Revolut has obtained a full banking license in Mexico. Why is this market important?

British fintech Revolut has received approval from the Mexican regulator to carry out banking operations in this market. Mexico became the first country in Latin America, in which Revolut received a full banking license, wrote Bloomberg. This is an important market for the company, but it will have to compete with both already popular Latin American players and newcomers, but with a lot of experience in fintech.

Revolut plans to launch banking business in the country at first for a small number of clients who have signed up on a waiting list, the company said in a statement. It did not specify exactly when it expects to start banking operations. Operating as a bank, Revolut will be able to provide a wide range of services, while customers' money will be protected by a local deposit insurance system with a limit of 3.4 million pesos ($185,080), Bloomberg noted.

Oninvest sent a request to Revolut.

Mexico has become a battleground for fintechs seeking market share: most of them are seeking a banking license to compete directly with traditional banks, Bloomberg writes. In the Mexican market, Revolut will have to compete with such fintechs as Brazil's Nu Holding and Argentina-based MercadoLibre Holding, as well as startup Plata, which was created by former top managers of Tinkoff.

Revolut is one of Europe's most expensive startups. It and its investors are closing a $3 billion fundraising round that valued the company at $75 billion, Bloomberg wrote on Oct. 17. By comparison, Plata raised $250 million at a $3.1 billion valuation, the agency said. Revolut is roughly equal in value to Nubank (capitalization $74 billion, the region's most expensive publicly traded financial company), but inferior to MercadoLibre, which has a market capitalization of about $105 billion.

Latin America is a key destination for Revolut, which wants to increase the number of users from the current 65 million to 100 million, Bloomberg wrote. By comparison, Nubank has more than 122 million customers, of which 13 million are in Mexico, the agency noted.

This is the second banking regulator approval in a month that Revolut has received in Latin America. In early October, it said it had secured approval to establish a bank in Colombia, calling it the first of two steps in the licensing process. The company said it plans to launch a range of products in Colombia in 2026, including savings accounts, international money transfers and credit cards, once the licensing process is complete.

Revolut is also waiting for regulatory approval to buy Argentina's Banco Cetelem from BNP Paribas Group. In addition, fintech executives said they were considering applying for a license in Peru. The company already operates in Brazil under a license that allows it to open digital wallets and international accounts, Bloomberg writes. Jefferies analyst Inigo Vega estimated Revolut has about 450,000 monthly active users in Brazil, lagging behind Nubank, Mercado Pago and Inter & Co. in that metric, the agency added.

"The most important aspect to watch in the future will be Revolut's willingness to lend, as credit spreads represent a significant share of profits for new players in the region," the agency quoted Vega's note as saying.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor