The Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), Mexico’s banking and securities commission, recently licensed Nvio Pagos México to operate as a fintech firm. While 85 firms have applied for such licenses, this is the first to have been awarded under the Mexican government’s Financial Technology (Fintech) Institution Law, which passed in March 2018. The law provides a legal framework for the operation and organization of fintech firms involved in crowdfunding, e-money and cryptocurrency. Its goals are to “promote customer protection, market integrity, and robust growth in the sector by providing legal and regulatory certainty without limiting innovation” in financial services.
The law includes a “regulatory sandbox” provision, allowing “startups of up to two years…to operate under a temporary license without having to comply with all of the regulatory requirements at once.” The purpose of this structure is to let “new entities that serve a small number of customers…test innovative technologies.”
Nvio Pagos, which was established in October 2018 and is headquartered in Mexico City, provides electronic payment services. It is an affiliate of Bitso, a cryptocurrency market based in Mexico. Bitso is a cryptocurrency exchange, allowing users to exchange bitcoin and Mexican pesos.
CNBV was founded in 1924 and is an independent agency of Mexico’s Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, the country’s secretariat of finance. The role of CNBV is to maintain and promote the stable development of Mexico’s financial system.
By Ng Chee Meng, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Latham & Watkins LLP article on first license Mexico issued under its FIntech Law
https://www.fintechandpayments.com/2020/02/mexico-issues-first-license-under-new-fintech-law/
Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores homepage
https://www.gob.mx/cnbv
Baker Mckenzie article on Mexico’s Fintech Law
https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/publications/2018/03/fintech-law-in-mexico
El Economista article on Mexico’s Fintech Law
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/sectorfinanciero/NVIO-Pagos-Mexico-es-la-primera-fintech-autorizada-como-institucion-de-fondos-de-pago-electronico-20200122-0054.html
S&P Global article on Mexico’s Fintech Law
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/50081755
Investopedia article on cryptocurrency
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp
El CEO article on Nvio Pagos México
https://elceo.com/tecnologia/nvio-la-primera-fintech-que-obtiene-autorizacion-de-la-cnbv-para-operar/
Crunchbase page on Bitso
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bitso
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Robos, General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) Partner on Events Promoting Financial Literacy, Savings, Social Insurance, Pensions
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baab Mobile Money App Combines Cryptocurrency, Traditional Financial Accounts
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: Fintech Festival Thailand; September 26-28, 2023; Bangkok, Thailand
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Brick & Mortar Ventures Lead $3.4m Equity Raise for Licify to Expand Vende+ Construction Portal from Colombia to Mexico
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Svatantra of India Paying Navi Group $179m for Microfinance Subsidiary Chaitanya
