Plata, founded by Tinkoff employees, followed Revolut in obtaining a license in Mexico

Mexican fintech company Plata, founded by former top managers of Russian bank Tinkoff (now T-Bank), has received final approval from local regulators to obtain a banking license in Mexico. Thus, the company was ahead of a number of major competitors, including Nubank and Mercado Pago, which are still waiting for a similar authorization from the regulator, Bloomberg reports.

So far, Plata's only product is credit cards. The process of obtaining a full banking license took the company about three years, Plata said. Having obtained the status of a bank, the company intends to significantly expand its product line, Bloomberg notes.

Plata obtained its banking license in Mexico amid growing competition in the country's fintech sector. More and more new market players are seeking to expand their range of services in Mexico, the agency explains, noting that in this way fintech companies expect to reach a significant part of the Mesica population, which does not yet have full access to banking services.

Plata has joined the ranks of Mexican banks following Nikolay Storonsky's Revolut. Neobank received a full banking license in Mexico in October last year, but announced the launch of full-fledged banking operations in the country only at the end of January 2026. For Revolut, the bank in Mexico was the first outside Europe.

Plata develops proprietary technology solutions using artificial intelligence and serves about 2.5 million active customers. The company was founded in 2023 by Neri Tollardo, Alexander Bro and Danil Anisimov - former top managers of Tinkoff. The company's valuation reached $3.1 billion at the end of last year following the latest rounds of financing.

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