Hola amig@s fintech,

We hope you had a great week. Here are some reminders of our upcoming events:

• TWIF event at Colombia Tech Week on August 28! Secure your place for the Fintech Founders & VCs mixer here, and view the full agenda here.
• TWIF exclusive RiskCon Dinner on September 3, co-hosted with Oscilar in Mexico City! Enjoy a lively happy hour, a delicious dinner, and engaging discussions on credit, fraud, and risk management. Register now to join us!
• And plan ahead for FINNOSUMMIT 2024 on September 25 - 26 in Mexico City! You can secure your place and if you are a TWIF paid subscriber, you get a 20% off. Email us at latam@thisweekinfintech.com. 

Please find below this week’s front page of LatAm fintech news. If you’re reading this on the web, we’d appreciate your support by sharing and subscribing.  

💛 Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

📺 Sponsored Content

Imagine slashing FinOps manual labor for payouts and reconciliation by 70% across Latin America. With Radar, it's possible. Transform your financial operations with our cutting-edge suite, designed to optimize cash flow, streamline transactions, and enhance financial visibility.

📊 Stat of the Week

The number of transactions carried out daily by Pix (Brazil's instant payment system) reached a new record: 235 million operations. This growth has been considered "extraordinary" by the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

The report "Q1 2024 LAVCA Industry Data & Analysis" by LAVCA highlights key points regarding private capital investment in Latin America during the Q1 2024. Despite economic challenges and high-interest rates, strategies dedicated to the region achieved their second-highest level of fundraising, totaling $10.1 billion across 94 funds. Experience and reputation are increasingly becoming critical factors in attracting investments in a challenging economic environment.

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week 

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Stori, the Mexican neobank, raised a $212 million funding round led by existing investors including GGV Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and General Catalyst. The funds will be used to expand Stori’s credit card offerings and grow its customer base across Mexico. 

🇧🇷 Caliza, the Brazilian fintech focused on simplifying global trade, secured a $8.5 million round led by Kaszek, with participation from SoftBank and GFC. Caliza plans to use the funds to enhance its platform and grow its client base, which includes major importers and exporters.

🇨🇴 Crediko, the Colombian platform that facilitates access to credit for underserved consumers, raised $2.5 million in a Seed round led by Magma Partners, with participation from various angel investors. 

🇧🇷 Destrava.ai, the Brazilian fintech specializing in receivables management, raised $730,000 in a round led by Anjos do Brasil, with participation from other local investors.

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇨🇦 Nuvei, the Canadian payment processor, announced the agreement to acquire Pay2All, the Brazilian licensed payment institution in Brazil. This acquisition aims to enhance Nuvei's capabilities in Brazil offering services like electronic currency issuance, digital wallets, and processing of PIX transactions. No further details of the transaction were disclosed.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇧🇷 PicPay, the Brazilian payments and finance app, announced the launch of Safe Mode, a new feature that hides financial details and restricts Pix transactions based on user geolocation. Safe Mode also secures data from other institutions connected via Open Finance to prevent illicit activities in case of phone loss or theft.

🇧🇷 Alume, the Brazilian student financing platform, announced the expansion of its services to include specialized accounting for medical professionals. This aims to support doctors and medical students with comprehensive financial management and tax optimization. 

🇧🇷 Neon, the Brazilian digital bank, announced the launch of CDB Planejado, a new fixed-income product offering returns up to 150% of the CDI for investments ranging from $18 to $36,000. This product targets long-term investors providing progressively higher returns.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇧🇷 Werthein Group, the parent company of SKY Brasil, announced the launch of a fintech aimed at supporting SMEs that work with the telecommunications company. The initiative comes with a substantial investment of $180 million over the next two years.

📜 Policy

🇦🇷 The government of Argentina announced the flexibilization of means of payment for public transportation. Currently, only the Sube card is accepted, but starting shortly users will also use credit and debit cards, digital wallets and QR codes. 

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Bruna Cerqueira was named Head at Bom Pra Crédito.

🇨🇱 Ximena Rojas Prosser was named Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs at Khipu.

🇧🇷 Daniel Carvalho was named Director of Integrated Risks at Nomad.

🇧🇷 João Freitas was named CTO at O2 Inc.

🇧🇷 Alexandre Winandy was named Chief Organizational Officer at Swap.

🇧🇷 Gustavo Peloso was named Chief Growth Officer at Agroforte.

🇲🇽 Ricardo Bartel Jeffery was named Chief Technology and Operations Officer at Santander Mexico.

🇲🇽 Alberto Romero Ledezma was named Managing Director at Actinver.

🇲🇽 Escala, the Mexico-based startup that offers automation tools for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $12 million in a funding round led by Dalus Capital, with participation from Wollef, Mountain Nazca, and Polígono Capital. 

🇲🇽 Doopla, the Mexican crowdfunding platform, integrated AI technology to enhance its operations, particularly in credit analysis and risk management. This adoption aims to improve decision-making processes and expand the platform's lending capabilities.

🇲🇽 Uber introduced "Uber Rent" in Mexico, allowing users to rent cars by the day or week directly through the Uber app. This new service is part of Uber's strategy to diversify its offerings.

📚 Deeper Reads

Deep-dive on Net Dollar Retention

The gig revolution: the future of work in Latam

VC firms are slowing down crypto investments for a ‘nuanced reason’

‘Business angels’: how women manage their investments (ES)

Tokenomics: the challenges of the new digital financial system (ES)

Banks will finally be able to come to an agreement (ES)

📣 LatAm startup alum 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, Daniela, and Lorena

👍👎 Did you like this edition of TWIF LatAm?  Take a 1-minute anonymous survey here.

Come meet us in person at www.thisweekinfintech.com/events. You can also join our global community on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.