$69.2 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

We're excited to announce that TWIF has reached 100,000 readers globally! The celebration took place in NYC a few days ago, along with our annual fintech formal night. A big shout out to our founder Nik and the entire TWIF team—we're delighted and proud to be part of this journey!

Now, 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

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📊 Stat of the Week

The percentage of people in Latam who have a bank account went from 52% in 2014 to 74% in 2021. However, regarding credit cards, the percentage has barely changed in the same period: from 22% to 28% (Source). 

📖  Read of the Week

The Finnovista Fintech Radar Peru 2023 highlights that the country’s fintech ecosystem has experienced an annual growth of 20.9% since 2021, going from 132 to 193 in 2023.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

🦉 Tweet of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 Saks, the Brazilian startup that facilitates access to investment products, raised $1 million from Bertha Capital, to focus on the B2B channels of its products.

🇦🇷 Moonflow, the Argentina/US-based  automated collections software, raised $700,000 in a Pre-Seed round with the participation of Salkantay Ventures, Magma Partners, Amador Holdings, and Morro Ventures.

💵 Debt 

🇲🇽 Solvento, the Mexican AI-powered credit and payment infrastructure company for the trucking sector, closed a $50 million debt facility from Lendable. Solvento also raised $3.5 million in a Seed round extension led by Quona Capital and with the participation of Dynamo Ventures, Ironspring Ventures, Proeza Ventures and Zenda VC.

🇧🇷 RecargaPay, the Brazilian payments app operating as a payment institution, raised $14 million through a credit rights investment fund (FIDC), structured by Milenio Capital. The company will expand credit options and offer new products.

💰 Venture funds 

🇨🇱 Impacta VC, the Chilean VC firm, closed its first investment fund with $7 million, together with the founders of NotCo, Raya, and Betterfly. It will focus on early stage startups.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇧🇷 Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank, announced its new investment product for businesses in Brazil, through its financial tool "Caixinhas". The feature allows companies to invest in RDB (Fixed-Term Deposit Income), a fixed-income security yielding 100% of the CDI (Certificado de Depósito Interbancário). 

🇲🇽 Fintoc, the Chilean mobile banking app, announced its entry to Mexico. With a client portfolio including LarrainVial, PedidosYa, Banco BICE, Itaú, Bci, Wom, Rappi, Fintual, and Xepelin, Fintoc has processed over $60 million monthly across 200 merchants, reaching 11% of the Chilean population.

🇧🇷 Pelé's ex-wife, Assiria Seixas, and their son, Joshua Arantes do Nascime, along with other entrepreneurs, announced the launch of JanBank, the Brazilian digital cryptocurrency bank. JanBank will focus on digital currency conversion for payments and pledges to donate 10% of its revenue to social initiatives. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🌎 Nasdaq, the US-based exchange company, and nuam Exchange, the merger of the Santiago, Lima, and Colombia stock exchanges, announced a partnership to support the integration, development, and expansion of a new financial marketplace in Latam. 

🇨🇱 Getxerpa, the Mexican financial platform, and Coopeuch, the Chilean financial, insurance and banking services cooperative, announced the launch of "Ahorrando," a digital functionality to promote savings, which will be integrated into the CoopeuchEduca web platform.

🇨🇱 Banco Security, the Chilean bank, and Backbase, the EU-based banking solutions platform, announced a partnership to strengthen its digital banking offerings. They will introduce tailored experiences like "Security up!"—a fully online current account with personalized services. 

🌎 First Atlantic Commerce (FAC), the Bermuda-based payment solution platform, and Mastercard announced a partnership to boost financial inclusion and secure digital payments across Central America and the Caribbean. They will introduce digital acceptance solutions like Tap on Phone and Click to Pay. 

📜 Policy

🇲🇽 Yapsi (Beyapsi), the Mexican digital wallet, and Pagaphone Smartpay, the Mexican digital wallet and remittances platform, were authorized by the Mexican Financial Regulatory Authority (CNBV) as electronic payment funds institutions (IFPE) under the Fintech Law. 

📰 Other News 

🇦🇷 N5, the Argentinian software company specialized in the financial industry, named Esteban Ferrandiz as the new Director of Finance for Argentina.

🇨🇱 Prepaid issuers hold responsible Walmart for hindering financial inclusion in Chile, the multinational argues that this is due to the cost associated with accepting these cards.

🇨🇴 CargaYa, the Colombian company that digitalize the transportation and logistics industry, announced their incorporation into the Rockstart Latin America program, where they will receive an investment of $100,000, along with intensive support in both business and technical aspects.

🇲🇽 Finnovista, the Mexican innovation and venture capital firm, opens the application process to be part of the sixth edition of Finnovista Fintech Radar México 2024. The process will be open until January 10.

🌎 The Proptech sector, valued at $18.2 trillion in 2022 worldwide, will grow up to $86.5 trillion by 2032. In Latam, currently, there are more than 1,500 companies focused on real estate technology; Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia are the most active countries in proptech.

📚 Deeper Reads

What lies ahead for bank and fintech partnerships?

IMF: Argentina needs ‘a strong and credible central bank’

Stablecoin Adoption: Circle and Nubank to Extend USDC Access to Brazilian Consumers

LatAm has not done enough on intraregional trade and inequality (ES)

Cybersecurity in Fintech: the challenge of the regulatory gap (ES)

Why do Mexicans save (or not)? (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

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