MercadoLibre's fintech arm targets digital banking in Mexico with license (updated)

MercadoLibre

21/05/2024 18:09

(Updates with time-frame in paragraph 3)
    By Diego Oré
       MEXICO CITY, May 21 (Reuters) - Latin American
e-commerce giant MercadoLibre's fintech arm, Mercado Pago,
announced on Tuesday that it will apply for a banking license in
Mexico in its bid to become the largest digital bank in the
country.
    Mercado Pago became the latest online firm looking to expand
offerings in the increasingly crowded market. Last year,
Brazil's Nubank  NU.N , which already has 7 million clients in
the country, applied for a license to operate as a multiple
banking institution. In April, London-based Revolut obtained a
license.
        Mercado Pago's Mexico director Pedro Rivas said
obtaining the license in Latin America's second-largest economy
could take one to two years from when it launches the
application toward the end of the summer.
  
    The license would allow Mercado Pago to provide services
such as savings and checking accounts, certificates of deposit
(CDs), commercial loans and mortgages in the country.
        In Mexico, Mercado Pago currently offers credit and
debit cards, transfers from abroad, interest on funds stored in
its digital wallet as well as personal and small-business loans.
    "We already offer services similar to traditional banking
but in a digital, inclusive and efficient way. Now we want to
formalize it and become the largest completely digital bank in
Mexico," said Pedro Rivas, Mercado Pago's country head, in a
statement shared with Reuters.
    Founded in 2003, Mercado Pago operates across Latin America
and logs more than 15 million transactions a day.¿

 (Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by
Christopher Cushing and David Gregorio)
 ((mailto:diego.ore@thomsonreuters.com; +52 55-52827152; Reuters
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