Credicorp, one of Latin America’s biggest financial services companies, is close to launching new products aimed at young users in Chile and Peru, two markets almost untouched by the regional wave of fintech startup investment.
(Bloomberg) — Credicorp, one of Latin America’s biggest financial services companies, is close to launching new products aimed at young users in Chile and Peru, two markets almost untouched by the regional wave of fintech startup investment.
A fully digital “neobank” called iO will debut as soon as next month, Credicorp Chief Executive Officer Gianfranco Ferrari said in an interview. The company also expects to receive authorization from regulators in Chile in the next two to three months for a virtual credit card, the first of its kind, through its local fintech brand Tenpo.
“Let’s be proactive and eventually self-disrupt before a startup comes in,” Ferrari said. “Competition is welcome, but at least let’s make it hard for them.”
Established banks across Latin America have been ramping up their digital investments after newer companies including Nu Holdings and MercadoLibre moved aggressively to court a wider group of users for financial services. But patchwork regulations have meant they’ve moved more quickly in some markets than others.
Read more: Credicorp CEO Sees Peru Growing More Than His Own Economists Say
Credicorp, based in Lima, already has a track record in fintech with the success of Yape, a Peruvian digital payment platform that has about 13 million users — more clients than Credicorp’s Banco de Credito del Peru, the country’s biggest bank.
Through Yape, the company has been able to incorporate 2.7 million people into the country’s financial system, Ferrari said. The plan is for Yape to break even in 2024 and become profitable in 2025.
Ferrari said he also sees growth in microfinancing, which Credicorp offers through its Mibanco brand in Peru and Colombia. Their model could be replicated in Mexico and there is the space to do so, but Credicorp hasn’t yet started looking at it seriously, he said.
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