The Center will support Accion Advisory in using transaction data to develop alternative credit scoring models for people who remain invisible to the formal economy.
This visibility is essential for Salvadorans, 70% of whom use cash on daily basis for all their transactions. With 87%2 of adults in the country owning a mobile phone and Bancoagrícola serving about one-third of the country’s total population, the ability to receive international remittances via Nequi without having to cash out can help close the finance gap for small business owners, gig workers, and other underserved groups in El Salvador.
Juan Manuel Rogel, head of Nequi in El Salvador shared, “Through our partnership with Accion and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Nequi is becoming a powerful tool for financial inclusion in El Salvador. We’re seeing how people, from students to small business owners, are using Nequi not just to receive remittances, but to manage their money in everyday ways, such as paying bills, topping up their phones, and making digital purchases. Nequi offers a simple, secure space for Salvadorans to build their financial identity and take control of their money at their own pace.”
Currently, remittances are sent by people outside the country to their families and friends in El Salvador. Remittance payments are El Salvador’s largest source of income, counting for 24% of the country’s GDP, with more than 90% of these payments sent to El Salvador from the United States. According to the country’s Banco Central de Reserva, US-El Salvador remittances increased by 16% from January to May this year compared to the same period in 2024.
When remittance money arrives in El Salvador, it is often accessed in cash by recipients, typically through Bancoagrícola’s extensive branch network. Each month, around 440,000 young adults and small business owners receive funds through Bancoagrícola, yet many do so without engaging with complementary digital services that could support their financial well-being. New users do not need to be a client of the bank. With this collaboration, previously unbanked people can join Nequi to receive remittances, saving them time and reducing the requirement to withdraw cash to pay regular expenses.
Alejandro Amorin, Manager, Digital Payments at Accion shared, “Remittances are an important source of income for households in El Salvador and by digitizing them, we can help families receive their money quicker, more securely, and at a lower cost. Money sent home by people working outside the country is so important to El Salvador’s economy. It means families can build a home, or send their children to school, but once the money arrives in El Salvador, it’s cashed out and becomes invisible to the financial system. By using Nequi to manage their finances, clients can build a credit profile to start a small business, or get access to other services like savings. For Bancoagrícola and its clients this can be a real gamechanger.”
Jonathan Fantini-Porter, Senior Vice President of Social Impact for Americas, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth shared, “Mastercard is committed to ensuring everyone, everywhere can access and benefit from the digital economy. Having a digital profile for those who have been underserved, including entrepreneurs and small businesses, could open the door for savings or credit options, leading to more opportunity, mobility and growth. Thanks to Bancoagrícola’s dedication to innovating the digital economy, we can scale up resilience for individuals and small businesses in El Salvador, putting them on the path to economic security.”
Nequi, originally developed in Colombia as a digital startup within Bancolombia, was launched in El Salvador in November 2024 by Bancoagrícola. It now operates independently under Accelera, a business unit within Bancoagrícola focused on developing digital financial solutions.
This initiative marks the next steps in Accion’s 8-year partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth that supports the transformation of financial service providers, digital platforms, and fintechs. The long-standing partnership aims to help 23 million people across 25 countries benefit from the digital economy across a variety of programs.
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About Accion
Accion is a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy for the nearly two billion people who are failed by the global financial system. We develop and scale responsible digital financial solutions for small business owners, smallholder farmers, and women, so they can make informed decisions and improve their lives. Through targeted investment strategies, advisory solutions, and expert thought leadership, we work with local partners to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions. Over its history, Accion has helped build 285 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 77 countries, reaching 478 million people. More at www.accion.org.
About Bancoagrícola
With over 70 years of experience, Bancoagrícola®, part of Grupo Cibest, promotes sustainable development as a driver of collective well-being. Today, it serves more than 1.6 million Salvadorans through a network of over 1,800 service points across the country—the largest and most modern in El Salvador. Through innovation and proximity, it develops financial products and services that enable individuals and businesses to move forward, connect, and grow, anytime and anywhere. More at www.bancoagricola.com.
About Nequi
Nequi is a digital platform and a business line within Accelera, the fintech arm of Bancoagrícola S.A. It is part of Grupo Cibest’s broader innovation strategy to promote financial inclusion in El Salvador. Accelera is the only fintech in the country authorized, regulated, and supervised by the Superintendency of the Financial System of El Salvador.
Nequi offers secure, user-friendly financial solutions designed to help people manage their money from their mobile phones. With features such as bill payments, mobile top-ups, peer-to-peer transfers, and digital purchases, Nequi empowers users to take control of their finances and build a digital financial identity, anytime and anywhere. More at nequi.com.sv
About Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise, and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs, and empower a community of thinkers, leaders, and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter.
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Media Contact
Accion
Sally Bohrer
Manager, Public Relations
+1.978.590.1650
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Note to Editors:
- World Bank’s Global Findex Report 2025