- The product is offered in partnership with the startup Pitzi and the insurance company Mapfre;
- And it will be available in November to the almost 20 million active users of Mercado Pago in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
Mercado Pago announced on Tuesday its debut in the insurance sector. After having started offering loans in April, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the second big move by Mercado Libre‘s financial arm to diversify its products and services and continue to grow in Latin America.
For now, Mercado Pago will distribute insurance for theft and damage of used mobile phones with Android operating system up to version 9. The insurance contract is 100% digital, made directly on the Mercado Pago app.
The product, offered in partnership with the startup Pitzi and the insurance company Mapfre, will be available in November to the almost 20 million active users of Mercado Pago in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico – the fintech ended the first half of 2020 with 9.5 million active users (or unique payers, as the company’s classified them), which means that this number must have doubled in the third quarter of this year.
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“For 2021, Mercado Pago will expand its portfolio and the number of partner insurance companies in the first half, including other segments,” said the vice president of Mercado Pago, Túlio Oliveira.
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The initiative shows how digital financial services platforms in Brazil are gradually expanding the product offering to try to better monetize their customer base.
Last month, Banco Original stated that it is accelerating the offer of credit to individuals to achieve profitability in 2021. And Nubank agreed to buy the broker Easynvest, to enter the investment market, which has grown a lot in the country in the face of very low-interest rates.
Translated by LABS
