“(The investment) will probably exceed $100 million (in 2024),” Guerra told Reuters. Most of the money would be used to maintain liquidity ratios and hiring personnel.
“We will be watching how the business evolves. The faster it grows, the more bets we will make,” he added.
The executive assured that, once they are 100% operational in Mexico, they will begin to offer various banking products such as an account and international shipments. “And, very quickly, we will try to bring to the country all the products that we have in Europe,” he said.
Revolut, known as the English startup with the highest valuation – about $33 billion in 2021 – has applied for a banking license in the United Kingdom, but is still awaiting approval.
Neobanks operate in Mexico such as the Brazilian Nu, the Argentine MercadoPago, the local Stori and Albo, among others. Only half of Mexican adults have a bank account, according to official figures.
Guerra said that now that they are present in the two largest economies in Latin America – Brazil and Mexico – they will seek to continue expanding in the region, to begin with, in countries where they can “obtain a banking license with few resources.”
Mexico is one of the main recipients of remittances in the world, although this important inflow of foreign currency has also been in the crosshairs due to the use made by Mexican drug cartels to send their illicit profits from the United States.
However, Guerra assured that although it is “a risk that must be managed very carefully,” by having clients on both sides of the border identified, its application is safer and less recommended for illegal activities.
