Technology is the currency of change: Rethinking digital risk in financial services

Rethinking digital risk in Latin American financial services

At this year’s Digital Trends Summit in Bogotá, Luis Carlos Torres, Director Comercial at Ilkari, delivered a clear message to the region’s banking and fintech leaders: in financial services, technology has stopped being a support function. It’s now a core driver of growth and of risk.

Watch the full talk above.

Latin America: A region in fast-forward

The numbers set the stage. Mobile internet penetration in Colombia has reached 73% (GSMA, 2024), and the country’s fintech ecosystem grew from 148 to 391 companies in a single year, a 22% annual expansion (Finnovista, 2024). Across Latin America, fintech investment has climbed to USD 4.2 billion (Finnovista, 2023), and 95% of banks now run an active cloud strategy (Asobancaria, 2024). Colombia currently ranks third in the region for digital readiness at 76%, behind Brazil (92%) and Mexico (84%), and ahead of Chile (71%) and Peru (58%) (McKinsey Global Banking Report, 2024).

Growth like this comes with a cost.

Five challenges redefining the financial industry

Torres walked the audience through the five digital challenges now shaping strategy across banking, insurance, and fintech:

• Unpredictable costs: hidden fees and variable charges that undermine financial planning.
• Regulatory pressure: a compliance landscape shifting faster than most infrastructure can adapt to.
• Cybersecurity: non-negotiable as fraud detection and customer service increasingly run on AI.
• Digital sovereignty: knowing exactly where your data lives, who can access it, and under what jurisdiction.
• Vendor lock-in: high switching costs, proprietary technology, and reduced flexibility.

On sovereignty, Torres was direct: “I need to know where my data is, who accesses it, and under what legislation it operates.” It’s a principle Gartner has flagged as a defining trend for the future of cloud: geopatriation, the migration of data to sovereign infrastructure for local compliance and control.

Built for the standard, not just the moment

Ilkari’s own operations reflect that same philosophy. Its Colombian infrastructure is certified under ISO/IEC 27001:2022 for information security, ISO 22301:2019 for business continuity, and TIA-942-C Rated 3 for resilient facility design, with SOC 2 and PCI DSS certifications underway.

The takeaway

Torres closed with three conclusions that framed the entire talk: technology is no longer invisible, it’s integral to the business. Technology infrastructure is now a direct driver of reputational risk. And the principles of digital sovereignty enable stronger governance, risk management, and compliance.

• AI
• Data sovereignty