In a country where 85% of purchases under 500 pesos are still made with physical cash, Clip just placed a very large bet that millions of Mexicans are ready for a digital upgrade.

The Mexican payments company launched Mi Clip on June 9, a digital wallet ecosystem designed to serve both consumers and small businesses who have been largely locked out of formal financial services. The app, available on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play, offers digital accounts for payments, savings, and credit access. To pull this off, Clip assembled a heavyweight roster of partners. Ant International is providing AI-powered payment infrastructure. Mastercard is handling network and interoperability enhancements. And TelevisaUnivision, the Spanish-language media giant, is lending its massive media reach to boost financial literacy among potential users.

Why Mexico, why now

Nearly 40% of the adult population lacks access to formal financial services. The 85% cash figure for small transactions comes from 2024 ENIF data. Mobile phone penetration in Mexico is high. Banking penetration is not.

Clip plans to use AI-driven credit insights derived from transaction data to help users build financial identities. If you’ve been buying and selling through the platform consistently, that behavioral data could eventually help you qualify for credit, even without a traditional banking relationship.

From card readers to consumer wallets

Founded in 2012, the company started life making point-of-sale card readers for small merchants. That approach worked well enough to make Clip Mexico’s first payments unicorn after a $250 million funding round in 2021. The company then raised an additional $100 million in 2024 to fuel further expansion.

In 2020, Clip acquired Swap, an electronic payments institution that came with existing wallet capabilities and digital payments infrastructure. Mi Clip represents the logical next step: moving from enabling merchants to accept digital payments to putting a digital wallet in the hands of the people making those payments.

What this means for the fintech landscape

Ant International’s involvement brings a different kind of credibility. As the technology arm behind Alipay, Ant has experience scaling digital wallets in underbanked populations. The AI-powered payment solutions it’s contributing could prove critical during high-volume events. Clip has specifically noted scalability during peak shopping periods like Buen Fin, Mexico’s answer to Black Friday, as a priority.

Mastercard’s role covers interoperability with existing payment networks and, eventually, cross-border payment capabilities. Clip has signaled plans to expand into cross-border payments down the line, which would position Mi Clip as a gateway for Mexico’s remittance flows and international commerce.

Clip has now raised at least $350 million across its 2021 and 2024 rounds. The competitive landscape includes Mercado Pago, Nu Mexico, and a growing roster of fintech players all chasing the same underserved demographic. Clip’s advantage is its existing merchant network of small businesses already using its point-of-sale hardware.