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Sonia Fierro sells books for children on the streets of Bogota, Colombia.
索尼婭在哥倫比亞波哥大的街頭賣兒童讀物。
She earns just enough money to pay for her meals, housing and other living expenses.
索尼婭賺的錢只夠填飽肚子、支付房租以及生活開銷，但這些收入還不足以支付銀行帳戶的月費。
But she has never earned enough for the monthly fees that are required for a bank account.
但這些收入還不足以支付銀行帳戶的月費。
When the COVID-19 public health crisis left her with little money, Fierro found she could receive government aid, but needed a bank account.
當新冠疫情的出現讓她身無長物時，她發現自己能獲得政府救濟，但首先她需要一個銀行帳戶。
With her daughter's help, she began using a banking app called Daviplata.
在女兒的幫助下，索尼婭開始用一款叫Daviplata的銀行業務的應用程式。
It lets her and other users receive and withdraw money, and make payments.
這款應用程式讓索尼和其他一些用戶可以收錢、提錢並付錢。
It's the best thing they could have done because it's easy and doesn't cost anything, she said.
索尼婭表示，對他們來說，這是最好的方法，因為這種方式既簡單，又不需要什麼成本。
Across Latin America, the COVID-19 crisis has brought an unlikely, but hopeful development:
新冠疫情給整個拉丁美洲範圍都帶來了一項進展，這項進展看似不可能，但又給人們帶來了希望：
Millions of people who never used traditional banks have joined the financial system because of online banking services.
數百萬名從未使用過傳統銀行業務的人因為在線銀行服務的緣故而加入了金融體系中。
Governments use these services to give out emergency assistance and, as a result, the number of people who use banks has increased.
很多政府通過這樣的銀行服務提供應急援助，而這種轉變帶來的結果就是——使用銀行服務的人變多了。
To be able to store money, save money and pay with money is actually a really important part of being lifted out of poverty, said Mahesh Uttamchandani.
存錢、攢錢、付錢，這幾個要素是脫貧的重要組成部分，馬赫什如是說道。
He is a financial expert at the World Bank.
馬赫什是世界銀行的財務專家。
He noted that being able to save money makes a person better able to survive economic shocks.
馬赫什表示，一個人如果有了攢錢的能力，就能更好地挺過經濟衝擊。
Fourteen countries in Latin America have used online financial tools to give out aid money, says the Better than Cash Alliance.
優於現金聯盟稱，拉美有14個國家通過在線金融工具分發了援助資金。
The group is a coalition of governments and international organizations that believe internet banking will reduce poverty.
優於現金聯盟是由政府和國際組織組成的聯盟，該聯盟認為網上銀行可以減少貧困。
In Colombia, at least 1.6 million people who never had a bank account have joined the nation's financial system since April.
哥倫比亞有至少160萬人從未開過銀行帳戶，但自4月以來，這些人已加入哥倫比亞的金融體系。
Eighty percent use internet systems like DaviPlata, notes Luis Alberto Rodriguez, who directs the Department of National Planning.
80%的人會使用諸如DaviPlata的網絡系統，國家規劃部負責人路易斯如是說道。
Officials say 85.9 percent of Colombians now use some banking system, a number the government did not expect to reach until 2022.
工作人員表示，85.9%的哥倫比亞人現在都會或多或少地使用銀行系統，本來政府以為要到2022年才能達到這個數字。
Colombia's success is mostly because the government quickly identified citizens who could receive aid, but did not have a bank account.
哥倫比亞能獲得成功，主要是因為哥倫比亞政府迅速判斷出了哪些公民符合接收援助條件的公民沒有銀行帳戶。
The country is also home to several banking apps.
哥倫比亞有多款銀行服務相關的應用程式。
DaviPlata was created in 2012 by Davivienda, the country's third-largest bank.
2012年，哥倫比亞第3大銀行Davivienda銀行開發了DaviPlata。
Users do not have to pay monthly fees or have a set amount of money in their account.
使用這款應用程式的人不必支付月費，也不必在帳戶上存入一筆本金。
Movii, another application, was launched 18 months ago with 300,000 users.
18個月前，另一款名為Movii的應用程式出爐，用戶數量達30萬。
By August, it had more than 1 million users, mostly those who lived in poverty.
8月前，這款應用程式已有多於100萬名用戶，大多數用戶都處於貧困之中。
For banks, it's a bother to tend to the poor, said Movii co-founder Hernando Rubio.
關照貧困者對於銀行來說是一種困擾，Movii的合伙人魯維奧如是說道。
He said that most banks are not interested in servicing the poor, but his company was created specifically for this.
埃爾南表示，大多數銀行對於服務貧困用戶都不感興趣，但他的公司創建的目的就為了貧困用戶。
Latin American countries have spent about 4 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on lower taxes and other measures to limit the severity of the economic crisis.
一些拉美國家將近4%的GDP用在降低稅收等措施上了，旨在限制經濟危機的嚴重程度。
The area's GDP will fall by 9 percent by the end of 2020.
在2020年年底之前，該區域的GDP將下降9%。
Poverty is at levels not seen for 15 years, reports the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
根據聯合國拉丁美洲和加勒比經濟委員會的報告，已有15年未出現貧困水平。
As Brazil struggled to deal with the COVID-19 health crisis, the government offered $217 a month to most citizens.
在巴西艱難應對新冠疫情之際，巴西政府每個月向大多數市民提供了217美元。
Those who asked for the aid were given online bank accounts to get the money.
那些申請援助的人會通過在線銀行帳戶獲得援助資金。
Of the nearly 100 million new accounts, 40 percent went to those who had never before used a bank.
在近1億個新帳戶中，40%是首次使用銀行帳戶的人。
It has been more difficult in other countries, like Peru.
但在其他一些國家，這項工作的推進就更困難一些，比如秘魯。
About 60 percent of Peruvians do not use banks and the government has struggled to give out emergency aid.
近60%的秘魯人不使用銀行，所以秘魯政府發放應急援助的工作就十分艱難。
Most people had to go to a bank to get their money.
大多數人必須要去銀行取錢。
In some places, government officials had to drive house to house.
在一些地區，政府工作人員不得不挨家挨戶的走訪。
We didn't have a DaviPlata who wanted to take this problem on, said Liliana Casafranca.
利利阿納表示，我們沒有DaviPlata這樣一款願意解決這個問題的應用程式。
She serves as an adviser at the Bank of the Nation, a large bank in Peru.
利利阿納是國家銀行的顧問，國家銀行是秘魯的一家大銀行。
Former President Martin Vizcarra has set a goal of getting every Peruvian over the age of 18 a bank account by 2021.
前總統比斯卡拉設定了一個目標——在2021年之前，讓所有超過18歲的秘魯公民都有自己的銀行帳戶。
Officials hope to open one million new accounts by the end of the year.
一些官員希望在今年年底之前開設100萬個新帳戶。
I'm Susan Shand.
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