Best online banks in Mexico
Banking in Mexico is a lot like banking in other Latin American countries. Tens of millions of people don’t have or don’t have enough bank accounts. People don’t have access to credit or loans, let alone bank accounts.
On the other hand, some microloan companies are taking advantage of poor people and forcing them to sell their homes or land to pay off debts that are only a few hundred dollars.
Best online banks is Mexico
In this kind of situation, digital banks can help people and even society as a whole in very important ways.
There are more than a dozen digital banks in Mexico, but some reports say they aren’t making as much of a difference as they had hoped.
Several things make that true. First of all, the neobanks don’t really focus on people who don’t have bank accounts. Instead, they target the middle class and people who live in cities, where most people already have bank accounts.
On the other hand, regulations haven’t been loosened enough, and fintech companies aren’t getting banking licenses. That means that people who use a fintech bank account still have to link it to a licensed bank.
Future of online banks in Mexico
Since the new “Fintech Law” was passed in 2018, about 60 fintech companies have been given payment licenses. However, and this is important, no fintech company has been given a retail banking license.
With so much potential, the digital banking scene in Mexico will change a lot in a few years if regulators and fintechs do their jobs.
Next, we’ll give you a list of the most well-known, the best online banks in Mexico.
Albo
With more than 1 million users, Albo is one of the most popular digital banks in Mexico. The company was started in 2016 in Mexico City, and investors have already given it more than $72 million.
This financial technology (fintech) company offers both personal and business accounts, as well as a free international Mastercard. Like most other digital banks, you can quickly and easily open the account from your phone.
You don’t have to pay anything to send or receive money, and the fees are low or nonexistent. You can also use the app or debit card to pay online or in stores.
There are no monthly fees, minimum balances, annuities, or fees for moving money between banks. So, everything fits with how digital banking works in general.
Broxel
Money sent from the US is still one of México’s most important sources of cash. In 2021, $51 billion were sent to Mexico by itself. How much money must have been spent on fees?
Because of this, Broxel, which has been around for more than ten years, is trying to position itself as a challenger bank by not charging any fees for sending money from the US.
Since Cinco de Mayo 2022, Mexican Americans in the US can send money to family members south of the border for free.
But Broxel has more to offer than just free money transfers. You can open a bank account in pesos in Mexico and a bank account in dollars in the US. You can manage both accounts from the same Broxel Pay app.
Besides this feature, you can pay your bills, charge your account with LOOP or a link, buy insurance, and do much more. If you need one, there is also a business bank account.
Cuenca
Cuenca is a new bank that started in 2018 in Mexico City and is backed by Stripe and Andreessen Horowitz.
Like most of the other neobanks on our list of digital banks in Mexico, opening an account is simple and takes only a few minutes.
You don’t even need an ID to open a Level 1 account, which has a maximum balance of $6,500 pesos and a maximum monthly deposit of $5,000 pesos.
You will need to show your Mexican Passport, Residence Card, Consular Registration, or INE to get an account with no restrictions like these.
Once you open a Cuenca account, you can link it to your bank account and deposit cash at more than 18 thousand locations.
With Cuenca, sending and receiving bank transfers through SPEI is easy. All you need is your interbank CLABE to move money between accounts in Cuenca. You can do this through WhatsApp and banks.
Enso
Enso was also started in 2018, at the same time as Cuenca. It is a financial technology company that offers an easy-to-open checking account with no fees. Like most other neobanks, it makes money from interchange fees.
So, they don’t have to charge for their services and can keep their bank accounts mostly fee-free.
Since there are no extra features, neither the app nor the Mastercard really stand out from the rest.
Evva
Evva is a digital business bank account that works with Uniclick by Unifin, which has helped fund thousands of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Mexico.
Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as freelancers, can use the Evva business account. The account is given out by Kuspit Casa de Bolsa, and Scotia Global Asset Management is in charge of the funds.
Entrepreneurship, Veracity, Velocity, and Accessible are the words that make up the name EVVA. In addition to the business account, EVVA’s marketplace also offers other services.
There are the SME financing and loans, digital rewards, digital contracts, secure transactions through Escrow, and tax services that have already been mentioned.
Flink
Flink is a digital bank and investment platform that has been around since 2017 and is growing quickly. It was started in Mexico City.
