$30 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

As the Women's Football World Cup reaches its final stages, it's a bit disheartening that no Latin American team has made it to the semi-finals. The Colombian team, the last one standing, fought valiantly, but they were defeated by England. However, the excitement continues, and we'll soon have a new champion to celebrate next weekend. Remember, women's football is truly captivating and worth every moment. Now, shifting gears to the Latam fintech world, here's a roundup of some noteworthy news from the past week.

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

Want to sponsor a newsletter? See our sponsorship information here.  Want to sponsor an event with the TWIF Latam community?  Check out the FAQ here and send us your info via this form.

📣 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!

📊 Stat of the Week

📖  Read of the Week

In 2023, Brazil has 802 registered fintechs, up by just 12 from 2022. According to "The Startup Landscape: Fintechs", a report by Liga Ventures using Startup Scanner data, 48% of these fintechs are in the established and mature stage.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 PlanetaryX, the São Paulo-based blockchain and AI company for eco-friendly digital assets, raised $2 million in initial funding. The company is an extension of Sthorm.io tech hub. No further details were disclosed.

🇧🇷 Cashbanx, the Brazilian platform for the cashback market, announced an investment of $ 4 million from SRM Ventures. The company aims to drive market expansion and deliver solutions to its partners and wants to expand into the US market as 'Cashbanx, Inc.'

🇧🇷 Asaas, the Brazilian startup focused on financial management solutions for SMEs, raised $10 million in its second FIDC round, collaborating with Itaú BBA to efficiently structure the fund. This funding will expedite the prepayment of credit card receivables.

💵 Debt 

🇪🇨 Kupuna, the Ecuadorian tax calculation and declaration app, received $25,000 funding from Microsoft. The company aims to expand to Colombia, Peru, and Mexico, followed by exploring markets like Panama and Bolivia.

🇧🇷 Educbank, the Brazilian company focused on the financing of education, raised $ 14 million through debentures. This initiative offers working capital to basic education schools, ensuring financial stability and helping mitigate potential issues related to tuition fee payment defaults. No further details were announced.

☯️ Exits

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ

🇧🇷 Serasa Experian, the Brazilian credit bureau, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Mova, the Brazilian P2P lending company authorized by the Central Bank. Serasa Experian aims to expand its portfolio focusing on SMEs. No further details on the transaction were disclosed.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇲🇽 Vaki, the Colombian crowdfunding company for donations and rewards, announced its expansion into Mexico, followed by its success in Colombia. Vaki enables global users to fund projects and causes through collective financing.

🌍 Paymentology, the UK-based global issuer-processor, and DolarApp, the Mexican startup providing digital dollar accounts to Latam, announced a partnership enabling DolarApp with card payment solutions, including virtual and physical Mastercard card processing, 3DSecure technology, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

🌍 Num Finance, the Argentinian stablecoin issuer, and TruBit, the crypto platform, announced a partnership to enhance nARS, the Num Finance stablecoin that tracks the value of the Argentine peso. This partnership will offer Latam users a wider range of features such as trading, depositing, and earning staking yields on nARS. 

🌍 Fiado, the US-based company focused on Latam migrants in the US, and Pomelo, the Argetinian financial infrastructure platform, announced a partnership to introduce a credit card that will improve credit access for Latam migrants in the US..

🌍 Jeeves, the US-based B2B platform for expense management and payments, announced the introduction of prepaid cards and cross-border payments, enabling customers in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico to make transactions among these countries within 24 hours.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇧🇷 Banco do Brasil announced the introduction of a new app and investment platform with a focus on AI and advisory services. The platform offers investment analysis, financial education through InvesTalk, and an AI-powered investment assistant on WhatsApp.

📜 Policy

🇪🇨 Ecuador's Monetary Policy and Regulation Board approved a regulation on payment methods, systems, and fintech activities. Companies for Electronic Deposits and Payments (Sedpes) must seek authorization from the Central Bank of Ecuador. 

🇭🇳 The Central Bank of Honduras, carried out a public consultation on the issuance of their CBDC, the country’s digital currency, to collect opinions of the financial sectors on the feasibility, advantages and adoption of digital currencies.

🇲🇽 The Mexican financial regulatory agency (CNBV) will undergo changes to its structure regarding fintech supervision. The change, aimed at enhancing regulatory efficiency, was approved by the CNBV governing board and is now under public consultation.

🇧🇷 Drex, Brazil's upcoming digital currency previously known as Real Digital, may have costs for consumers, says Central Bank. 

🇸🇻 Binance secured licenses for operations in El Salvador. The Central Bank of El Salvador granted a Bitcoin Service Provider (BSP) license, while the National Digital Assets Commission issued a non-provisional Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license.

🇧🇷 Clara, the Mexican corporate expense platform, was approved by the Brazilian Central Bank as a payment institution. The company plans to introduce digital accounts for various payments and has announced the relocation of its headquarters from Mexico City to São Paulo.

🇵🇪 The  Peruvian financial regulatory agency, the Superintendency of Banking, Insurance, and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS), intervened in Caja Rural de Ahorro y Crédito Raíz (CRAC Raíz) due to a significant solvency decline caused by poor management and irregularities in control and corporate governance. 

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Portão, the Brazil-based business travel management platform, named Matheus Brenny as its new Commercial Director.

🇧🇷 Pix, the instant payment system of the Brazilian Central Bank, announced 142 million transactions in 24 hours.

🇲🇽 Momento Seguros, the Mexico-based personal auto insurtech, raised $10.5 million led by FoundationCapital and HSCM Ventures, with participation of Gilgamesh Ventures, Picus Capital, Wollef, Clocktower Technology Ventures, BoxGroup, GFC and YCombinator.

🇧🇷 Inklo, the Brazilian credit access platform for medical procedures, raised $727,000 in a pre-seed round.

🇲🇽 Amazon announced "Lógralo Online", a program aimed at supporting and strengthening the role of women running small businesses in the Mexican economy.

📚 Deeper Reads

What to expect with Mexico’s frictionless, instant digital payments solution

AI might not steal your job, but it could change it

Latin American startups embrace OpenAI, but at what cost?

The venture capital ecosystem enters a more neutral reality after the boom in recent years (ES)

Maranhão is the first state to be part of the Brazil Blockchain Network (PO)

The challenge of mobile banking (ES)

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.