This week in Finovate Global we take a look at some recent fintech developments in Mexico.
First up is news that Grupo Financiero Banorte has launched Mexico’s first fully digital bank, bineo. The company noted that it hopes to add 2.8 million new customers in the next five years.
“The launch of bineo is a great milestone in the history of Grupo Financiero Banorte that will allow us to meet all needs: those who prefer a human-digital combination and those who seek 100% digital banking, with the financial security that has always characterized the institution,” Grupo Financiero Banorte chairman Carlos Hank Gonzalez said.
Bimeo offers a pair of accounts for customers. The bimeo Total Account allows for unlimited deposits. The Light Account has a monthly cap of 3,000 UDIS (investment units), which equals approximately 24,000 Mexican pesos.
Account holders will have access to both a digital and a physical debit card that includes a feature that enables them to allocate their savings toward specific goals. Card holders can use their physical card at more than 10,000 Banorte ATMs. Additionally, in a nod to sustainability, the physical card consists of biodegradable materials.
The new digital bank also offers financing products for bineo account holders. Customers will be able to apply for digital loans in amounts ranging from 5,000 to 200,000 MXN. Repayment terms range from six to 24 months. The bank also pledges competitive rates and instant access to funds once loans are approved.
“We imagine a bank that puts people at the centre, and we created it!” bineo CEO Victor Moya said. “We think in a different way of managing finances, where personalization is the heart of what we do. Bineo will offer new products and services based on customer needs so as not to confine them to a product designed by us.”
A partnership between Amazon Mexico and Kueski Pay will bring a new, installment payment option to Mexican consumers. Currently available only to select Amazon customers, the payment option will be available to all eligible Amazon customers “soon.”
Pago en Quincenas with Kueski Pay is the name of the new payment option. It enables payment for purchases in biweekly installments, helping make shopping on Amazon more affordable to many Mexican consumers. The option also helps deal with the fact that less than a third of the adult population in Mexico has a credit card. By leveraging Kueski Pay, one of Mexico’s most popular buy now, pay later platforms, Amazon Mexico helps expand purchase financing beyond both credit as well as debit cards.
“Our agreement with Amazon demonstrates the need Mexicans have for more flexible , secure, and inclusive payment alternatives,” Kueski Pay SVP of Sales Lisset May said. “Kueski Pay enables merchants to deliver more innovative shopping experiences and help Mexican consumers live their personal finances with more excitement.”
Kueski Pay has provided nearly 15 million loans to date. The company notes that 1 in 4 of Mexico’s most relevant merchants offer the payment option. Customers who opt for Pago en Quincenas with Kueski Pay can choose from plans of up to four interest-free biweekly payments as part of an introductory offer, or as many as 12 biweekly payments. Payments can be made by linked bank account, debit card, or cash at participating networks. A one-time application must be completed during the Amazon checkout process the first time a customer chooses the Kueski Pay option.
Finovate has been happy to host a handful of fintechs from Mexico over the years. Some of our Mexico-based alums include:
Nufi
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Nufi made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021 in New York. The company demoed its Fintech Legos offering, a set of modular building blocks that enable firms to build their own financial solutions. At the conference, Nufi showed how its Fintech Legos could be used to build a modular, adaptable KYC process that could be deployed by any company.
Sr. Pago
Mexico City-based fintech Sr. Pago was founded in 2010 and made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014. At the conference, the company’s CEO and co-founder Pablo Gonzalez Vargas demoed the Sr. Pago Card + Reader, which help small businesses and individuals accept card payments for services and have those payments loaded onto the recipient’s Mastercard. The company was acquired by Mexico-based online lending platform Konfío in 2021.
Prestadero
Also headquartered in Mexico City, Prestadero made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateSpring. Founded in 2011, Prestadero was the first fully legally compliant and operational P2P lending platform in Mexico. At FinovateSpring, the company demonstrated how its proprietary management software enabled Prestadero to parse out declined loans in seconds and offer rates for approved loans in less than a minute.
Kuspit
Founded in 2010 and based in Mexico City, Kuspit is a regulated broker/dealer in Mexico. The company targets retail investors with little investing experience and offers an investing community in which learning, sharing, and investing “dynamically integrate with one another.” Making its Finovate debut in 2012 at FinovateSpring, the company showed how it uses visualization to help investors understand the relationship between risk and return.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Southern Asia
- Regulators in India ordered digital payments provider Paytm to cease much of its business operations due to non-compliance issues.
- Mastercard and SadaPay extended their partnership to support the financial needs of SMEs and freelancers in Pakistan.
- Indian private sector bank Karnataka Bank teamed up with financial services platform Northern Arc Capital.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Paytech Paysecure announced its intention to expand into Latin America, with an initial focus on Brazil.
- Mexican financial group Grupo Financiero Banorte launched its new digital bank, Bineo.
- Mexico-based Kueski Pay teamed up with Amazon to launch a new deferred payment offering, Pago en Quincenas.
Asia-Pacific
- China announced plans to revise its AML rules to accommodate cryptocurrency transactions.
- Philippine-based Asia United Bank (AUB) announced that its HelloMoney e-wallet solution is now accepted in South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
- KrAsia offered “seven key takeaways” about the fintech industry in Thailand.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Nigerian fintech Miden to join Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 cohort.
- IT Web profiled South African fintech SOLmate amid growing demand for its digital wallet.
- Fintech Futures interviewed Principal and Head of Africa at CommerzVentures Hangwi Muambadzi on the growth of fintech in Africa.
Central and Eastern Europe
- Digital engineering company Nagarro teamed up with Temenos to help build banks in Romania and Poland.
- German payment processing provider Unzer launched its mobile POS solutions in Austria and Luxembourg this week.
- Garanti BBVA, a financial services provider based in Turkey, introduced a new Request Payment feature via its mobile and online banking services.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Standard Chartered Bank began offering banking operations in Egypt this week.
- The National Bank of Oman forged a strategic collaboration with UnionPay.
- Kurdistan International Islamic Bank integrated iMAL, an Islamic core banking platform from Azentio Software.
