ID Finance, the emerging markets fintech company, has expanded its presence in Latin America with a launch into the Mexican online lending market. The announcement comes less than a year after the company launched operations in Brazil and represents another key milestone as it continues its aggressive global expansion. Boris Batine, Co-founder and CEO at ID Finance, stated:
“It is an exciting time to be expanding our footprint in LatAm and we see enormous potential for online lending in Mexico. It is an important step towards becoming the number one alternative lender in the region.”
ID Finance explained that with a population of 127 million and 61percent of adults lacking a bank account according to World Bank, Mexico represents one of the largest opportunities for fintech in Latin America. Mexico’s low bank branch coverage – 14 branches per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 33 in the US – together with an underdeveloped transport infrastructure further exacerbates the need for fintech services. Yannick del Ponte, Country Manager at ID Finance Mexico, commented:
“The growth in internet usage and smartphone penetration is creating an enormous opportunity for fintechs. ID Finance’s unique scoring technology gives us a significant advantage over the competition while our Moneyman online lending product will bring much needed simplicity and transparency for consumers here in Mexico.”
ID Finance went on to note that Mexico is expected to have 91.6m active internet users by 2021 and 75.4m smartphone users by 2022. Proposed government reforms centred on financial inclusion, and upcoming regulatory changes are driving development of the sector.
ID Finance was founded in Russia in 2012 and has rapidly expanded into Kazakhstan, Georgia, Poland, Spain, Brazil and now Mexico. The company posted 82 percent revenue growth for the first half of 2017 and has 3.8 million registered customers. It issues over 60,000 loans each month with monthly revenue of $15 million.
