Hola amig@s fintech,

After visiting São Paulo last month for our Fintech Happy Hour, co-hosted with Ensemblex, our next stop is the Colombia Tech Week in Bogotá. This year, we’re partnering with Pygma and Latam Fintech Hub to host a Fintech Founders & VCs networking night on August 28. RSVP here. 

Also, for readers in Mexico! We’re teaming up with Oscilar to co-host the first RiskCon Dinner in Mexico City on September 3. Come and join us, network with top risk leaders in fintech, and dive into discussions on credit, risk management, fraud prevention, and more. Don't miss out—register now.

Interested in partnering with us and meeting fintech leaders in LATAM? Reach out to us at ramon@thisweekinfintech.com or fill out this form! We plan to continue creating top networking experiences for our local fintech communities. 

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.

📖  Read of the Week

According to “Latam Insurtech Journey” by  a MAPFRE, insurtech funding in LatAm hit historic lows in the first half of 2024, totaling only $26 million. This figure marks a significant decline compared to previous periods, highlighting a challenging environment for innovation in the region's insurance sector.

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Aviva, the Mexican personal and micro-business loans startup, raised $5.5 millions in a Seed round, with the participation of Krealo, Credicorp VC fund, Ignia Partners, Carao ventures, Rainforest Capital, DCG and current investors. 

🇲🇽 Crediko, the Mexican financial credit startup to attain a quality education, raised a $2.5 million Seed round led by Graven Group.

💰 Venture funds 

🇧🇷 Genezys, the Brazilian investment fund tech company, and Solana, the blockchain network, announced the creation of an investment fund for management solutions. 

🇧🇷 Angra Partners, the Brazilian private equity manager, launched its VC fund with initial $34.9 millions to invest. The fund’s shareholder is Finep, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, a public company related to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. 

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇦🇷 Tapi, the Argentinian paytech integrating payment experiences, and Vibrant, the Argentinian blockchain-based virtual wallet, announced a partnership to enhance digital dollar payment experiences. This alliance will enable over 120,000 users to access secure USDC payments for more than 4,000 services.

🌎Hapi, the Peruvian startup enabling stock market investments in the US from LatAm, announced it has developed a mobile app allowing users to buy and sell US stocks starting from $5 and cryptocurrencies from $1 without broker commissions.

🇨🇱 Kuady, the EU-based digital wallet for merchants, announced it has launched in Chile with a focus on financial inclusion and instant payments. The company plans to expand across LatAm, with further ambitions for Africa and Europe.

🇧🇷 Neon, the Brazilian digital bank, announced it has launched CDB Planejado, a new fixed-income product offering returns up to 150% of the CDI. This product targets long-term investors with varying maturity options of 3, 6, 12, and 24 months.

🌎 Global66, the Chilean fintech specializing in international money transfers, announced it has introduced a new service offering global accounts in dollars and euros. Users can now receive and send money with routing numbers and IBANs, for easier and faster international transactions. 

🇧🇷 Google Pay, the digital wallet and payment initiation service, C6 Bank, the Brazilian digital bank, and PicPay, the Brazilian mobile payment platform, announced a partnership to launch Pix payments in Brazil. This move follows Google's recent approval to operate as a Pix payment initiator within Open Finance.

🌎 Klap, the Chilean financial services company for POS and e-commerce, and R2, the Mexico-based flexible financing and financial infrastructure startup, announced a partnership to give credits through the launch of Credito Emprende. 

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil announced that the PIX contactless testing period will begin in November 2024 with an expected national implementation by February 2025. Contactless PIX will work through virtual wallets. 

🇧🇷 Delend, the Brazilian credit for SMEs company, received authorization from the Brazilian Central Bank to operate as a payment initiator institution, integrating the Open Finance system and incorporating AI into its services. 

🇲🇽 Rappipay, the subsidiary of the Colombian Rappi, desisted from the fintech license it had requested from the Mexican financial regulatory institutions, to operate as an electronic payment funds institution, following the closing of Rappicuenta. 

🇲🇽 PM2, the Mexican crowdfunding platform, and Moneypool, the Mexican payments company, received authorization from the Mexican regulatory agency to operate under the fintech law. The former as a crowdfunding institution and the latter as an electronic payment funds institution. 

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Daniel Moreira was named General Manager of New Ventures at Conta Simples.

🇧🇷 Ripple, the blockchain-based digital payment network, and FENASBAC, the Brazilian National Federation of Central Bank Servers, announced a partnership to strengthen the blockchain ecosystem in Brazil. This collaboration aims to foster innovation and development within the country's financial sector by leveraging Ripple's technology and expertise.

🇲🇽 Mercado Libre and the Government of the State of Mexico, announced a partnership to support female entrepreneurs in e-commerce. This partnership aims to provide training, tools, and resources to help women business owners in the region enhance their online businesses and expand their market reach.

📚 Deeper Reads

Powering up Mexico's payments ecosystem

What's holding back open banking?

Latin American startups attract funding again during the second quarter (ES)

The boom in open finance and cryptoassets in Latin America and the Caribbean (ES)

From invisible walls to digital foundations: the reality of the real estate market in Mexico (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.