When in 2017 at Mercado Pago they began to think about the possibility of launching a function to make their customers invest, in Argentina there were just under 400,000 customer accounts. In 2018, fintech launched, together with BIND, Mercado Fondos, its investment leg and in four years this option has added more than 5.7 million Argentines and reached a total amount of over $ 84,000 million.

Mercado Pago customers who opt for this option put their own balance in portfolio accounts to invest in a mutual fund developed by the extremely liquid Industrial Bank, known in jargon as the “money market”, which generates daily returns and allows you to redeem that money whenever it is needed. Currently, it pays a rate of 50.7% per year, lower than the fixed terms and in line with that paid by the other fintech companies.

The growth of this fintech business vertical has been exponential in a limited local market. According to data from the National Securities Commission (CNV) until March they were in the entire Argentine financial system there were 6.5 million investment accounts.

“In just 4 years we have revolutionized investments and made them available to everyone. Mercado Fondo is a great example of financial inclusion in our country, and the main product used today in terms of savings and investment, assured Alejandro Melhem, vice president of Mercado Pago, in a presentation to the press.

“With this mutual fund, accessible from any mobile device, multiply the number of people and merchants by 13 who invest with this type of funds, generating a positive impact not only in terms of access to more sophisticated tools but also in the educational field ”, added Melhem.

According to the data collected by the consulting firm INVEQ, in terms of the number of people, they are More Argentines who deposit their balances in this digital fund than those who save in cryptocurrencies or access the official or financial dollar.

“The total managed in Mercado Fondo, which continues to grow steadily, today amounts to 22% of the amount currently managed by traditional mutual funds. Especially for introducing new users to the market, ”said Santiago Bulat, director of the consulting firm.

On average, Mercado Pago users invest $ 12,573 million. A total amount for this FCI of $ 60,887 million was reached in June, which in the last two months jumped to $ 84,000, which represents a 40% increase in the total amount in three months.

In fintech they have made it clear that the growth in amounts happens because increase the number of total users rather than an increase in the amount of money each of them invests.

As for the geographical distribution of this tool, most of the users are based in the province of Buenos Aires, but in Mercado Pago they highlighted the good penetration that this tool has in the regions of Patagonia or who, where, for example, in provinces such as Santa Cruz, 14% of the population invests in this way.

To avoid losses in periods of extreme market volatility, the fund in which Mercado Pago invests is limited to betting low-risk tools. “This is a pure money market fund, we bet on instruments that give accrued interest, there is no exposure to bonds or other public securities and the value of the shares can never be negative”, explained Facundo Chavez, Executive Director of BIND. .

For now, this tool is aiming for a profile with little or no investment knowledge, which starts with a fairly conservative bet. Asked if the company could expand its fund menu to offer riskier profile options, Melhem explained that in other countries where Mercado Pago is present, such as Brazil, there are different funds for different profiles, but It is not something that is valued for Argentina.