More than 1 million people use the site, and 800,000 of them have a brokerage account. You can start trading with as little as $30 pesos, and there are no fees for doing so.
In fact, 90% of Flink’s users are first-time investors, which isn’t surprising since there aren’t many other options on the Mexican market.
But the companies you can invest in are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, just like Revolut, Cash App, and other apps that offer stock investing. You can also buy whole shares or parts of shares, which makes it a lot easier for regular people to get involved.
Users can not only invest, but also use a virtual or physical card and save money in one of the plans.
Fondeadora
Fondeadora is a Mexican fintech company based in México City, where most other fintech companies are also based. It was founded in 2018 and is a popular traditional banking alternative.
You can open a personal account or an account for your business in 5–10 minutes. You also get a debit card, instant transfers, real-time alerts for purchases and other transactions, and other features that are common in digital banking.
The ability to get a metal debit card is what makes this app stand out from others on the market.
Besides looking cool, it has other benefits, such as access to the Elite Lounge Mastercard and Elite Valet Service at AICM, protection for ATM withdrawals, an extended warranty for purchases, and more.
To get the metallic card, all you have to do is meet the shopping goal within a certain amount of time. Spend $30,000 MXN in three months, for example.
Hey Banco
Hey Banco is a digital bank in Mexico. It is based in the city of San Pedro, Nuevo Leon. It is already different from most other digital banks in Mexico that are based in Mexico City because of this.
But it’s even younger than other fintechs because it didn’t start until 2019. There are both personal and business accounts, as well as investing, a credit line for both people and businesses, and a POS terminal.
There are four types of personal accounts: Hey, Hey Plus, Smart, and Smart X. Each has benefits that are more or less helpful.
This is what the top Smart X account guarantees:
- No minimum amount to start
- Free transfers 24/7
- No monthly fee
- Pay and Collect with CoDi
- Withdraw at Banregio ATMs free of charge
Get Basic Life Protection for $25,000 pesos
Limitless monthly deposits
Klar
Like many other companies, Klar was started in 2018. Since then, the company has had a lot of new users. There are now more than 1,4M of them.
Like the others, it’s easy to open an account, there are no monthly fees, and you get a free Mastercard debit card.
This digital bank is different from others because you can get up to 4% cash back on every purchase and use services that let you buy now and pay later.
Lastly, the company offers credit lines of up to $20,000 MXN without checking credit scores.
Klar’s goal is to become the Chime of Mexico by helping people who don’t have or don’t have enough money in the bank. 40% of their users are trying online banking for the first time.
Kueski Pay
Kueski pay is not a digital bank account, but rather a way to buy things now and pay for them later. It’s a popular way to get money right now, and Kueski Pay is a popular way to do it.
To use it, you don’t need a card. The app does everything. You can choose the length of the loan that works best for you, and you can even change the interest rate.
To apply for an account, you only need to be a Mexican citizen, have a Mexican phone number, and be of legal age.
You can pay off your balance with a CLABE bank transfer, cash at an OXXO store, the BBVA app, or at a BBVA Practicaja.
The company uses big data and advanced analytics to be able to approve loans and send them out in just a few minutes.
This makes the process easy, paperless, and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Kueski is the easiest way for people who need a loan quickly to get one online.
Miio
Miio is a bit different from other digital banks in Mexico because it has a mobile phone service, a Mastercard, loans, and a digital bank account all in one app.
Plans for mobile phone service start at $149 per month and go up to $499 per month.
The National Banking and Securities Commission and PROSOFIPO keep an eye on and protect the digital account. You can add money to your account by making a bank transfer, putting money in at Bancomer branches and ATMs, or using Oxxo credits.
Nubank
Nubank is one of the biggest digital banks in the world, if not the biggest. It started in Brazil, but now it has spread to Colombia and México.
Together, people in these three countries use Nubank more than 60 million times a day, with most of them in Brazil.
Nu became well-known because it offers credit cards with no annual fees and no fine print. You can order one in a few minutes, and then you can change the limit and the due date in the app.
Besides their well-known credit card, you can buy anything that costs more than $100 now and pay for it later. You can also link the card to Apple Pay and there are no fees for restocking, cash withdrawals, or using it abroad.
