Banking is experiencing a unique moment in Mexico. On the one hand, the most traditional banks are seeking to be more efficient through new products that attract and retain the population, while on the other, Fintech companies maintain the trend of seeking banking licenses in order to continue winning over users.
This is demonstrated by Gabriel Maldonado, Director of Payroll Sales, Digital and Alternative Channels at Banamex, and René Saúl, President & CEO of Kapital Grupo Financiero.
Banamex is evolving its payroll credit product towards other services, ranging from payroll advance, investment and savings, explains Maldonado in the Forbes Talk: The innovation of payroll credit, during the Forbes Mexico 2025 Business and Economy Forum.
According to figures from the National Survey on Financial Health (ENSAFI) 2023, 30.5% of the study sample reported that, during the last month, the people consulted did not have enough money to cover their expenses without going into debt and to face this difficulty.
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People who did not have sufficient income during the last month resorted to various strategies: 68.3% reduced their expenses, 41.6% borrowed from family or friends, and 32% used their savings.
While on the other hand, of the people who saved, 57.3% had an amount equivalent to up to a fortnight of what they earned or received and only 10.3% saved amounts greater than three months.
Faced with this reality, Banamex seeks to provide a useful tool for employees, but at the same time highlights that it is necessary for employers to provide financial education so that employees use it correctly.
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The manager highlighted that competition is more intense in banking to offer the best products and services to clients, since payroll credit is constantly growing and is one of the most attractive segments for financial institutions.
The total credit portfolio in commercial banking amounts to 418,000 million pesos (mp) as of June 2024, according to figures from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV).
In addition, Gabriel Maldonado highlighted that technology transforms payroll credit and financial education by offering financial products tailored to each client and, at the same time, ensuring that they do not exceed their debt limits.
He also highlighted the importance of employers showing their employees all the tools they have at their disposal to take care of their financial well-being.
Acquisitions, part of Kapital’s strategy
Banamex is not the only one that is drawing up strategies to remain current within consumer preferences, the unicorn Kapital is also doing so.
René Saúl, president & CEO of Kapital Grupo Financiero, stands out in the interview From Fintech to Grupo Financiero. A commitment to the growth of Mexico that, thanks to the fact that it now operates with a banking license, has been able to reach new market niches, since initially they were SMEs and now the entire market, with the aim of promoting the country through its financial products.
Part of their strategy has been acquisitions, such as Banco Autofin and Intercam, when both were going through a moment of crisis and which they saw as an opportunity.
Saúl also highlights that this trend of fintech companies seeking banking licenses will not stop and that, in turn, national and international regulation will allow the growth of this industry.
He regretted that in Mexico there are only 10 ‘unicorn’ companies, since the country, with a population of 130 million inhabitants, has the potential to have many more ventures with a value of more than one billion dollars. “We compete directly with Brazil and it has many more unicorns,” he noted.
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