{"id":19612,"date":"2026-08-07T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miranda-partners.com\/news-and-content\/miranda-intelligence\/fintech-chatter\/mexico-fintech-chatter-august-3-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T21:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T03:40:24","slug":"mexico-fintech-chatter-august-3-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miranda-partners.com\/es\/news-and-content\/miranda-intelligence\/fintech-chatter\/mexico-fintech-chatter-august-3-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico Fintech Chatter \u2013 August 3, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noticias FinTech M\u00e9xico<\/strong><\/h4>

\u201cLow and grow\u201d: Femsa\u2019s sensible strategy on credit<\/strong><\/p>

Judging from management\u2019s comments on Femsa\u2019s 2Q26 earnings call, it is clear the company still sees Spin evolving from a digital wallet into an operating system for mass-market financial services, despite all the management and strategy changes over the years, and losses to date. It\u2019s also clear there is no rush whatsoever.<\/p>

To be sure, the quarter\u2019s self-reported KPIs were (again) impressive: MAUs rose 22% YoY, engagement and transaction activity continued to climb, and Spin is now one of the more relevant participants in SPEI by transaction volume. Encouragingly, the physical-digital flywheel appears to be working, with payments growing both inside stores and in the app. \u201cWe\u2019re enjoying the best of both worlds\u201d, new CEO Jos\u00e9 Antonio Fern\u00e1ndez told analysts. He also, by our count, used more than 15 different ways (see below) to temper expectations on the speed and materiality of the credit opportunity.<\/p>

Perhaps more interestingly, management explicitly acknowledged that payments could \u201ccommoditize\u201d over time. Simply put, with nearly everyone having a mobile phone, the government finally pushing for financial digitalization, so many digital wallets out there, on top of increasingly agile apps from legacy banks, there\u2019s only so much added value a company can deliver by allowing users to easily pay their bills in a store. That is a potential long-term headwind for Femsa, as OXXO currently earns a relevant chunk of its EBIT (not disclosed, but some put at 15% of the total) from high margin in-store payments to third parties and cash-out services.<\/p>

Spin is intended to pick up the slack from the inevitable migration to digital, but this means Spin eventually making money, not just racking up impressive engagement and user metrics. Thus, Spin seems now to be moving from a (successful) scale-first mindset toward a strategy of gradual profit monetization through fees, credit, and broader ecosystem opportunities. And this has to be done without hurting too much OXXO\u2019s high profit margin from in-store financial services in the meantime. (Some analysts struggled with understanding OXXO\u2019s decline in gross margin in the quarter, and modest cannibalization from in-store to digital financial services may in part be to blame.)<\/p>

Meanwhile, the company said it is currently conducting a \u201cvery small\u201d credit pilot, with a central question on investors\u2019 and management minds: can Femsa\u2019s unrivalled client data, driven by the behavioral signals generated across OXXO and Spin, create a differentiated underwriting model for underserved Mexican consumers? Early results thus far have been encouraging, it says (naturally). Credit accounts for about three quarters of bank profits, so getting credit right is ultimately key to OXXO pulling off the physical to digital transition and growing financial profits at the same time.<\/p>

OXXO has teamed up with QED on credit, but no new specifics on the financial terms of the partnership were disclosed on the call. Still, management did share some qualitative details, including the fact that it was a \u201clong courtship\u201d. More than capital, Femsa expects QED to bring to the table its global and Mexican experience helping build non-prime lending businesses, underwriting talent, and what management described as the \u201cscar tissue\u201d required for a high-risk, high-reward category. QED is the world\u2019s leading FinTech VC firm, with roots in Capital One, but they are less than 15 people spread around 161 global investments, according to their website (including just related to Mexico 17 companies \u2013 Bitso, Aplazo, Konfio, Covalto, Felix Pago (Miami-based but mostly Mexico-driven), Niko, Worky, Zubale, Kalto, Coru, Kavak, Minu, Tangelo (now bust), mattilda, Fairplay, WonderBrands, Tienda Pago (San Fran based, but Mexico and Peru driven)) so Femsa will be doing the heavy lifting, as it should be.<\/p>

