Updated 04:56 AM EDT, Fri, May 03, 2024

Payments to Mexican Families May Be Easier With Sr. Pago, Hot New Mobile App

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Unbanked: it's a financial term you don't hear often in the United States -- unless you try to send money to a relative in Latin America. For millions in places like Mexico without a proper bank account, the term is all too familiar.

That means no access to bank debit cards or cash withdrawals. There are reportedly 75 million Mexicans with no bank account, and a new mobile app service called Sr. Pago plans to change that.

The service was launched in 2013, with a focus on the OXXO convenience store chain, enabling people to make payments for goods sold there by just using their web connection, according to Sr. Pago.

But now the startup, which just received $1 million in investment funds, according to a TechCrunch.com report, will focus on getting those unbanked customers into their system.

Sr. Pago is also part of the lucrative and rising mobile point of sale market (mPOS). The Sr. Pago payment system, according to a statement from the company, provides a secure, chip-based debit card, a chip card reader that connects to any smartphone or tablet, and an app for managing transactions.

And just as some businesses here in the United States have done, there are employers in Mexico who pay employees with pre-paid debit cards. There are reportedly 116 million debit and credit cards in Mexico, which opens up the use of a mobile service with the ability to work as a bank account such as Sr. Pago.

Users can accept credit card payments for services, transfer that money to a MasterCard debit card, and then make purchases with the card. The card reader will process both traditional magnetic strip cards as well as secure chip-based cards, so the card reader is significantly more advanced than existing magnetic-only readers, the statement said.

Headed by CEO Pablo Gonzalez Vargas, the payment system is simple to use. But as TechCrunch reports, the service is stacked with fees.

"The company charges $50 U.S. for its debit card and card reader, which is sold in big box retailers in Mexico. But it primarily makes money as a payment processor, charging 3.59 percent for each swipe made on the reader, and a $1 fee for transferring money to the card," according to TechCrunch.

But the obstacles a typical resident has to jump through to get a proper bank account might make the service worth it. The report states that "it can take nearly a month for a consumer to get a bank account. Not only that, but once they have one, they have to declare and pay taxes on their transactions every month."

"The company insists that the unbanked included people from all walks of life. As in other countries, the underserved population in Mexico runs the gamut from laborers to the middle class, entrepreneurs and small businesses (architects, restaurant owners, lawyers, taxi drivers, door to door salespeople, business owners, etc.) whom encompass the majority of the Mexican economy," said TechCrunch.

The business hopes to expand to places such as Colombia and Nicaragua, as well as other parts of Latin America.

According to Sr. Pago's website the first transaction between a bank account and the app can take up to 72 hours, but subsequent transactions are much swifter.

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