Hola amig@s fintech,

Oi pessoal!

We’ve reached 80k subscribers! Thanks to all of you for keeping this LatAm fintech community stronger.

Don’t forget to join us in Rio de Janeiro, on Monday April 28 at 7 pm, for the first edition of our Fintech Founders & VC Happy Hour at Web Summit Rio 2025 — co-hosted with Flourish Ventures and Accion. 

This intimate gathering will bring together early-stage fintech founders and top VCs for great conversations, connections, and cocktails! RSVP now!

Quick note: The team will take a short Semana Santa (Easter) break, and we’ll be back with you on April 27! 

🩵Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

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📊 Stat of the Week 

In 2024, credit cards accounted for 42% of e-commerce transactions in LatAm, followed by alternative methods such as digital wallets and account-to-account (A2A) payments with 12%, and Pix—exclusive to Brazil—reached a 22% regional share, despite being limited to a single market (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

According to Worldpay's Global Payments Report 2025, Latin America's e-commerce market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 19% by 2025, with Argentina leading at 26%, followed by Brazil at 18%, and Mexico at 17%. Digital wallets are expected to be the fastest-growing online payment method in Argentina, increasing by 32.4% and becoming the leading online payment method by 2025. ​

🦉 Post of the Week

 🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Félix Pago, the Mexican company facilitating WhatsApp-based remittances from the U.S. to LatAm, raised a $75 million Series B round led by QED Investors, with participation from Monashees, Switch Ventures, Castle Island, and HTwenty.

🇧🇷 MT Bank, the Brazilian company offering integrated financial, fiscal, and payment solutions for small retailers, raised $1 million from Hiker Ventures. The investment aims to develop a comprehensive platform simplifying financial management for SMEs. 

💵 Debt 

🇨🇴 Finaktiva, the Colombian company providing credit and factoring solutions for SMEs, secured $10 million debt financing from BBVA Spark. 

💰 Venture funds 

🇧🇷 Catarina Capital, the Brazilian company previously known as KPTL Agro, announced the launch of $20 million fund to invest in early-stage startups across healthtech, fintech, agritech, and climate tech.

🇧🇷 B3’s innovation fund, launched in partnership with Indicator Capital, has invested $72 million in 14 companies over two years. The fund focuses on B2B startups and includes investments in verticals like agrotech and fintech, with plans to expand its portfolio by another 10 companies in the near future.

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☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A 

🇲🇽 Inbursa, the Mexican banking and financial services group owned by Carlos Slim, announced it has sold up to 49.9% of its auto lending arm STM Financial to Fidis, the European financial services company, a subsidiary of Stellantis. The move aims to deepen their long-term partnership and expand access to personalized vehicle financing solutions in Mexico. No further details of the transaction were disclosed. 

🇧🇷 BS2, the Brazilian digital bank, announced the acquisition of Paag, the Brazilian company specializing in payments for betting platforms, to expand its footprint in the iGaming, crypto, and digital payments sectors. The deal allows for full acquisition within three years. No further details of the transaction were disclosed. 

🇧🇷 Nuvei, the Canadian payment processing platform, announced it has received approval from Brazil’s Central Bank to acquire Pay2All, the Brazilian payment institution formerly owned by BTG Pactual. The acquisition aims to boost Nuvei’s presence in the Brazilian market and support local regulatory compliance for online betting transactions. No further details of the transaction were disclosed. 

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇦🇷 Inter, the Brazilian digital banking platform, announced its entry into Argentina through a partnership with Banco Industrial (Bind), the Argentinian private financial institution, launching its 100% digital Global Investment Account. The platform aims to allow users to open US bank accounts via Inter&Co. 

🇧🇷 TerraMagna, the Braziian agri-fintech specializing in rural credit intelligence, announced the launch of TM Digital, a new tech platform aimed at managing credit risk for ag input distributors, cooperatives, and industry players. The modular platform aims to offer tools for credit analysis, portfolio performance, satellite monitoring, and collections as a service. 

🇧🇷 Nubank announced the launch of NuScore, its proprietary credit scoring tool aimed at boosting financial transparency and customer education. NuScore provides users with a personalized score from 0 to 1,000 and detailed behavioral feedback to help them understand and improve their credit standing. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇲🇽 Odessa, the Mexican employee savings account operator, announced a partnership with Oxxo, the Mexican convenience store company, to enable cash withdrawals at more than 23,000 Oxxo locations across the country. With a maximum limit of $150 per transaction and a flat fee of $1, the move aims to enhance financial accessibility for affiliated workers. 

