Yellow Book Statistics 2019
Introduction
CEMLA publishes statistics on payments and financial market infrastructures (FMIs) pertaining member central banks of the Working Group on Payment Systems Issues for Latin America and the Caribbean (WGPS-LAC). This set of country and comparative statistics, known as the Yellow Book Statistics, are compiled annually and continuously updated.
The country tables present annual data on the use of payment instruments and activity on payment systems and market infrastructures for WGPS-LAC member countries.
The country tables comprise three main areas of the payments' and financial infrastructures' ecosystem:
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General statistics on macroeconomic factors, which are useful to relate the size of the country's payment and market infrastructures against the size of its economic activity. This area includes figures on cash in circulation, reserves held by banks at the central bank, among other figures;
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Overall functioning of retail payments, including details of payment services providers, payment instruments available for individuals, businesses and government, the availability physical terminals (access points), and the usage of such instruments and access points; and
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Details of the financial market infrastructures (FMIs), including participation and activities in the wholesale payment systems, central securities depositories and other supporting infrastructures.
Users are invited to read the footnotes included in each table for a proper and better use and interpretation of the reported figures.
Statistics are updated by submission of the WGPS-LAC member central banks and published once a year.
country tablesThe comparative tables consist of a set of indicators presenting key data from the country tables from all WGPS-LAC member central banks.
They are a useful tool on quantitative and qualitative information for both, the payments' and financial infrastructures' ecosystem, on a regional basis. Some of the indicators presented in the comparative tables consist on payment card schema, retail and wholesale payment systems, central securities depositories, and other financial market infrastructures.
The comparative tables are prepared by CEMLA and are updated and published together with the country tables once a year.
Comparative TablesThe Yellow Book Statistics are supplemented by a methodology aimed at providing users and reporting central banks with descriptions of the country tables. This methodology facilitates the compilation of country data in a consistent and comparable way.
It entails the terms that are frequently used in the tables with the goal of facilitating the data collection and helping the interpretation of the tables' content. For each table, the methodology includes an introductory note and the description of individual items explaining what the figures include.
Methodological Support