Mexican conglomerate Femsa stumbles after entering digital finance… launches restructuring

Mexico’s retail conglomerate Femsa is reported to have delivered underwhelming results after pushing into digital finance. The company has since scaled back the related business and begun restructuring.

According to Bloomberg on the 21st (Korea time), Femsa implemented companywide headcount reductions totaling about 1,300 employees, including layoffs of several hundred in its digital-asset wallet unit “Spin.” Spin is a fintech platform offering functions such as payments and remittances, and had been seen as a business positioned to expand into financial services, including digital assets, down the line.

Femsa’s struggles in digital assets are widely attributed to intensifying competition in Mexico’s digital finance market. Global fintech firms such as Mercado Libre, Nu Holdings and Revolut are already providing services including remittances, payments and digital-asset trading in the country.

Gilberto Garcia, head of strategic advisory at Miranda Partners, said, “A single-wallet or ‘super app’ model did not prove sufficiently compelling to Mexican consumers,” adding that “fintech wallet businesses carry high compliance and operating costs.”