📜 Policy

🇦🇷 The National Securities Commission of Argentina launched a tokenization regime providing a regulatory framework for businesses involved in the digitalization of investments.

🇧🇷 The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the removal of the cryptocurrency “Eike,” launched by businessman Eike Batista and based on the Solana network.

🇧🇷 Brazilian Congressman Luis Philippe de Orleans introduced a bill to allow up to 50% of salaries to be paid in digital assets, including crypto.

🇧🇷 The Superior Court of Justice of Brazil authorized the freezing of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, for debtors operating through brokerage firms.

🇦🇷 The Central Bank of Argentina, through Director Pedro Inchauspe, reaffirmed its push for administrative simplification, deregulation, and regulatory convergence to align oversight of banks and fintechs, as highlighted during the closing of Payments Day.

🇧🇷 BEE4, a capital markets platform for SMEs, received a definitive license from Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission, reinforcing efforts to expand access to financing through fintech innovation.

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil will introduce installment payments to Pix, its instant payment system, allowing users to split payments into multiple installments while the merchant receives the full amount upfront. Launch is expected later in 2025.

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📰 Other News 

🇲🇽 Marlen Garayzar was named President of the Mexican Association of Popular Financial Societies (AMSOFIPO).

🇧🇷 Gabriel Nobrega was named Chief of Finance at Jeitto.

🇨🇱 Ignacio Sica was named General Manager at Experian Chile.

🇧🇷 Thiago Sousa Santos was named Product Manager at Portão 3.

🇦🇷 Juan Parma was named CEO at Banco Macro.

🇲🇽 Yumi Hosaka Clark was named Board of Directors  at Kueski.

🇨🇱 Mercado Libre announced a $100 million investment in Chile over the next five years to expand its operations, including a new distribution center and strengthening its logistics network, marking its largest annual investment in the country to date.

🇲🇽 BBVA Mexico allocated $670M to three financing programs to support SMEs. The funds will target digital transformation, environmental sustainability, and working capital needs, reinforcing BBVA’s position as the bank of choice for small businesses.

🇨🇱 Despite economic uncertainty, 87% of Chileans expressed a willingness to start a business in the future, according to a survey by Cadem and Red Pymemujer. This suggests growing entrepreneurial intent despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.

🇲🇽 Finsus, the Mexican digital finance institution, announced plans to expand to the United States and Wall Street. The move aims to provide investment and remittance products tailored to the Hispanic population living abroad.

🌎 inDrive, the ride-hailing platform, is scaling up its financial services offerings including lending and payment products. It partners with Mastercard and R2 to launch in Mexico and other emerging markets.

🌎 Gamer banking is emerging as a niche financial services segment in LatAm, with banks exploring platforms tailored to gamers, including credit products and savings plans designed for the gaming community.

🇧🇷 Major Brazilian Banks are doubling down on tech innovation, with digital transformation strategies that focus on AI, Open Finance, and real-time payments to retain competitive edge against fintech challengers.

🇧🇷 Specialists in Brazil predict that biometric payment solutions could surpass Pix in the coming years due to their convenience and security, signaling a shift toward contactless and frictionless authentication.

🇨🇴 Seguros SURA Colombia accounted for 71% of Grupo SURA’s net income in LatAm, contributing $186 million out of $263 million, with over 5 million covered workers and support for 19,000 companies.

📚 Deeper Reads

Challenges and opportunities in the digital payments industry (ES)

Personalization and open banking are shaping the future of finance (ES)

Rural startups: What if the next unicorn isn't in Bogotá but in Urabá? (ES)

Crypto and the revolt of the middle classes (ES)

Is banking dead? (ES)

Open Banking, AI, and APIs: The traditional financial model is transforming; this is the new paradigm (ES)

📣 LatAm startup alumni who have been impacted by layoffs and recruiters looking for top talent, check out the Startups Alumni and Layoffs Brasil databases.  

If you’re looking to hire from a group of 10,000+ smart, motivated fintech professionals, come pick up a Collective Pass and post a job here.  If you’re looking for your next adventure at one of the best fintech companies, check out the open roles here!

Made in LatAm with 🩵by 

Elena, Digital Innovation Manager at Banco Azteca

Daniela, Investment Associate at Cultivo

Carlos, Senior Associate at Emant Consultants

Lorena, Head of Policy for Spanish-speaking LatAm at Tools for Humanity

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