$89.5 million in fintech funding (debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

Last week, I took a quick trip to Teotihuacán, one of Mexico's fascinating archaeological sites, just an hour away from Mexico City. If you plan your visit on a weekday, you might enjoy the serene beauty of the site with fewer tourists. Whether you live nearby or are visiting, Teotihuacán is a definite must-see. And speaking of exciting events, don't forget to RSVP for our upcoming Fintech Happy Hour / Summer Social in Mexico City next week. The TWIF team is looking forward to meeting you all! Register here.

💛 Until next weekend. Até a próxima! - Lorena

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📊 Stat of the Week

📖  Read of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💵 Debt 

🇲🇽 Konfío, the Mexican credit and finance solutions for SMEs, announced the renewal of its credit line with JP Morgan for $89.5 million, extending until 2025, along with an increase in its business credit limit, enabling clients to access financing of up to almost $300,000.

💰 Venture funds 

🇵🇪 Cofide, the Peruvian Development Finance Corporation, invested $3 million in the Latin American fund Alaya Capital, as part of the implementation of the Fund for Innovative Entrepreneurships (FCEI). 

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇨🇴 RappiPay and Incode, the US-based identity verification and authentication platform, announced a partnership in Colombia to enhance the security of electronic payments. The integration of Incode's technology aims to provide optimal security standards and a seamless experience for users.

🇲🇽 Bitso, the Mexican crypto exchange platform, and Stellar Development Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Stellar network, announced a partnership to expand the international payments network. Bitso aims to facilitate cross-border transfers using the USDC stablecoin.

🇧🇷 Revolut announced a new crypto investment service in Brazil to empower local investors with a regulated platform to access the crypto market and diversify their portfolios. The company aims to enhance accessibility to crypto for both banked and unbanked populations in the country.

🇲🇽 TruBit, the US-based crypto platform, announced it has unveiled the waitlist for the TruBit Card in Mexico, which will provide people with an easy way to spend and earn cryptocurrencies. The waitlist offers early access to the TruBit Card, featuring perks such as 5% Bitcoin cashback, nationwide ATM cash withdrawals, and protection under the Mastercard global scheme.

🇧🇷 Nubank announced a new line of credit for its clients in Brazil, using Tesouro Direto (Brazilian Treasury) as collateral and providing customers with credit up to $30,000 with a repayment period of up to 48 months. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇧🇷 BTG Pactual, the Brazilian financial institution, and Senior Sistemas, the Brazilian management tech company, announced a partnership to offer financial services. The platform awaits regulatory approvals.

🌐 Western Union, the US-based financial services company, and Ualá, the Argentinean financial ecosystem app, announced a partnership to enable users to receive money digitally from friends and family worldwide. Customers can access the received funds in their Ualá app account and use them for online purchases, make card-based transactions, or do ATM’s withdrawals.

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 The Brazilian Federal Government and the Brazilian Bank Federation launched the Desenrola Brasil Program, which targets Tier 2 individuals, allowing direct negotiation of bank debts under special conditions. The program aims to reintroduce people with credit restrictions into the economy and benefit approximately 70 million individuals.

🇧🇷 dLocal, the Uruguayan payment fintech, and Omie, the Brazilian cloud-based business management platform, obtained authorization from Brazil's Central Bank  to operate as a payment institutions (IP). The dLocal one will operate as electronic money issuer and payment transaction initiator (ITP), while the Omie as a payment transaction initiator mode (ITP).

🇲🇽 Pretech and Quantum Pay, both Mexican financial services companies, received authorization from the Mexican financial regulatory agency (CNBV) to operate as Electronic Payment Fund Institutions (IFPEs) under the Fintech Law in Mexico. 

🇲🇽 American Express received approval by the CNBV for  consolidating its legal entities under American Express Company (Mexico), S. A. de C. V., after the company requested the voluntary termination of the banking license.

🇲🇽 Financiera Haai Capital and Efectifintech were authorized by the CNBV. Financiera Haai Capital will operate as a popular financier, while Efectifintech will function as an Institution of Electronic Payment Funds (IFPE) under the Fintech Law. Additionally, two Savings Banks, Caja Solidaria Coroneo and Caja Solidaria Costa Alegre, also received authorization to continue their savings and loan operations.

📰 Other News 

🌐 Tienda Nube named Gabriela Cañas as Latam Director of People (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia), aiming to reinforce the work of the company and its purpose of reducing barriers to undertake in the region.

🇭🇳 IDB Lab and Banco Atlántida signed a $2 million agreement  to finance more than 100 early-stage emerging companies, including spin-offs and new startups, with the goal of promoting economic development and job creation in Honduras.

🇨🇱 Scotiabank Chile launched ScotiaImpulsa, a financial education program that includes coaching sessions, articles, and online talks.

🇲🇽 Jüsto, the Mexican online supermarket, announced the launch of Jüsto Accelerator to strengthen and promote the growth of local entrepreneurs and to support their professionalization. Entrepreneurs will have access to six free webinars per year covering business-related topics.

🇦🇷 Ualá, the Argentina-based digital banking, announced Ualá+50 program, focused on people over 50 who want to work in the company. The program aims at attracting experienced talent and offering job opportunities to older people.

🇲🇽 Kushki, the Ecuadorian paytech, named Fernando López Lacroix as the new General Director for Mexico, who will continue with Kushki's B2B strategy, focused mainly on large clients. 

🇧🇷 Clara, the Mexican corporate expense platform, named Francisco Simon as Country General Manager for Brazil; its main objective will be to attract large companies to the fintech clientele.

🇲🇽 Finerio Connect, the Mexico-based open banking platform, named José Santacruz López as CTO; with more than 17 years of experience and ex-co founder of Kushki, he will contribute to the company's expansion plan.

🌎 Rockstart, the early stage accelerator-VC, announced a new acceleration program through which it will invest US$100,000 in ten Latam startups in exchange for 6% in stock of the startups. Applications will be open until August 20, 2023

📚 Deeper Reads

Indigenous women in Mexico: Overcoming obstacles to financial inclusion (ES)

The Banking Crisis Has Only Just Begun

Half-Year Report 2023 (Binance)

Digital banking: an inclusive opportunity that revolutionizes the country's financial activity (ES)

One step back? fintechs change expansion strategies (ES)

Chile's privileged position to attract venture capital, according to ALLVP (ES)

Made in Latam with 💛 by Elena, Daniela, and Lorena

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