Oxford study probes trust barriers to finance in Colombia

Interledger Foundation and researchers at the University of Oxford have launched a project on barriers to financial inclusion in Colombia, focusing on Medellín.

The study, The Architectures of Trust in Financial Inclusion Systems, will examine why many low-income Colombians still struggle to participate fully in digital finance despite the spread of digital wallets and instant payment services.

Researchers will study how trust, transparency, and product design shape how people use financial services. The work will explore how residents assess both financial products and the institutions behind them, with particular attention to households often underserved by formal providers.

Medellín was chosen as the main field site because it combines a relatively developed financial sector with persistent inequality in income, economic opportunity and access to information. The project is led by the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, or COMPAS, an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford.

The study comes as Colombia moves further towards digital financial systems. In many settings, cash and traditional wire transfers are giving way to mobile wallets and faster payment tools, expanding access for people who previously had limited contact with formal finance.

But access alone does not guarantee use or trust. The research will therefore explore which financial products people prefer, why they choose them and how wider social and economic conditions shape those decisions.

Briana Marbury, President and Chief Executive Officer of Interledger Foundation, said: "Financial inclusion is ultimately about trust. While access remains important, meaningful inclusion depends on whether people feel confident that financial systems, institutions, and services will work for them, protect their interests, and support their aspirations.

"The way people experience financial products and services shapes their willingness to engage with them and determines whether access translates into genuine economic opportunity and agency. By doing this project, we hope to contribute to a future where financial systems are designed not only to reach more people, but to serve them in ways that are inclusive, equitable, and responsive to the realities of their lives."

The Oxford team said the work will look beyond simple measures of account ownership or service availability. It will investigate how people interpret fees, terms and conditions, risk and reliability when deciding whether to use financial products.

Carlos Vargas-Silva, Professor of Migration Studies at COMPAS and the project's Principal Investigator, said: "Many people do not access financial products and services because they perceive them as confusing, expensive, or untrustworthy. Others engage with them without fully understanding the terms, conditions, or risks involved.

"We are proud to lead this important research project, made possible through funding from the Interledger Foundation, to understand and break down the barriers to financial participation in Colombia and beyond."

Interledger Foundation is funding the work as a one-year project. Since 2020, the nonprofit has committed more than USD $21 million in grants across more than 300 projects in over 45 countries.

The organisation focuses on expanding access to digital financial services and supports open payment standards, including the Interledger Protocol and Open Payments. Alongside technical standards, it backs researchers, developers, educators and advocates, and works with regulators and institutions on the conditions needed for more open financial systems.

For Oxford's COMPAS, the Colombia project also extends its broader work on migration, social impacts and public policy into financial participation. In Medellín, that means examining how lower-income residents weigh practical need against confidence in the systems available to them.

The findings are expected to contribute to wider debates on consumer protection, inclusive finance and the design of digital financial systems in emerging markets, where adoption can rise quickly while understanding and trust develop more unevenly.

The research will examine the factors that influence trust and participation in local digital financial systems.