The Americas Economy

With coronavirus containment measures providing a significant boost to online payments and e-commerce around the world, the pandemic appears to be accelerating the transition towards cashless transactions in emerging markets.

Covid-19, along with the related disruptions to the movement of goods and people, has compounded the challenges facing globalisation. With the breakdown of supply chains leading to concerns over the provision of key goods during the crisis, some emerging markets had moved towards regionalisation in an effort to share risks.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus has created many fundamental changes to how economies function. In particular, strict social distancing measures have forced governments and businesses to adopt more astute digital practices to ensure the ongoing delivery of essential goods and services.

The onset of a coronavirus-induced global recession has affected both labour markets and financial flows across the world. At the confluence of these two are remittances, which have increasingly been among the top contributors to GDP in many emerging markets over recent decades.

While 2019 was a rather mixed year for Colombia’s economy, the country closed the year on a positive note, with 3.4% GDP growth.

After three successive years of recession, Trinidad and Tobago’s growth is estimated to have remained flat during 2019, according to IMF data. However, a more significant expansion of 1.5% is expected for 2020 as both gas production and non-oil exports are set to increase.