Femsa, one of Mexico’s largest retail firms, is cutting staff at its financial technology start-up as part of a strategic shift in its digital business.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that Femsa has eliminated hundreds of jobs at its Spin unit as part of a wave of about 1,300 lay-offs across various divisions of its business, including retail (Oxxo) and bottling (Coca-Cola).
🔹 FEMSA FRENA SU APUESTA DIGITAL: REESTRUCTURA SPIN
• ⚠️ Ajustes internos: la compañía recorta personal y replantea su estrategia en su fintech
• 📊 Resultados flojos: Spin no logró consolidarse ni generar el impacto esperado
• 🏪 Sin efecto en Oxxo: la app no ha impulsado… pic.twitter.com/AhKVtiS4CB— Grupo Fórmula (@Radio_Formula) March 21, 2026
Femsa describes Spin — which manages a digital wallet that allows users to deposit and withdraw cash at the conglomerate’s ubiquitous Oxxo convenience stores — as “an ecosystem of financial and digital solutions.”
The March 2021 launch of Spin was intended to transform Femsa’s more than 24,000 Oxxo stores into a provider of financial services for a population generally distrustful of traditional banking.
The goal was to attract workers in the informal economy by simplifying access to loans and financing, while also encouraging these customers to shop more frequently at Oxxo.
With 16 million active users, Spin has succeeded in attracting a banking base, but not higher store traffic, leading Femsa’s new CEO “to narrow the business’s focus, replace the unit’s top executive and integrate it into the parent company’s corporate structure.”
From 2022:
Oxxo’s fintech app, Spin, aims for 10 million users next year
Femsa’s new management team has also decided to tighten spending, Bloomberg reported, describing the layoffs as “a sign of how difficult it is to gain ground in Mexico’s increasingly competitive financial system.”
In deciding to postpone the application for a banking license, Femsa’s goal is to focus on strengthening Spin’s integration with Oxxo while also developing financial capabilities through strategic alliances.
According to Finnovista Fintech Radar, a research initiative that tracks fintech startups across Latin America, Mexico’s fintech market is in a consolidation phase.
This stage is “characterized by the absence of abrupt growth and by greater maturity of the ecosystem,” it said, adding that the initial explosive growth has slowed and
“existing players face the challenge of scaling their models and consolidating their competitive positioning.”
Finnovista predicted that success in Mexico’s fintech sector in 2026 will depend less on raising capital and more on improving operations.
With reports from Bloomberg News, Reuters and Merca2.0
