Peruvian fintech Yape has set bold plans to achieve 50 per cent of Bolivia’s inhabitants by 2028, positioning itself because the nation’s dominant digital pockets. The corporate, which entered the Bolivian market simply two years in the past, additionally revealed intentions to launch digital credit score providers in 2026 to drive monetary inclusion in a largely casual financial system.
Yape has already surpassed a crucial mass of adoption out there, boasting greater than 3.7 million customers, of whom 1.7 million are affiliated retailers. The speedy growth is available in a market marked by excessive informality and low monetary inclusion, the place the fintech is transferring to fill the hole left by conventional banking providers.
Adapting to native wants
Talking on the Latam Epayment Summit 2025, organized by Capece, Carlos Andrés Lepesqueur, nation head of Yape Bolivia, outlined the corporate’s strategic imaginative and prescient.
“We goal for 50 per cent of Bolivians to be utilizing Yape throughout the subsequent three years. We would like a million new customers to realize entry to easy credit score options. We additionally need to assist speed up e-commerce, as Bolivia presents an enormous alternative as a result of low penetration of card-based funds,” Lepesqueur mentioned.
The platform expects to achieve 5.5 million customers in 2026 and 6 million by 2028, in a rustic with a inhabitants of roughly 12 million. Lepesqueur defined that Yape’s success is rooted in its capability to adapt to the native setting, particularly focusing on the excessive ranges of casual commerce.
In contrast to Peru, the place financial exercise is closely concentrated in Lima, Bolivia operates alongside a central financial hall comprising La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz. These cities collectively symbolize 60 per cent of the inhabitants and 73 per cent of the nation’s GDP, an element Yape has built-in into its development technique.
Digital credit score growth
A key pillar of Yape’s future development in Bolivia is the introduction of digital credit score providers, set to start subsequent yr following a mannequin already applied in Peru. Initially, the main target shall be on high-activity retailers throughout the platform, with the service later increasing to particular person customers.
“We’d love to offer entry to 1 million clients who’ve traditionally been excluded from the Bolivian monetary system by 2028,” Lepesqueur added.
Whereas the corporate continues to be fine-tuning its technique and finishing regulatory necessities, the roadmap is evident. “By mid-2026, we may begin with single-installment credit score merchandise and regularly scale towards multi-installment loans with increased ticket values,” Lepesqueur defined.
