Hola amig@s fintech,

We hope all of you had a nice Easter/Semana Santa break (we sure did!), and now all of you can get ready for our event in Rio de Janeiro tomorrow Monday April 28! RSVP here!

🩵Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

🌐 TWIF Community

🗓️ Events

Fintech Founders & VC Mixer By  TWIF & Web Summit Rio

🗣️ Channels

📊 Stat of the Week 

Pix, Brazil's instant payment system, has revolutionized the country's financial landscape since its launch in 2020. By 2024, it processed over 64 billion transactions—a 53% year-over-year increase—surpassing combined credit and debit card volumes by 80%. On December 20, 2024, Pix set a single-day record with 252.1 million transactions. Person-to-business (P2B) payments grew by 94% in 2024, highlighting Pix's growing role in commerce (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

According to the “Latam AI Benchmarks Report 2025,” 87% of startups in the region are integrating AI into their products or operations, and more than 60% of startups founded since 2023 already have AI-powered business models. AI-driven startups show faster growth, with top-quartile companies maintaining triple-digit revenue growth even after surpassing $5M. 

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week 

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Kavak, the Mexican platform for buying, selling, and financing used cars,  raised $127 million in equity funding at a reduced valuation of $2.2 billion, down from $8.7 billion in 2021. The round was co-led by SoftBank and General Atlantic. Additionally, Kavak secured $400 million in debt from Goldman Sachs and HSBC to expand its lending operations through its financing arm, Kuna Capital. 

🇨🇱 Toku, the Chilean SaaS automated payment collection platform, raised a total of $55 million in a Series A round. The initial $9.3 million was led by Gradient Ventures, followed by a $48.1 million extension led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from F-Prime Capital, Clocktower, Y Combinator, and Honey Island. 

🇧🇷 Altis, the Brazilian embedded lending solutions for car dealerships company, raised $2.6 million in a combination of equity and debt financing, with participation from Magma Partners and Latitud. 

💵 Debt 

🇨🇴 Bayport, the financial services provider, received a $28 million loan from BBVA, backed by the Fondo Nacional de Garantías (FNG). The funds will be used to offer more loans to Colombians, focusing on payroll loans for public sector employees and pensioners.

💰 Venture funds 

🇨🇴 Simma Capital, the Colombian venture capital firm, launched the Simma Fintech+ fund with an investment of $3.4 million from Ruta N and Bancóldex. This fund aims to invest in at least 30 early-stage fintech startups in the country, focusing on tech solutions that enhance access and efficiency in financial services. 

🇨🇱 BancoEstado, Chile's state-owned bank, announced the launch of Start, a new brand dedicated to supporting startups. In 2024 BancoEstado, provided financing totaling $25 million to 68 startups, with an average ticket of approximately $330k. 

📺 Sponsored Content

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☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🏦 M&A - Banks, Insurers & Incumbents

🇨🇴 Grupo Cibest, formerly part of Grupo Bancolombia, and Bancolombia announced the launch of their new operation, Cibest Bancolombia, set to begin in May 2025. The collaboration will focus on enhancing technology-driven financial services across Colombia to accelerate digital banking transformation.

🇲🇽 Banorte, one of Mexico’s largest banks, announced the acquisition of RappiCard, the credit card business of Rappi, for $50 million. The acquisition aims to expand Banorte’s presence in digital financial services and leverage Rappi’s customer base to grow its credit card portfolio.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇨🇱 Maxxa, the Chilean SME lending platform, announced the launch of a new AI-powered credit product aimed at offering financing to formalized but unbanked small businesses. The company aims to enable credit evaluations in 60 seconds and same-day disbursements for loans. 

🇨🇴 Servibanca, the Colombian ATM network and payment services provider, announced its entry into the Immediate Payments System (SPI) through a partnership with Minka, the Colombian financial infrastructure company. The partnership aims to integrate Servibanca’s 2,750 ATMs into a real-time interoperable digital payments ecosystem.

🇵🇪 Yape, the Peruvian digital wallet and superapp provider, announced the launch of a new payment dispersion tool that allows companies to send instant payments directly to users’ mobile numbers without the need for traditional bank accounts.

🌎 Spin by Oxxo, the Mexican digital wallet platform, announced a partnership with Félix Pago, the Mexican-US digital remittance platform, to enable instant transfers from the US via WhatsApp. Spin users can receive funds directly in their app or withdraw at Oxxo stores across Mexico. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇨🇴 Efecty, the Colombian payments and remittance service provider, and Visa announced a partnership to launch a new virtual debit card. Issued by Banco Coopcentral and integrated into the Efecty mobile app, the card aims to allow users—especially in rural areas—to access secure online payments, enjoy cashback benefits, and manage digital transactions.

🇨🇴 RappiPay, the Colombian digital wallet and payment platform, and Puntored, the Colombian correspondent banking network, announced a partnership to enable cash deposits at over 14,000 locations nationwide. 

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil opened a public consultation on a proposal to restrict the use of terms such as “bank” exclusively to institutions holding a formal banking license. The Bank also announced its new regulatory agenda for 2025–2026, highlighting as key priorities virtual assets, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), and potential reforms to the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC).

🇲🇽 The Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission approved a multiple banking license for Nubank. The financial regulator has received 12 applications to establish Multiple Banking Institutions since 2023, with only one submitted so far in 2025.

🇲🇽 Digital Aerus Pagos, the regional airline based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, received authorization from the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission to operate as an Electronic Payment Funds Institution.

🇵🇪 Banco de Crédito del Perú received authorization from the Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Pension Funds (SBS) to launch a pilot program for buying and selling  bitcoin.

🇧🇴 Bolivia is accelerating financial digitization with investments in crypto, tokenization, and digital infrastructure, aiming to improve financial inclusion and establish a modern financial ecosystem that supports innovation and secure transactions.

📰 Other News 

🇨🇴 Mercado Libre announced the expansion of its tech hub in Medellín, aiming to generate 800 new jobs and strengthen its technological and operational capabilities in LatAm.

🇲🇽 Temu, the e-shopping platform, launched a new program in Mexico to support local entrepreneurs and small businesses by enabling them to open digital stores on the platform.

🌎 500 Global, the international VC firm, announced an investment in E-Cross, a startup focused on cross-border e-commerce logistics in LatAm. 

🌎 Bitso, the crypto exchange with operations across LatAm, announced it achieved the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, validating its commitment to high standards in information security across its digital asset infrastructure.

🇧🇷 Mercado Pago announced the relaunch of its brand with a bold repositioning strategy featuring Brazilian superstar Anitta as its new ambassador.

📚 Deeper Reads

The Series A Squeeze in Latin America

Transforming finance in Central America: the challenge of Open Finance (ES)

Why smart AI entrepreneurs are now building shovels, not apps

📣 LatAm fintech enthusiasts looking for a new role, check out https://jobs.thisweekinfintech.com

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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