Mexico-based fintech company Klar intends to go public at the end of 2026.
Juan Sarmiento, the mentioned firm’s vice president of finance, said last weekend during a conversation with media representatives that Klar is eyeing an annual run rate of $500 million as a target for its initial public offering (IPO) of shares. The company expects that it will be able to achieve the corresponding figure in the third quarter of next year.
Currently, according to information released by journalists, Klar is interested in finding out how investors will perceive as Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum’s tenure gets underway.
Chief executive officer of Klar Stefan Moller, during a conversation with media representatives, said that people want to observe the political situation in Mexico to see how the new government of the country deploys public policy and develops the economy. At the same time, he expressed confidence that the new government will be able to send the signals that are necessary for large-scale international investors to be assured of the reliability of interaction with Mexican firms.
As part of its activities, Klar is focused on middle-income professionals. The company’s target customer audience is also college students. The firm offers consumers savings accounts and credit cards.
Juan Sarmiento stated that the company currently serves 2 million active users. Also, in the relevant context, it was noted that the firm intends to increase the mentioned figure to 10 million consumers over the next five years.
According to media reports, currently, in Mexico, only about a third of adult locals have formal credit. At the same time, in this country, cash continues to be the main payment method among 70% of adults. It is worth noting that currently in Mexico, some companies are making efforts to provide access to financial services for the part of the population that does not leverage traditional banking products. For example, Mastercard and Paysend jointly launched the Paysend Libre remittance solution.
Also, Blu Financiero in Mexico issued a mass-market credit card with a 99% approval rate. Access to the relevant product is provided to consumers without a formal credit history. The company said it had 50,000 people on its waiting list at the time of the credit card launch. The firm separately noted that the corresponding indicator is evidence that Mexico has a high level of consumer demand for access to financial products.
Casper Yonel, chief executive officer of Blu Financiero, said that in the mentioned country there is a classic problem of oligopoly, when four of the five largest banks control 70% of deposits, but are all foreign-owned. According to him, Mexico accounts for less than 5% of the global balance sheets of the specified lenders. He also said that leading banks have little incentive to develop unique technologies that are necessary to serve the mass market and the growing middle class.
In August, Mexican fintech company Aviva raised $5.5 million in seed funding. The money received will help the company develop what it calls phygital. The corresponding wording implies physical and digital financial solutions. Aviva operates a series of kiosks around Mexico that allow users to apply for loans via video call, get approved in real-time, and receive their funds in under 24 hours.
It is worth noting that the development of the financial technology industry solves the problem of banking services, which is very sensitive for many countries. Not all parts of the world have access to what can be described as traditional banking products. The fintech industry offers alternative functional solutions to the appropriate category of potential users. These solutions in terms of all the main parameters, are not inferior to some kind of classic platforms and systems. The mentioned industry also helps consumers with the problems that are observed when money is moving between different jurisdictions and citizens of various countries. For example, there are neobanks for non-residents. Also, the functional solutions that the fintech space offers consumers are distinguished by a higher level of convenience. In this case, it is worth mentioning that the relevant industry is actually based on digital technologies. Currently, the fintech area is on the trajectory of active development. With the maximum probability, the corresponding tendency will continue and evolve, since this process corresponds to the technical specifics of the digitalization era currently being implemented.
As we have reported earlier, Microsoft to Invest $1.3 Billion in Mexico.
