Mercado Pago Says It Has Passed Caixa in Brazilian Cards — Without a Banking Licence
Brazil · Fintech
Key Facts
- The claim. Mercado Pago Brazil is now the country’s sixth-largest card issuer, according to senior vice-president André Chaves — behind the four big banks and Nubank, and ahead of Caixa.
- The revenue. US$2.2 billion net revenue in the second quarter, up 63 percent year on year. That is more than half of the US$4.4 billion Mercado Pago billed across Latin America.
- The cards. 2.6 million new credit cards issued in the quarter, against 1.6 million a year earlier. Cards are now 47 percent of the group credit book, up from 43 percent.
- Not a bank. Mercado Pago has no full Brazilian banking licence and is not seeking one. It runs as a payment institution, a finance company and a broker.
- The users. Around 69 million clients in Brazil, on Central Bank data from February.
- The caveat. Caixa has published no comparable figure and has not commented. The overtake rests on company data and a private industry ranking.
Mercado Pago Brazil says it has passed Caixa to become the country’s sixth-largest card issuer, with net revenue of US$2.2 billion in a single quarter — and still no banking licence.
Mercado Pago Brazil billed US$2.2 billion in net revenue in the second quarter and now ranks sixth among the country’s card issuers, ahead of the state-owned Caixa Econômica Federal. The claim came from the unit’s senior vice-president on Friday morning, and it lands while Brazil’s traditional banks are closing branches at a rate of roughly sixteen a week.
What Mercado Pago Brazil actually said
André Chaves, who runs Mercado Pago in Brazil, put it plainly in an interview with NeoFeed on Friday morning: “We’ve overtaken almost every player I’d call mid-size. We’re behind the four big banks and the roxinho — Nubank. We even overtook Caixa Econômica.”
The measure is card-issuer ranking, drawn from the company’s own numbers alongside CardMonitor’s annual league table. Mercado Pago has climbed nine places since 2023 to sixth. Worth being clear about what that is and is not: CardMonitor’s underlying data is not public, Caixa has published nothing comparable, and Caixa has not responded. This is an executive’s claim, and it should be read as one.
The revenue figure is firmer because it comes out of MercadoLibre’s quarterly results. Brazil billed US$2.2 billion in net revenue in the second quarter, up 63 percent, and now accounts for more than half of everything Mercado Pago earns across Latin America.
The cards are winning customers and costing margin
Mercado Pago issued 2.6 million new credit cards in the quarter, up from 1.6 million a year before. Cards now make up 47 percent of the group credit portfolio, against 43 percent twelve months ago.
That growth has a price. The net interest margin on cards after credit losses went from breakeven a year ago to minus 2.5 percent. Analysts at XP read that as dilution from new customers rather than a credit problem, and the arrears support them: 7.0 percent across the whole book and 4.6 percent on cards, close to historic lows.
The logic is that the card pulls people back into the ecosystem. About 75 percent of Mercado Pago card spending happens outside the Mercado Livre marketplace.
Still not a bank, and not trying to be
This is the part worth knowing before you move money. Mercado Pago does not hold a full banking licence in Brazil and, as of February, was not applying for one. Chaves said then that evaluating the licence “is not a priority in Brazil, at least not now” and that there was no date.
It operates instead through three vehicles: a payment institution, a finance company called Mercado Crédito, and a securities broker — the same regulatory stack Nubank uses. It injected 2 billion reais (about US$394 million) into Mercado Crédito with central bank approval, taking that unit’s capital to 4.32 billion reais (about US$852 million). It is pursuing full bank licences elsewhere: Argentina since May 2025 and Mexico since 2024.
What it means if you bank in Brazil
This is the other side of a story we have covered twice this year: Brazil’s big banks are shutting branches, and 48 percent of the country’s municipalities now have no in-person bank at all. Febraban puts 83 percent of all banking transactions on digital channels.
For a foreign resident, the practical draw is the remunerated account, which pays up to 105 percent of the CDI daily. With the Selic at 14.00 percent, that is a real cash yield you will not get from a current account at a big bank, and it needs no branch visit and no manager.
The trade-off is the licence. A payment institution is not a bank, and deposit protection and prudential treatment differ from what you get at Itaú or Caixa. That matters more the more money you park there. This is general information, not financial advice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Has Mercado Pago Brazil really passed Caixa?
That is the claim of André Chaves, who runs the Brazilian operation, based on company data and CardMonitor’s ranking. Caixa has published no comparable figure and has not commented.
What is the US$2.2 billion figure?
It is Mercado Pago’s net revenue in Brazil for the second quarter of 2026, up 63 percent year on year — not transaction volume, and not MercadoLibre Brazil as a whole.
Is Mercado Pago a bank?
No. It has no full Brazilian banking licence and said in February it was not a priority. It operates as a payment institution, a finance company and a securities broker.
Are its loans going bad?
Not on the current numbers. Arrears of 15 to 90 days are 7.0 percent across the book and 4.6 percent on cards, near historic lows. The negative card margin reflects new customers rather than credit deterioration.
How many customers does it have in Brazil?
Around 69 million, on Central Bank data published in February 2026.
Connected Coverage
- MercadoLibre Q2 sales pass US$10 billion, profit falls 11%
- Brazil’s big three banks shut 938 branches in a year
- LatAm Expat & Nomad Daily Guide — Friday, August 7
Sources: NeoFeed; MercadoLibre Q2 2026 results; Banco Central do Brasil; Febraban; XP; BTG Pactual.
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