Plata crosses $1B in annual recurring revenue less than 3.5 years after launch, with 4M customers in Mexico and profitability in sight

Plata, the Mexico City-based digital bank, said its annual recurring revenue crossed $1 billion in September, less than three and a half years after launching in April 2023 and less than a year after receiving a full banking licence. September revenue was $85 million, CEO Neri Tollardo told Bloomberg.

Plata has more than 4 million customers in Mexico, where it says it is now the fourth-largest credit card issuer by number of customers and the only digital bank with credit, debit, investments and small business banking. Its Mexican unit, Banco Plata, had a credit card book of almost 19 billion pesos in August, up from 12.8 billion in March when it started operating as a bank, and deposits of 25.9 billion pesos. Operations in Colombia opened at the start of September.

The company expects its Mexico business to reach profitability within six months. It raised a $405 million Series C at a $5 billion valuation in April, employs around 800 in-house developers and built its own core banking system, which it credits for the pace.

The read: a Mexican bank reaching $1 billion of revenue at AI-company speed, with Nubank's six-year-old card book in sight.