We want to compete with the big banks in Mexico; we're going for it all: Revolut

Now that it has authorization to begin operations as a bank in Mexico —something it will do shortly in a Beta phase and a little later on a massive scale— Revolut is emphatic in stating that it wants to compete with the large financial institutions in the country and, in five years, be in the “top 5” of local banking by number of users.

“Yes, eventually we want to compete with them (the big banks) and we’re going for it all,” says Juan Miguel Guerra , CEO of Revolut Mexico.

In an interview with El Economista , he argues that they have to compete "head-to-head" with the big Mexican banks, just as they do today in Europe, where they also have a banking license.

Globally, Revolut —a British-based financial technology giant—has a presence in around 40 countries and nearly 70 million users . In Mexico, this is their first banking license outside of Europe .

Guerra points out that the expectation in the country is to reach one million customers in the first 12 months of operations.

“But what interests us most, more than the number, is the users’ enthusiasm, their excitement for the product. We want to be the most loved bank in the country; I don’t know many banks that are loved,” he says.

“We have advantages, but so do they.”

The CEO of Revolut Mexico points out that new players like the entity he heads have some advantages, but so do the larger banks.

“These banks have been very successful in this country, and some have been visionaries and have been transforming themselves for a long time, before we were even on the map, and that has given them tremendous success,” he says.

He adds: “There are many players, each with their own strengths, and it will be fascinating and exciting to see how the industry develops in the next two or three years, which will be a spectacular battleground for writing a more interesting chapter in the history of digital banking.”

The important thing, he says, is that Mexico will be the one to benefit. “I believe that to be able to compete with banks, a banking license is necessary.”

“The digital banking world championship is coming”

He states that just as the World Cup is coming to Mexico, so too is the "World Cup of digital banking," where the cup will be contested by these very successful banks, but also by new players that have mainly arrived from abroad.

“We believe that, given our success in Europe, we have very good prospects, but we must not be arrogant or overconfident, nor should we stop listening to the user,” he points out.

Juan Guerra believes that in this "world cup" there will be three types of players: traditional banks that have the advantage of having a full range of products, but with the disadvantage of a high cost structure; traditional fintechs, which is the opposite, with a limited product offering, but with a lean cost structure; and another one like Revolut.

“And the digital fintech or international digital bank, which is our case; which has the full range of products, the best of traditional banking, and a lean cost structure,” he says.

He states that those that also represent a challenge are those other digital players who are already in the process of obtaining their banking license, such as Nu Mexico and Mercado Pago, to name a few.

Your offer

Revolut Mexico's offering , once it begins operations as a bank in the country, is varied and includes products and services such as: a virtual currency exchange (buying and selling foreign currency) from the application with better conditions; money transfers to the United States and other countries at lower costs; a debit account with benefits for users ; and a credit card a little later.

Likewise, according to its director, it also plans to serve the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment .

Those who wish to become Revolut Mexico users must register through their website or app and be placed on a waiting list, which will be answered shortly. According to the company's director, 200,000 people have already registered.

Four-year process

According to Juan Guerra, it was in 2021 when Revolut began its process of establishing itself in Mexico.

Initially, the idea was to acquire an Electronic Payment Funds Institution (IFPE), but it did not materialize, and in the end they opted to seek a banking license , a process that took four years, until a few days ago, the CNBV authorized them to begin operations as a bank.

“I think Mexico is a unique combination: a very large country with interesting financial flows because it's next to the United States, a remittance corridor, with very interesting demographic trends, and it also has a fairly high level of development for an emerging country in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), investment grade, and macroeconomic stability. But in addition, banking and credit penetration remain low,” comments Martín Masola, finance director of Revolut Bank Mexico.