Fintech Mexico Festival 2026 Inauguration: Key Sector Insights

and business sector, highlighting the festival’s significance as a platform for institutional dialogue. The presidium was composed of:

• María Carmen Bonilla, Undersecretary of Finance and Public Credit
• Omar Mejía Castelazo, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mexico
• Altagracia Gómez, Head of the Presidential Business Advisory Council
• Ángel Cabrera Mendoza, President of the National Banking and Securities Commission
• Óscar Rosado, President of Condusef
• Alfredo Navarrete, Head of the Banking, Securities, and Savings Unit
• Manuela Zabalza, Secretary of Economic Development of CDMX
• Clara Burgara Muñoz, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Mexico
• Felipe Vallejo, President of Fintech Mexico
• Claudia Núñez, General Director of the association

Financial Digitalization: A Structural Reality

In her address, María Carmen Bonilla emphasized that Mexico is at a decisive moment. Technology is not only changing how payments are made or savings are managed but is also transforming the entire architecture of the financial system.Among the data that marked the inaugural conversation are:

• Since 2018, Mexico has had a pioneering Fintech Law in the region.
• 88 regulated financial technology institutions are operating.
• Over a thousand companies are developing solutions for payments, credit, digital identity, and fraud prevention.
• The assets of the fintech sector are growing at an annual rate of 59%.At the user level, the change is also evident. The use of mobile applications to manage financial accounts increased from 54% in 2021 to 69% in 2024, while visits to bank branches fell from 17% to 12%. “People no longer go to the bank; the bank goes to the people,” was one of the phrases that summarized the day.

The Role of Fintech in the ‘Plan México’

In her speech, Altagracia Gómez underlined that financial transformation is a key component of the ‘Plan México,’ particularly concerning the strengthening of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).The objective is ambitious: to ensure that at least 30% of SMEs access credit or capital affordably and securely.To achieve this, the federal government is working on five fronts:

• Financial education
• Payment digitalization
• Fair competition conditions for fees
• Payment infrastructure and point-of-sale terminals
• Promotion of Mexico as an innovation platformAdditionally, the backing of a 4 billion pesos fund was announced, accompanied by over 120 billion pesos from the development banking sector, to accelerate startups and facilitate their access to capital.

Intelligent Regulation for Purpose-Driven Growth

For his part, from a regulatory perspective, Ángel Cabrera Mendoza emphasized that the challenge is no longer about growth in numbers, but about purpose-driven growth. Currently operating in Mexico are:

• 49 electronic financing institutions
• 25 crowdfunding platforms
• Various entities in the authorization processThe vision of the CNBV (National Banking and Securities Commission) is that fintechs should not replicate traditional banking but rather expand the frontier of inclusion and efficiency where the conventional system does not reach.Among the regulatory priorities are:
• Early banking access, especially for young people
• User protection, without stifling innovation
• Payment digitalization, to reduce cash usage

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