Peruvian Fintech Regulation and Ecosystem
Fintech in Peru
In Peru, the Fintech ecosystem has been growing in line with the growth of the sector in Latin America, since from 2019 to 2021; the number of Fintech companies has increased from 130 to 171.
Some interesting facts about the Peruvian Fintech ecosystem are:
– 45.2% of Fintech are led by women
– Approximately investment in Fintech in 2021: USD 3.000.000
– In the last 7 years the annual growth of the Fintech sector was 20%
– 41% of the new products and important changes of business of the financial system in Peru are related to de digital financial services (As of August 2021, companies in the financial system reported 204 new products and important changes, of which 41% are related to the development of digital services)
Regarding the categories of the Fintech sector, according to the study by Ernst and Young (2021), the main Fintech categories in Peru are payments and transfers, lending and exchange rates
No. Fintech in Peru by category [Types of Fintech (No. Fintech)]:
Lending (41), Payments and transfers (27), Currency exchange (32), Crypto (9), Insurtech (4), Personal Finance management (14), Crowdfunding (8), Techfin (9), Credit score (6), Enterprise Finance management (21).
(Adapted from: Ernst and Young, 2021)
The demand for this type of Fintech has been growing in recent years as people have been gaining greater proximity to the issue of digitization. There are even large companies that have joined or bought fintechs to support clients who are increasingly inclined to digitization. To date, it is the category with the highest number of fintechs, with 41 Fintechs.
Peru Fintech Regulation
Many of the Fintech activities have a legal framework for their development in the country. In the case of the issuance of electronic money, for example, they are supervised by the Superintendency of Banking and Insurance and the Superintendency of the Securities Market. In the case of Crowdlending, the Superintendency of Banking and Insurance issues a prior opinion for the development of activities. In the case of lending, there is also a maximum ceiling set by the central bank.
Microfinance in Peru
Among the most important microfinance institutions in Peru, we can find Compartamos Financiera. It was born in 1998 to contribute to the development of small and micro-enterprises. They grant loans to small entrepreneurs, to meet the needs of working capital, investment, consumption with individual and group credit methodologies. In addition, they offer savings and insurance services as a complementary offer to their clients.
Lending Fintech in Peru
Like mentioned before, there are over +41 Fintech in Peru. Among the most important are Prestamype, Credigob, Apurata, Finsmart, among others.
In the case of Prestamype, they connect micro and small entrepreneurs who need a loan for their business with investors seeking a higher return on their savings. Investors have the opportunity to lend directly to micro and small entrepreneurs in Metropolitan Lima, with the security of a real estate or vehicle guarantee and a profitability of more than 20% per year. Prestamype recently announced the closing of a seed investment round for US $ 800,000 led by INCA Ventures, a fund specialized in Fintechs in Latin America.
