Fintechs—companies that leverage technology to provide financial services, often referred to as digital banks—are increasingly becoming major competitors to traditional banks, rapidly expanding their market share and revenue, noted Jorge Garate, a partner at McKinsey & Company.
During his presentation, titled “Profitability Under Pressure: Reinventing Banking Business Models,” Garate—in conversation with Santiago Gutiérrez, executive editor and CEO of Latin Trade—highlighted the case of Nubank, a digital bank experiencing rapid growth across the region.
“In this region, at least, we are seeing players like Nubank not only growing significantly, but—in terms of customer count—becoming the second-largest bank in the region, with 140 million customers,” he noted.
"Furthermore, they are quite profitable; last quarter, they surpassed $1 billion in quarterly profit for the first time," he emphasized.
He also pointed out that digital banks are beginning to achieve substantial and significant levels of profitability on a global scale.
“If you look at the global landscape and try to estimate the growth of fintech companies, the 1,000 largest fintechs in the world today already account for nearly 20% of the revenue generated by the world’s 1,000 largest banks,” he noted.
He pointed out that five years ago, this figure stood at 11%, and it is estimated that it will soon reach 30%.
“So, we are now talking about scale—about real significance,” he emphasized.
Furthermore, I have noted that the question is no longer whether fintech companies will establish a major presence in the countries of the region, but rather *when* they will do so—adding that they will take on different forms in each country.
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