The State of App Finance in SP Latam – Edition 2025

Latin America has experienced a rapid digital acceleration, with nearly two-thirds of the population using mobile internet in 2024—an increase of 75 million people in just five years, according to GSMA. For millions, smartphones have become the entry point to formal finance, enabling inclusion on an unprecedented scale.

MasterCard reports that banking penetration has surpassed 80% in several markets, thanks to the rise of more than 3,000 fintechs offering instant transfers, digital wallets, investment apps, and alternative credit. Finance, more than most sectors, has been fundamentally transformed: at the start of the decade, a significant share of the population still lacked access to formal services. The pandemic was a pivotal catalyst: in 2020, large segments of the population still lacked access to formal banking, but lockdowns accelerated adoption of mobile-first solutions. Today, millions manage savings, payments, and credit directly from their phones, while new models such as Buy Now Pay Later are reshaping consumer expectations.

Still, the picture is not without challenges. Connectivity expansion is decelerating in some areas, and economic forecasts point to limited regional expansion in the coming years. For financial institutions and fintechs, this means the opportunity is shifting. The next stage will be defined less by mass user acquisition and more by sustainable profitability, retention, and capturing high-value segments.

Within this context, Spanish-speaking Latin America offers a clear lens on how consumer adoption is evolving. Our analysis of millions of app installs across 2024 and 2025—spanning payments, mobile banking, personal loans, and investments—provides insights into where the market is accelerating, where it is tapering, and where the next wave of opportunity will emerge.

Finance app adoption in Latin America has surged alongside the region’s broader digital transformation. As mobile internet access expands and fintech investment accelerates, installs have become a clear signal of how financial services are evolving. In 2024, finance app installs across Spanish-speaking markets rose 52% overall. On iOS, installs nearly doubled YoY (+95%), underscoring the rising demand for premium digital banking experiences. Android installs also climbed 49%, remaining the backbone of financial access for the wider population.

Mexico stands out as the largest driver of this expansion. Since 2018, Android installs have exploded by more than 17,000%, though momentum is flattening as saturation sets in. iOS, however, continues to climb steadily, particularly among higher-income consumers.

Argentina illustrates a market still in rapid expansion.Android dominates mass adoption, but iOS is rising even faster, fueled by consumers seeking stability and premium alternatives amid an uncertain economic climate. Colombia, by contrast, shows signs of consolidation. While Android spurred initial growth, between 2023 and 2024 iOS installs more than doubled, strengthening the premium segment.

Android has delivered reach, but iOS is becoming the engine of value. The strategic question is no longer about acquiring the most users, but retaining the most profitable ones—an inflection point shaping the competitive dynamics across the region.

As installs reach maturity, marketing strategies are shifting dramatically. In 2024, user acquisition dominated finance app budgets in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Spending peaked in the second quarter, as marketers pursued installs at scale. But by early 2025, the curve had flipped. UA spend dropped sharply, while remarketing spend climbed to its highest point yet. This marks a turning point: apps are no longer competing on reach alone but on engagement, loyalty, and maximizing user value.

Mexico best illustrates this shift. Remarketing budgets on Android rose 26% YoY, aimed at re-engaging an already massive user base. Seasonal surges in the first and fourth quarters coincided with bonuses, holiday shopping, and credit cycles—moments when consumers are most likely to transact or switch providers. Even when budgets dipped after the third quarter, this reflected recalibration toward high-value users, not retreat.

In Argentina, remarketing is opportunistic. Sharp bursts in early 2024 reflected inflationary pressure and holiday-driven demand, but equally sharp contractions reveal the fragility of this approach. Colombia remains in an earlier stage. With organic adoption still strong, remarketing spend has remained modest. Peaks here are smaller but strategically timed, reinforcing loyalty during high-usage periods rather than driving new growth.

Across the region, UA has evolved from volume to precision. Remarketing is emerging as the lever for sustainable retention. Winning in 2025 depends less on flooding the market with ads, and more on identifying, re-engaging, and extracting value from the right audiences.

If the first wave of finance app growth in Latin America was driven by organic adoption, the second is decisively shaped by marketing. Paid installs and remarketing conversions are no longer peripheral tools but structural features of competition. 

