Virtual wallets and financial applications are gaining more and more ground among Argentinians thanks to the facilities they offer for paying, saving and sending money. In the midst of a boom in promotions and new features, the competition between these companies is tougher than ever.
According to data from the Central Bank, eLast November, 16.1 million payment accounts were registered with a total balance of $226.3 billion. At the same time, balances invested in mutual funds (FCIs) have reached $730 billion, as detailed in the latest Minority Payments Report, a monthly compilation carried out by the monetary authority.
In total, the balances of virtual wallets and those invested through mutual funds accounted for at the end of the year 3.3% of private sector deposits in banks.
But, What are the most used wallets and what are the economic groups behind them?
Who owns Mercado Pago
According to the same reportMercado Pago is the one that stands out in popularity: it manages 75% of total balances in virtual accounts and 86% of funds invested in the capital market.
Payments market It’s much more than fintech leg of the e-commerce giant Mercado Librefounded 21 years ago by Marco Galperin.
The company went from being an e-commerce startup to an $80 billion fintech giant. And it has managed to grow at a rate of 40% annually and has had a total return of 9,000%, including dividends, since 2007. That’s how it became the second publicly traded company by value in Latin Americabehind only the Brazilian state oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro.
Prex
Second place among the wallets that manage the largest balance in the country is occupied by Prex, with 11% of total funds. Founded in 2015is a digital financial services platform that has more than 2 million users across the region. 30% of its stake belongs to Itaú Unibanco.
Personal salary
Meanwhile, second place is occupied by funds managed by the FCI Personal payment, with 7% of the total. Telecom Argentina’s portfolio has gained more than 1.8 million users two years after its launch.
Uala
Uala occupies the third place among the most used wallets. The fintech founded in 2017 by Pierpaolo Barbieri it has become a real hub of financial solutions: much more than a digital wallet, it includes a brokerage company and a banking license. It has the financial support of international investors, among which the tycoon stands out. George Soros.
MODE
The list of wallets most sought after by Argentinians is completed MODO, a sort of aggregator of banking applications, founded by 35 of the main public, private and cooperative banks in the country, which aims to simplify the daily use of money and reduce the use of cash and plastic cards.
Currently, more than 14 million users and 800,000 businesses in Argentina have already joined MODO as a tool to carry out their financial operations.
Orange
While, Orange appears as one of the most searched for. Fintech is part of the Galician Financial Group and currently 6 million people connect with some products in the Orange while more than 3.5 million users leave their deposits on the paid account offered by the app.
Source: Clarin
