Banco Banorte launches digital bank Bineo

This digital bank is developed to offer savings accounts and personal loans, with the aim of adding 2.8 million new clients in the next five years. Although in its initial phase, it offers a debit account and personal loans, in the future the bank plans to add products such as investments and insurance.

Bineo is designed to be a fully digital bank

The official press release shows that in Mexico, the financial sector is dominated by the local units of Spain's BBVA and Santander, as well as Citigroup. However, official data shows that a third of adults in Mexico do not have any type of formal financial product and more than a fifth of its 126 million people also do not have access to the internet.

Despite these statistics, Banco Banorte has already had 12 million clients across the country. Moreover, according to the official statement, there is a segment of Banorte Bank’s clients that demands a 100% digital service. In this context, Bineo is designed to be a fully digital bank, focusing on providing several financial services, including deposits, loans, payments, and transfers. It is also designed to be a bank that will be able to offer its clients a mortgage and a credit card. Bank’s officials added that the savings of those who decide to join this new digital bank are protected by the Bank Savings Protection Institute (IPAB) and supported by the Monterrey financial group. 

Moreover, by introducing the digital bank, at the end of 2023, Banorte planned to compete with Brazilian digital bank Nubank, which expanded in Mexico and signed up 3.2 million customers. Furthermore, the digital bank intended to add three million customers as it learnt from its experience providing credit card applications via mobile phones. Moreover, Bineo is set to reach regions and communities where banking branches have not yet reached.

As the press release details, Banco Banorte would continue to operate through its network of branches and its mobile application and would not take clients away from the established bank. In addition, this launch pits Bineo against smaller, all-online banks such as Brazil's Nubank and Argentina's Uala.