In fact, across all platforms, overall paid installs in the first half of 2025 grew 1% compared to the same period in 2024, while remarketing conversions skyrocketed by 436% YoY—underscoring just how central re-engagement has become to growth strategies. On Android specifically, non-organic installs have climbed steadily across Spanish-speaking markets, transforming paid acquisition from a short-term lever into a baseline necessity.

Quarterly fluctuations reflect macroeconomic cycles and seasonality, but the long-term trend is upward. The fourth quarter of 2024 marked one of the highest peaks, as apps leaned into holiday spending and year-end financial activity. Even when budgets contracted afterward, rebounds were swift, signaling recalibration rather than withdrawal.

Country dynamics highlight distinct realities. In Mexico, the region’s largest market, volatility and resilience coexist. Android non-organic installs grew 64% YoY in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, reinforcing Mexico’s role as the region’s strategic battleground. Argentina has followed a steadier path: paid installs on Android grew consistently, peaking in late 2024 as inflation and seasonal demand pushed users toward digital finance alternatives. Colombia, by contrast, highlights the limits of marketing-led growth. Paid installs dropped sharply in the second quarter of 2024, yet overall adoption held strong thanks to exceptionally high organic uptake.

While tactics vary, paid acquisition is increasingly central to the region’s finance app economy. Success hinges not just on spending more, but on deploying resources intelligently, balancing acquisition with efficiency and retention.

Despite slower connectivity growth and ongoing economic headwinds, app sessions are surging—showing that finance apps are shifting from broad adoption to habitual engagement. In 2025, sessions rose 27% across the region: up 22% on Android and 45% on iOS. After record ad spend in 2024, this year is testing whether those installs are turning into long-term interaction and value.

In Mexico, growth has been steady. In the second half of 2025, Android sessions increased 14% compared to the same period in 2024, while iOS jumped 33% YoY. The nuance is in the depth: Android reflects consistent baseline use across the mass market, while iOS shows sharper gains. Even as UA budgets tightened, iOS users became more engaged—evidence of stronger loyalty and monetization potential within premium cohorts.

Argentina highlights the intensity of this shift. Engagement is scaling exponentially, expanding reach while also deepening per-user interaction. For fintechs and banks, premium audiences are proving to be the true engines of retention and financial activity, well beyond the first install.

Colombia offers another angle. Sustaining Android growth at scale is proving more challenging, while iOS engagement has stabilized at a higher baseline. This underscores the need for platform-specific retention strategies: Android anchors reach, while iOS shapes deeper, more predictable interaction patterns.

The lesson is consistent: Android delivers scale, but iOS amplifies activity. For fintechs and banks, sustainable growth depends less on raw acquisition and more on earning time, attention, and trust.

Fraud continues to undermine sustainable growth in Latin America’s finance app ecosystem, evolving alongside investment flows. While stronger controls have curbed Android fraud in some markets, attackers are shifting toward iOS and premium campaigns, where budgets and stakes are higher.

Mexico embodies both opportunity and exposure. It leads in adoption and scale, but also carries the highest fraud volume. On Android, fraud dropped 40% YoY in the first half of 2025, driven by tighter controls and more disciplined UA spend. Still, rates remain above 20%, eroding margins in this highly competitive market. On iOS, progress has been limited—fraud has stabilized but remains elevated, as attackers target premium users.

Argentina shows volatility. Android fraud stayed in the mid-teens, but iOS spiked to 34% in the second quarter of 2025, up 154% YoY as fraudsters exploited bursts of high-value spend. Colombia is accelerating fastest. Android fraud more than tripled YoY, while iOS fraud rose 42%.

Fraud closely follows investment patterns. As finance apps pivot from aggressive acquisition to retention and monetization, fraudsters adapt in parallel, targeting high-value users and seasonal peaks. This makes fraud prevention not just a defensive measure but a strategic necessity.

To protect ROI, financial marketers in Spanish-speaking LatAm must integrate fraud prevention directly into UA and remarketing strategies. Long-term success will hinge on safeguarding user quality, loyalty, and lifetime value in a market where fraud never sleeps—and where risks remain dynamic, persistent, and costly.