E-commerce, Fintech, Cryptocurrencies in the Spotlight

This week, the Bank of Mexico warned about the risks of using cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ether. Meanwhile, the Founder of Fintonic explains how the e-commerce and fintech sectors complement each other for the benefit of customers. Finally, investment in Mexico dropped slightly but specialists forecast an improvement. 

Interested in more? Here are the week’s major headlines in Finance!

• Aitor Chinchetru, Founder & Co-CEO Fintonic, shared with MBN how the e-commerce and fintech sectors complement each other, especially as e-commerce takes a leading role and gains increasing attention thanks to initiatives such as Hot Sale and Amazon Prime Day. The adoption of e-commerce has a positive impact on businesses and benefits consumers by providing more purchase options, explains Chinchetru. Moreover, the e-commerce boom affects directly or indirectly the fintech sector. During the pandemic, people were pushed to adopt electronic tools or platforms to stay safe. This way, consumers have been able to use digital tools to carry out their daily activities, such as payments and access to credit or access credit cards. 

• Investment in Mexico slowed down in April but experts at Banorte remain optimistic about a potential recovery. On the other hand, consumption remained positive at 1.2 percent. In its monthly economic analysis, Banorte report states that it continues to expect domestic demand to gradually recover, aided by better conditions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and elevated confidence levels. However, the bank warns that there are still many risks, with the pandemic at the forefront.

• The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and the Treasury warned about the risks of using virtual assets, such as cryptocurrencies. In an official statement, both institutions mentioned that virtual assets do not constitute legal tender in Mexico and are not considered under the current legal framework. Moreover, the country’s financial institutions are not authorized to perform operations using virtual assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether or XRP. The statement indicates that those who issue or offer said instruments will be committing infractions to current regulations and will be subject to the applicable sanctions. Finally, the institutions  clarify that individuals and legal entities cannot raise resources through the offering of the instruments called “stable currencies” in Mexico.