What Cierto does

Cierto is Mexico's first independent Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), operating as a digital telecommunications and payments platform on the Telefónica México network. The company sells mobile airtime recharges, digital prepaid calling cards, mobile data packages, and bill payment services for the country's principal mobile operators — Telcel, Movistar, AT&T México — through a unified referenced-deposit system that links bank transactions to internal user accounts. Its core technology is a digital account platform with a unique reference-number system for identifying deposits, enabling error-free funding and downstream purchases of telecom products across multiple carriers.

The company serves two primary segments: small and medium enterprises (PYMES) that resell Cierto's telecommunications and payment services to their own customer bases, and individual consumers purchasing recharges, cards, and bill payments directly. A third, secondary persona is the Mexican migrant community in the United States communicating with family in Mexico through prepaid long-distance services, reflecting the company's cross-border heritage via predecessor entities Ekofon (California) and Teligentia. Distribution is bifurcated between a nationwide PYMES reseller network and a self-serve digital platform accessible via the company website.

Cierto generates revenue through transaction fees on each recharge, card, data package, and bill payment processed. The company traces its lineage to Ekonom (1987) and subsequent predecessor entities, consolidating prepaid phone card distribution and long-distance telephony capabilities. It is led by founder Victor Treviño (President & CEO), holds a 2025 Great Place to Work® certification, and is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or revenue figures.

Name

Cierto

Legal name

Cierto

Website

https://cierto.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cierto is Mexico's first independent Mobile Virtual Network Operator, offering mobile airtime recharges, digital prepaid calling cards, data packages, and bill payment services for Telcel, Movistar, AT&T, and Telefónica through a national PYMES reseller network and self-serve digital platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Phone Recharge Sales: Sale of airtime/top-up credits for major Mexican mobile operators (Telcel, Movistar) through the digital platform and distribution network.
2. Digital Cards: Sale of prepaid calling cards and digital cards for telecommunications services, including branded cards like ¡Saludo!, Sin Rival, Maxi, and Shalom.
3. Data Packages: Sale of mobile data packages to consumers and distributors through the digital platform.
4. Bill Payment Services: Processing of bill payments for AT&T and Movistar, earning transaction fees on each payment processed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cierto is the first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in Mexico, operating on the Telefónica México network. The company sells mobile phone airtime recharges, prepaid digital calling cards, mobile data packages, and processes telecommunications bill payments for major operators including Telcel, Movistar, and AT&T. Its digital platform enables users to fund accounts through referenced bank deposits and conduct transactions through a self-serve interface and a network of small and medium enterprise (PYMES) resellers.

Product overview

Cierto is a telecommunications and digital services provider operating a unified platform that combines mobile phone recharge sales, digital prepaid cards, and bill payment services. The product portfolio centers on four core offerings: Recargas Telefónicas (airtime recharges for Telcel and Movistar), Tarjetas Digitales (prepaid international calling cards), Pago de Servicios (bill payment for AT&T and Movistar), and Depósitos Referenciados (bank-referenced deposits for account funding). These services are delivered through a national distribution network targeting both individual consumers and small-to-medium businesses seeking telecommunications and payment solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recargas Telefónicas (Phone Recharges) Mobile airtime and data recharge service enabling users and resellers to purchase prepaid minutes and data packages from major Mexican carriers including Telcel and Movistar through the Cierto digital platform.
• Tarjetas Digitales (Digital Calling Cards) Prepaid digital calling cards for international long-distance communication, including brands such as ¡Saludo!, Sin Rival, Maxi, and Shalom, primarily used by Mexican migrants in the United States to call family in Mexico.
• Pago de Servicios (Bill Payment) Bill payment service that processes payments for AT&T and Movistar telecommunications accounts, allowing users and resellers to settle carrier bills through the Cierto platform for a transaction fee.
• Depósitos Referenciados (Referenced Deposits) Account funding service that assigns a unique reference number per user so that bank transfers can be matched and credited to the user's Cierto digital account without errors, enabling balance top-ups for purchasing recharges, digital cards, data packages, and bill payments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processing of bill payments for multiple major operators (Telcel, Movistar, AT&T)

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Telefónica MéxicocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2013Cierto operates as a Mobile Virtual Operator (MVNO) on the Telefónica México network, providing mobile telephony services under the Cierto brand. This partnership enables Cierto to offer mobile services without owning network infrastructure.
• Teligentia and OmetelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009In 2009, Ometel (first authorized mobile operator in Mexico) and Teligentia (first commercial long-distance operator) formed a strategic alliance to commercialize prepaid phone cards in the western region of Mexico, which evolved into the Cierto brand.
• TelcelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCierto offers Telcel data packages and airtime recharges through its platform and distribution network, providing customers access to Telcel's mobile network services.
• MovistarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCierto provides Movistar bill payment services and offers data packages and airtime recharges through its platform.
• AT&T MéxicocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCierto processes AT&T bill payments and offers data packages for AT&T services through its platform.
• TopominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner company shown on Cierto's website logo, indicating a business relationship in the telecommunications distribution ecosystem.
• RecargastucellminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner company shown on Cierto's website logo, indicating a business relationship in the phone recharge distribution ecosystem.
• IntelitaeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner company shown on Cierto's website logo, indicating a business relationship in the telecommunications distribution ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TUYO Mobile: Mexican MVNO targeting mass-market prepaid users via a network of digital resellers; closely comparable to Cierto's PYMES-led distribution and recharge-led revenue model.
• Virgin Mobile México: MVNO operating in Mexico selling prepaid mobile plans and digital recharges; directly comparable to Cierto in MVNO business model and Mexican retail airtime distribution.
• Recarga.com: Latin American digital platform for cross-carrier mobile airtime recharges and digital goods; directly comparable to Cierto's recharge, data-package and digital-card business.
• Flash Mobile (México): Mexico-based MVNO offering prepaid mobile and recharges via digital channels; overlaps with Cierto on core MVNO/prepaid airtime product.
• Weex: Mexican mobile service provider and digital recharge distributor that resells airtime and data plans to end users; similar product mix and customer base to Cierto.

Broad incumbents

• TracFone Wireless: Largest US MVNO/reseller with national prepaid distribution; comparable as a much larger, established incumbent in the MVNO/resale space relevant to Cierto's model.
• T-Mobile US (parent of Metro / Mint MVNOs): Major host carrier that also owns US MVNO brands (Metro, Mint); comparable as an incumbent that both operates as a host network and competes at the prepaid/MVNO distribution layer where Cierto plays.
• OXXO (Femsa): Largest Mexican convenience-store network that also acts as the dominant cash-in/out agent for airtime recharges and bill payments; comparable role to Cierto's PYMES distribution layer at vastly larger scale.

Others

• Conekta: Mexican online and in-person payment processor serving SMBs; comparable to Cierto's referenced-deposit and SMB payment enablement capabilities.
• Toka (Toka Internacional): Mexico-based payment services and bill payment network; comparable to Cierto's bill-payment and referenced-deposit side, though operating at a larger fintech scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CiertoMx
• Facebookfacebook.com/ciertomx

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cierto