Prestadero is authorized as a ‘Collective Financing Institution’ under the Fintech Law

June
23, 2021

4 min read

This Wednesday, June 23, the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) together with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and the Bank of Mexico, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) the authorization for the financial technology company mexicana Prestadero can operate as a Collective Financing Institution (IFC).

The platform, which was the first community of loans between people on the Internet in Mexico, previously operated as a Public Limited Company for the Investment of Variable Capital, and now it has become a Public Limited Company for the Promotion of Variable Capital Investment, Institution of Collective Financing ( SAPI de CV, IFC).

But what does this designation mean?

“We are the first crowdfunding platform to operate in our country, and we are now authorized to operate as a regulated entity,” Gerardo Obregón, founder and CEO of Prestadero, responded to Entrepreneur en Español . “When we started Prestadero, we identified an opportunity to offer fair loans and investments. We found in collective financing a way to achieve it, but we knew that, being a disruptive model, there would be no specific regulation. Since then, we have found a way to operate within of the existing legal framework, always advocating for a specific regulation that would better protect our users and investors “.

^{Gerardo Obregón, founder and CEO of Prestadero / Image: Courtesy of Prestadero}

Without this authorization, Prestadero could not continue operating as a collective financing platform because it would not be complying with the requirements of the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (Condusef). With it, users can have the certainty that IFC companies are regulated and supervised by the CNBV since they have complied with all the necessary obligations of these financing and investment fintech companies.

“The authorization will allow us to generate greater confidence in our current users and attract new loan applicants or investors. It will also allow us to continue operating as a regulated IFC and thus facilitate the investment of international venture capital funds and obtain institutional lenders, such as banks, without that the latter have to worry about the administration, analysis or collection of the credit. Finally, we will be able little by little to use our resources to improve our products that were focused on changes to comply with all the regulatory requirements of the platform, “said Obregón .

With this authorization, IFCs will be able to:

• Build more trust with your current users and attract new customers, credit applicants or lenders
• Continue to operate as a regulated IFC and thus facilitate the investment of international venture capital funds
• Obtain institutional lenders, such as banks, without the latter having to worry about the administration, analysis or collection of credit

Mexico’s Fintech Law is unique in Latin America, as it seeks to regulate financial technology companies that at some point have contact with money from the general public (such as IFPE or IFC), as well as novel models (regulatory Sandbox). In this way, it seeks to equalize the playing field for entrepreneurs in the sector who have new ideas with homogeneous rules.

“Prestadero was a pioneer of online credit in Mexico, and this authorization allows us to continue offering differentiated products. Yes, we are a fintech like many others that exist in the country, but our mission is to offer fair financial products, such as our personal loans of up to 300 thousand pesos without endorsements, guarantees or advances, with rates that start at 8.9% per year, concluded the founder of the Mexican fintech.