Klar CEO Stresses Compliance After Banorte-Rappi Fine

Stefan Möller, CEO and co-founder, Klar, has addressed regulatory risks surrounding financial partnerships in Mexico, saying the company is structured to avoid "gun jumping" violations such as those that recently led to a MX$19.9 million (US$1.1 million) fine for Grupo Financiero Banorte and technology firm Rappi.

The comments were made during a joint event with Uber, Klar, and Mastercard to announce a new co-branded credit card. The presentation took place shortly after the National Antitrust Commission’s (CNA) sanctioned Banorte and Rappi for implementing a business concentration in 2020 without prior regulatory approval.

Referring to the case, Möller described the violation as a matter of timing and regulatory misjudgment. "What I understand happened to the others is that it was a much more exhaustive, much more extensive period, where it lends itself to making errors of trying to, so to speak, pull the trigger before the authorization is given," he said.

Möller said Klar places strong emphasis on compliance to ensure its partnership with Uber remains within regulatory boundaries. He added that the company’s internal processes and legal guidance allow it to manage approvals more efficiently than in comparable cases. “We moved quickly on both sides and with a lot of advice to ensure that we do not step on what we cannot step on,” he said.

Mexican competition law requires all structural transactions to be reviewed and approved by the CNA before implementation to prevent anti-competitive effects. The regulator has described this requirement as an “essential preventive mechanism” and a “non-negotiable legal duty.”

He also noted that Klar recently obtained regulatory approval within roughly 20 days, contrasting this with the multi-year process involving the Banorte-Rappi alliance, which began in 2020 and only reached full regulatory completion in 2025.

Möller also said Klar’s expansion from fintech to a broader financial services platform—including its acquisition of banking entity Linceo—is being carried out in coordination with the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) and Mexico’s Central Bank (Banxico).

“There is a lot of communication with both CNBV and Banxico,” he said. “It is a matter of getting where we have to get… we are quite convinced, but respecting the authorities and understanding that it is a fairly complex environment.”

He added that Klar’s digital-first model enables a “materially lower cost structure” and faster regulatory execution than traditional banks, reducing the risk of operational pressure that can lead to premature or unauthorized integrations.