MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The fintech arm of Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre, Mercado Pago, has submitted its application for a banking license to the Mexican regulator, the unit said on Wednesday.
The request was sent to the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) earlier this month, Mercado Pago said in a statement.
In May, Mercado Pago said it aimed to become the country’s largest digital bank through the license.
“This will allow us to continue to innovate and expand our financial services, which millions of people need,” Pedro Rivas, director of Mercado Pago in Mexico, said in the release.
The license would give Mercado Pago the ability to locally provide services such as savings and checking accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial loans and mortgages.
In Mexico, Mercado Pago is the second largest digital wallet, it says. It currently offers credit and debit cards, international transfers, interest on funds stored in its digital wallet as well as personal and small business loans.
(Reporting by Noe Torres and Kylie Madry; editing by David Alire Garcia)