To open a Nu México account, you just need to be a Mexican citizen or live in Mexico, have a valid INE or, if you are a foreigner, a temporary or permanent residence card, and your RFC (Federal Taxpayer Registry).
RappiPay
RappiPay is a digital bank that was started in 2018 in Bogota, Colombia. It is also in Peru and Mexico.
This Latin American fintech company gives you a digital bank account that is pretty standard. There are no fees, a free Visa debit card that you can use anywhere in the world, a nice mobile app, and other things like that.
There isn’t much that makes it different from other digital banks that do the same thing.
Revolut
Revolut is a digital bank account that is used all over the world and is now coming to Latin America. Specifically, México, Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador.
More than 18 million people use UK-made fintech all over the world, with most of them in Europe. Over 500 thousand businesses have also signed up for an account.
Users from all over the world can store more than 30 currencies in one app, which is great if you work with more than one currency.
Depending on the country, there are usually three or four different types of personal and business accounts. One is free and is all you need to do things like pay bills and shop.
If you want a metal debit card, you have to pay for the top account, which costs $16.99/m in the US and £12.99/m in the UK.
Revolut accounts have many benefits, such as a Revolut Junior account, personalized debit cards, interest on savings, and the ability to invest in cryptocurrency, stocks, and commodities (silver and gold).
Stori
More than 1 million people in México already use the Stori credit card and app. It was started in 2017 and has its main office in México City. Investors have a lot of faith in the company because almost $250 million has been put into it.
The credit card is backed by Mastercard, so you can use it anywhere that accepts Mastercards.
You’ll need your current INE, a valid proof of address, a selfie, and a debit card to get a Stori card.
There are no payments from the annuity, nor is there any paperwork. There is only one opening fee, and it can be anywhere from 0 to 500 pesos.
The app that goes with it doesn’t have many features and is mostly there to help with credit cards, so you can check your limit, make payments, etc.
Swap
Swap is one of Mexico’s oldest online banks. It’s a popular P2P payment app that was started in 2014 and now comes with a Visa debit card.
No matter if someone has a Swap account or not, you can send money to them. You can also send money using a card number or a CLABE account.
Even WhatsApp is supported, and you can send and receive money right from chats.
You don’t have to pay to move money if you:
- Use your Visa or MasterCard debit cards
- Send money from your Swap Balance
- Take money out of your Swap Balance and put it in your bank account.
- Send money from another bank to your CLABE Swap account.
If not, there is a 3% fee for using Visa or Mastercard credit cards and a 5% fee for using Amex credit cards.
Benefits of the best online banks in Mexico
Online banks have finally made it possible for people in Mexico who don’t have or don’t have enough bank accounts to open a free account on their phone instead of going to a branch.
Traditional banks in Mexico charge an annual fee for credit cards, but digital banks in Mexico offer credit cards with much better interest rates and no annual fees.
There are, of course, other good things about it as well. Aside from credit cards and accounts with no fees, other benefits include how easy it is to open an account with almost no paperwork and how easy it is to use digital banking apps in general.
People can now send money to friends, family, or businesses right away. You can pay bills, shop in-store or online, or even buy now and pay later. There don’t seem to be any more high fees or long waits to get the money.
All financial apps in Mexico also have the most up-to-date security features, like secure logins with your fingerprint or two-factor authentication (2FA) and real-time alerts every time you use your app or card to spend money.
The budgeting and analytics features are also helpful because they show you exactly where your money is going and where you spend the most (rent, restaurants, take-out, car, etc.). You can set limits so you don’t spend more than you can afford and can save a few pesos. Many digital banks fight for the position of one of the best online banks in Mexico.
Summary – the best online banks in Mexico
Even though there are now a lot of online banks in Mexico, they still care too much about the middle class in cities and not enough about the millions of people in rural areas who don’t have bank accounts.
They do, however, offer the same services as digital banks around the world, such as easy account opening, accounts for both individuals and businesses, free and instant money transfers, free ATM withdrawals, and even investing.
In 5 to 10 years, when the domestic market is too full, some of the banks on this list will have tens of millions of customers all over Latin America.
This should also help them start making money and grow from being start-ups to companies that are traded on the stock markets in Mexico or the US.
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