The playbook is \u201clow and grow\u201d: begin with small portfolios, learn, tighten the models, and only then scale. Further limiting risks, the company sees a path from balance-sheet lending toward portfolio financing, external funding, and, perhaps eventually, a banking license. As sensible as the strategy sounds, investors for now are most focused on the potential for a post World Cup consumer hangover for OXXO and lower OXXO gross margin as the company pushes affordability: shares were flat last week, in spite of much better-than-expected results in the quarter, driven by OXXO\u2019s near 10% spectacular annual increase in same-store-sales.<\/p>

Per our count, the credit tempering statements from Femsa on the 2Q26 were:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

1.<\/em>\u00a0Very small credit pilot<\/em><\/p>

2.<\/em>\u00a0can be a high risk<\/em><\/p>

3.<\/em>\u00a0We will be disciplined\u2026<\/em><\/p>

4.<\/em>\u00a0\u2026and cautious<\/em><\/p>

5.<\/em>\u00a0how seriously we take the risks inherent in credit<\/em><\/p>

6.<\/em>\u00a0approach will be based on a low and grow model<\/em><\/p>

7.<\/em>\u00a0scale gradually,<\/em><\/p>

8.<\/em>\u00a0learn as we go and\u2026<\/em><\/p>

9.<\/em>\u00a0\u2026manage our exposure responsibly<\/em><\/p>

10.<\/em>\u00a0the platform\u2019s long-term value<\/em><\/p>

11.<\/em>\u00a0long courtship<\/em><\/p>

12.<\/em>\u00a0all the scar tissue that these guys have developed<\/em><\/p>

13.<\/em>\u00a0start up very small, very contained<\/em><\/p>

14.<\/em>\u00a0we\u2019ll start thinking about off-balance sheet<\/em><\/p>

15.<\/em>\u00a0numbers really today don\u2019t really move the needle<\/em><\/p>

Source: Femsa\u2019s 2Q26 earnings call, Miranda Partners.<\/em><\/p>

Nubank returns to profitability in June; significant increase in provisions in the quarter<\/strong><\/p>

Nu M\u00e9xico reported its quarterly results; after a\u00a0choppy May<\/a>, June saw a return to profitability, as interest expenses normalized; the rest of the line items were mostly stable on a sequential basis. Loan data matched earlier Condusef disclosures, with 3% MoM growth and 8% for the quarter. The company continued to shed deposits, down 2% in the month or 6% in the quarter, for a 35.8% LTD ratio, still well below peers, but a marked improvement relative to the absurdly low and unprofitable 18.3% level of June 2025. The bulk of the QoQ decline in profitability was driven by the unexplained May surge in interest expenses; other than that, provisions also had a notable increase, up 18%, as credit quality continued to deteriorate. The company is scheduled to release its consolidated 2Q26 results on August 13.<\/p>

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Source: Company data, CNBV, Miranda Partners. Figures in MXN mn.<\/em><\/p>

Changing of the guard at BBVA Mexico<\/strong><\/p>

BBVA Mexico announced the appointment of Mexican Jos\u00e9 Luis Elechiguerra as its new CEO and Vice Chairman, replacing Eduardo Osuna, who in turn will replace Jaime Serra Puche as Chairman of the Board following Mr. Serra Puche\u2019s retirement. A chemical engineer by education (with a PhD from the University of Texas) Mr. Elechiguerra has what can be characterized as a more technical profile, serving since 2024 as Head of Global Risk Management for all of BBVA, and previously as its Global Head of Engineering, among other process- and planning-focused roles. (He was also briefly a Partner at McKinsey\u2019s Mexico office between top BBVA Mexico jobs.) Given his background and deep experience at BBVA in Mexico and Spain, he is arguably as well or better placed to lead the AI and ongoing digital transformation of financial services as any incumbent Mexican bank CEO. Whether he has the talent for the more political side of the job remains to be seen. He takes the helm at a time of rising competition from fintech challengers, but still at a\u00a0privileged position<\/a>\u00a0within the banking system, and the advantage of working under the chairmanship of Mr. Osuna, likely the most successful Mexican CEO in the past decade based on the metric of absolute profit generation.<\/p>

Company press release, 7\/29\/26:<\/strong>\u00a0BBVA announces leadership changes<\/a>.\u00a0| Other sources:\u00a0<\/strong>MexMoves<\/a>.<\/p>

Lectura adicional…<\/strong><\/p>