Standards/bimo
BIMO
Overview
BIMO — Mi Billetera Móvil ("My Mobile Wallet" in Spanish) is Ecuador's interbank mobile-payment platform, operated by BANRED (Ecuador's interbank network) [1, 3, [ec-cro]]. BIMO launched 3 October 2019 as Ecuador's national interbank mobile-payment service, structurally replacing the discontinued Dinero Electrónico — Ecuador's earlier central-bank-issued e-money product that operated 2014-2018 [6]. BIMO connects 28 Ecuadorian financial institutions (banks, cooperatives, mutualistas) into a single interbank-mobile-payment ecosystem.
The structural distinction: BANRED-operated rather than central-bank-issued — Ecuador shifted from central-bank-direct-e-money (Dinero Electrónico) to bank-network-coordinated mobile wallet (BIMO). By December 2019 (3 months post-launch), BIMO had 75,000 active accounts; by May 2020, 89,000 accounts (96 % associated with existing savings/checking accounts; only 4 % new BIMO-only accounts) [3, 5]. The platform supports QR-code payments + recipient-contact-list selection for transferring funds. BIMO competes with DeUna (Banco del Pacífico's digital wallet, now closed) and various bank-specific apps in Ecuador's payment ecosystem.
History
Background — Ecuadorian payment landscape pre-BIMO EC:
- Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE) — central bank.
- Dinero Electrónico (2014-2018) — central-bank-issued e-money; discontinued due to political controversy + low adoption.
- BANRED — interbank network.
Dinero Electrónico rise + fall (2014-2018) [6]:
- BCE-issued e-money launched 2014.
- Political controversy + slow adoption.
- Discontinued 2018.
- Important policy precedent for subsequent BIMO bank-network model.
3 October 2019 — BIMO launches [3]:
- BANRED-operated.
- Interbank model (not central-bank-direct).
- 28 financial institutions connected.
December 2019 — 75,000 users [3].
May 2020 — 89,000 accounts [5]:
- 96 % existing-banked customers; 4 % new BIMO-only.
Continued growth EC:
- BIMO + SPI (Sistema de Pagos Interbancarios) as Ecuador's payment-system fabric.
Technical specification
BIMO is BANRED-operated interbank mobile-payment platform [1, 3]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | BANRED (Ecuador interbank network) |
| Regulator | Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE) |
| Launch | 3 October 2019 |
| Currency | USD (Ecuador dollarised since 2000) |
| Identifier | Mobile contact + QR code |
| Connected FIs | 28 (banks, cooperatives, mutualistas) |
| Predecessor | Dinero Electrónico (BCE 2014-2018, discontinued) |
| Users (Dec 2019) | 75K |
| Users (May 2020) | 89K |
QR-code support [1]:
- Receive money via QR.
- Pay merchants via QR scan.
Account-type structure [5]:
- 96 % linked to existing savings/checking accounts.
- 4 % BIMO-only basic accounts (financial-inclusion entry).
USD-dollarised:
- Ecuador uses USD as official currency since 2000.
- BIMO transactions in USD.
Use cases
P2P transfers (interbank) [1]: Between BIMO users at any of 28 FIs.
Merchant payments via QR [1]: Scan-to-pay.
Cross-bank without account-number friction [3]: Mobile-contact-addressed.
Basic-account financial inclusion [5]: BIMO-only account for unbanked.
Bill payment [1]: Utilities + services.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: BANRED (Ecuador interbank network).
Regulator: Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE).
28 connected FIs including:
- Banco Pichincha (largest).
- Banco del Pacífico.
- Produbanco.
- Banco Bolivariano.
- Banco del Austro.
- Banco Guayaquil.
- Cooperativas + mutualistas.
Companion: SPI (Sistema de Pagos Interbancarios) — BCE-coordinated interbank rail.
Fun facts
- Replaces Dinero Electrónico: Ecuador shifted from central-bank-direct CBDC (Dinero Electrónico 2014-2018) to bank-network-coordinated BIMO. Notable policy pivot.
- Dinero Electrónico discontinuation lesson: One of the earliest documented retail-CBDC discontinuations — predating dcash ECCB (Jan 2024).
- 96 % existing-banked customers (May 2020): BIMO mostly serves already-banked population — limited financial-inclusion penetration vs original ambition.
- USD-dollarised economy: Ecuador's payment-system context unusual — operates entirely in USD since 2000 dollarisation.
- BANRED-operated: Interbank-network operator pattern similar to Belarus's BORICA, Bulgaria's BORICA AD, Slovenia's Bankart.
- 28 FIs: Comprehensive Ecuadorian banking ecosystem coverage.
- "Billetera Móvil" = "Mobile Wallet": Spanish direct branding.
- Banco Pichincha as largest issuer: Ecuador's biggest bank.
Comparison
| Feature | BIMO (EC) | Dinero Electrónico (EC, predecessor) | mach (CL) | daviplata (CO) | nequi (CO) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | BANRED (interbank network) | BCE (central bank direct) | Banco Bci (commercial bank) | Davivienda (commercial bank) | Bancolombia (commercial bank) |
| Launch | 3 Oct 2019 | 2014 | 2017 | 2011 | Apr 2016 |
| Status | Active | Discontinued 2018 | Active (MACHBANK 2026) | Active | Active |
| Currency | USD (dollarised) | USD (BCE-issued) | CLP | COP | COP |
| Users (recent) | 89K+ (May 2020) | n/a | 4.2M | 18.5M | 24M+ |
Status
Active, growing [1, 3, [ec-cro]]:
- BANRED operator since 3 October 2019.
- 28 connected FIs.
- 89K+ accounts (May 2020 baseline).
- USD-denominated in dollarised Ecuador.
- Replaces discontinued Dinero Electrónico.
Sources
- 1 BIMO — official
- 2 BIMO — Banco Bolivariano
- 3 BIMO — GK City
- 5 BIMO 75K users — Primicias
- 6 Dinero Electrónico history — ScienceDirect
- [ec-cro]
reports/countries/EC-ecuador.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- EC — EC-ecuador.md