Source: Adobe/Andreas Gruhl

Almost 100 Mexican fintech companies will likely face a longer wait than expected after the nation’s top financial regulator announced a coronavirus pandemic-related slowdown in its operations.

Per media outlet El CEO, The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) has extended certain regulatory deadlines for at least 90 days and says that the virus outbreak could lead to further 90-day extensions.

The media outlet says this will apply to “the 95 [fintech companies] that are in the process of obtaining operating permits.”

Under the terms of the groundbreaking Financial Technology Institutions Law (FinTech Law), the CNBV began issuing its first licenses in January this year, with NVIO Pagos México, an affiliate of the crypto exchange Bitso the first recipient.

The law was formulated in 2018, and obliges cryptocurrency, blockchain and other fintech enterprises to obtain permits from the regulator, proving they meet state-imposed financial and technical requirements.

A slew of other cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies are thought to be among the 95 other fintech firms that will now have to tread water until the CNBV feels it is ready to return to business as usual.

However, the same report claims that fintech companies in Mexico appear to be in good health – with Fintech Radar data showing that the number of new fintech companies in the country has grown by 14% since 2016, with only 18 startups folding in the same period.

Mexican coronavirus cases have jumped this week, with Reuters reporting that the country saw a sudden rise of 296 new cases on Monday.

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