Peruvian Paytech Yape Aims To Reach Half Of Bolivia’s Population By 2028

Payments
10.12.2025 08:25 am

Just two years after entering the Bolivian market, the Peruvian fintech Yape has positioned itself as the most widely used digital wallet in the country. With more than 3.7 million users—1.7 million of whom are affiliated merchants—the app has already surpassed the critical mass of adoption in a market marked by high informality and low financial inclusion.

“We aim for 50% of Bolivians to be using Yape within the next three years. We want one million new users to gain access to simple credit solutions. We also want to help accelerate e-commerce, as Bolivia presents a huge opportunity due to the low penetration of card-based payments,” said Carlos Andrés Lepesqueur, Country Head of Yape Bolivia, during the Latam Epayment Summit 2025.

During his presentation, Lepesqueur stated that the platform expects to reach 5.5 million users in 2026, and six million by 2028, in a country with a population of approximately 12 million.

A Strategy Tailored to Bolivia’s Reality

The executive explained that Yape’s success is rooted in its ability to adapt to the local environment, taking into account measures to address high levels of informal commerce and limited access to financial services.

Unlike Peru—where Lima accounts for a significant share of economic activity—Bolivia operates along a central economic corridor made up of La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, cities that together represent 60% of the population and 73% of the country’s GDP.

Launching Digital Credit

Lepesqueur also announced that Yape will begin offering digital credit services in Bolivia starting next year, following a model already implemented in Peru. Initially, the focus will be on high-activity merchants within the platform, with the service later expanding to individual users.

“We would love to provide access to one million customers who have historically been excluded from the Bolivian financial system by 2028,” he added.

Yape is still fine-tuning its strategy and completing regulatory requirements, meaning there is no fixed target for the first year. “By mid-2026, we could start with single-installment credit products and gradually scale toward multi-installment loans with higher ticket values,” Lepesqueur explained.