Today we’re talking with Cinthia Merlos, Co-Founder and COO of Vexi, who shares her inspiring personal and professional journey. From a young age, Cinthia worked to help out with the family’s expenses, juggling both school and jobs. After graduating with honors from Tec de Monterrey, she started her career at Mars, where she learned the importance of staying close to customers to create better products and experiences.
Later, she led the commercial team at The Warranty Group, turning the division into one of the most profitable in Latin America. However, Vexi’s purpose to provide financial tools to the middle class in Latin America inspired her to venture into entrepreneurship. For Cinthia, working at Vexi means the opportunity to transform lives and build something she wished her mother had access to when she was a child: a credit card that brings financial inclusion for millions.
What is Vexi, and what problem are you solving?
Vexi offers a credit card to help Mexico’s growing middle class, and eventually, Latin America, build a credit history. My partners Gustavo and Gabriela worked for many years in the traditional financial sector, and we saw that banks were systematically rejecting the same segment of the population: people without a credit history, earning less than 350 USD per month, who could not prove their income. Only 1 in 10 Mexicans have access to a credit card, which forces many to turn to microloans with rates as high as 500% annually. This means the middle class who the banks reject can’t build the credit history needed to qualify for larger loans, like mortgages or auto loans.
Vexi’s main goal is to bring more Mexicans into the financial system, helping them build a credit history that unlocks more opportunities. We started with a credit card because it’s the most urgent need in the market, but we will keep expanding our financial products for the middle class in Mexico.
Why do traditional banks serve such a low percentage of the population in Mexico?
Traditional banks don’t serve a broader segment because of their risk appetite, technology, and high costs. Banks don’t have the risk tolerance needed, or the technological infrastructure to lend to the middle class in Mexico efficiently and profitably.
What is Vexi doing differently to be able to offer credit cards to the middle class in Mexico? How do you handle internal credit scoring, and who is your ideal customer?
We realized that reaching this underserved population required developing our own technology and a personalized risk assessment system. This way, we could make more accurate decisions tailored to our users’ specific needs and circumstances. With our custom tech platform, we can lower operating costs and better manage risk, allowing us to offer accessible and sustainable financial products to those who need them most, without the obstacles that limit traditional banks.
With our deep understanding of the financial system and the needs of Mexico’s unbanked middle class, we’ve developed innovative solutions like building our own technology and earning key certifications like American Express and Carnet, while maintaining a sustainable, profitable business model.
The combination of our technology and our risk models—which include customer segmentation, pricing, credit levels, and managing line increases, as well as preventive, administrative, and active collection strategies—allows us to operate efficiently. Our scoring systems, which determine credit approvals and adjustments, along with our business model, have enabled us to integrate this segment into the formal financial system profitably. We maintain healthy delinquency rates, have been profitable from day one, and achieved break-even this year. Few companies in Latin America—or even globally—manage to be profitable while serving this segment.
Tell me about your partners, because you’re not just giving your users their first credit card, but also offering them an American Express credit card. In Mexico, having an AMEX is a sort of status symbol. How challenging was that relationship?
Our relationship with American Express was key, and our experience in the financial system helped a lot in securing it. We are the only issuers of American Express cards for this segment in Mexico, which is significant since AMEX cards are a sort of status symbol and an aspirational brand for much of the Mexican population. Our customers, who previously didn’t have access to a credit card, now have a Vexi American Express card and access to their network of benefits. We’ve combined the best of both worlds: AMEX’s benefits and reliability with our technology and user experience. Plus, with our Vexi levels system, which offers more rewards and perks as you use your Vexi card more, we’ve created a close-knit community. Our users call themselves “Vexicanos” and talk about “VexicanLove.” In all my years in traditional banking, I’d never heard the words “love” and “credit card” in the same sentence.
What have been the biggest challenges Vexi has faced, and what lessons have you learned?
One of our biggest challenges has been balancing growth and profitability. We’ve always prioritized efficient growth. At a time when the dominant approach was growth at all costs, we questioned whether we were on the right path. We saw other competitors growing by offering credit lines without considering customers’ payment ability, leading to a potential cycle of debt and financial problems for their customers. Our strategy was different: we took more time to educate our users about responsible credit card use, starting our customers with a small credit line and increasing it as they prove they can repay larger amounts. While this slowed our initial growth, today we’re one of the most efficient neobanks in Latin America, with a financially healthy customer base and a stable business.
Another big challenge has been funding. Since this is our first startup, it took us time to understand how the Venture Capital world works, communicate our value proposition, and learn how to structure our expansion plans. We’ve learned a lot, have overcome that hurdle, and are ready for what’s next.
You mentioned reaching breakeven this year. Has anything changed in your operations since then?
Reaching breakeven reflects our vision as founders to keep control over Vexi’s future. What’s changed is that now we will raise capital specifically to take Vexi to its full potential, not just to survive. Being breakeven gives us peace of mind knowing we’re running a self-sustaining business. We’re in a solid, stable position, which allows us to focus on growing the company and becoming the first choice for financial services for the middle class in Latin America.
With Claudia Sheinbaum’s recent election as Mexico’s new president, there’s speculation about the administration’s potential impact on sectors like finance. What financial trends do you see coming to Mexico with the change in government? How is Vexi preparing for these changes?
I believe most financial trends today are too strong to be affected by a change in government. One of the strongest trends in Mexico is the adoption of digital payment methods. More and more customers recognize that using cards like Vexi’s is safer and more efficient than cash. We focus on educating our customers about how to use credit cards and making payment methods easier for them. Additionally, artificial intelligence and data analysis are transforming our ability to personalize products, credit lines, and benefits. We’re already using AI in our customer success systems and in our risk and marketing models.
Another key aspect we are focusing on is data security, given the increase in digital fraud. We continue to strengthen our systems with a world-class team to ensure our customers are always safe when using Vexi.
What’s next for Vexi in the next 12 months?
Over the next 12 months, our vision is to take Vexi to its full potential. First, we’re planning to impact more people, adding more “Vexicanos,” and benefiting more customers. We’re also focused on improving customer retention and satisfaction, continuing to enhance the user experience, and expand our marketplace’s product offerings. Additionally, we’re considering acquiring a SOFIPO to offer more financial products and establish ourselves as a “one-stop shop” for financial services for the middle class in Latin America.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
