The payments fintech will offer bills with maturities of nine, 12 and 24 months, with yields of 92%, 93% and 96% respectively of the CDI, the reference rate for investments in the country, according to a company statement.
Mercado Pago, Mercado Libre's digital bank, begins this Wednesday to offer Real Estate Letters of Credit (LCI) and Agribusiness Letters of Credit (LCA) to its entire customer base, expanding its portfolio of investment products.
Currently, Mercado Pago offers Bank Deposit Certificates (CDB) and three investment funds in its application, in addition to an interest-bearing account.
Mercado Pago offers bills with maturities of nine, 12 and 24 months, with yields of 92%, 93% and 96% respectively of the CDI, the reference rate for investments in the country, according to a company statement.
The company closed the first quarter with US$5.5 billion in assets under management in Latin America, a year-on-year increase of around 90%, with Brazil being its main market.
"With this growth, it is increasingly important to bring these new products closer to users, who increasingly use Mercado Pago as their bank," said the company's vice president of digital banking, Ignácio Estivariz.
Mercado Pago also acts as acquirer.
The addition comes even after the National Monetary Council announced changes to the rules for LCIs and LCAs earlier in the year, including an increase in minimum maturity periods.
The amount of LCI issued in the market between February and the end of June fell approximately 42% compared to the same period last year, while for LCA the drop was around 31%, according to data from Anbima, which is the association of capital market entities.
Estivariz said that Mercado Pago decided to offer LCI and LCA, which are exempt from Income Tax for individuals and are eligible for a guarantee from the Credit Guarantee Fund, after an internal investigation with users.
Asked about the changes in the rules for these assets, he said that "they may have an impact" on demand, but stressed that he continues to see these products as a "good alternative."
For now, the LCA and LCI will not serve as a source of financing for Mercado Pago, since, unlike the CDB, they will not be issued by the group, which will only distribute third-party bills through the distributor Nikos DTVM.
