Hola amig@s fintech,

If you are planning to attend the #MexicoFintechWeek at the end of February, you shouldn’t miss our community events. RSVP now! 

• Tuesday, Feb 25 - Fintech Founders & VCs Dinner by The Fintech Fund & Gilgamesh Ventures
• Wednesday, Feb 26 - Fintech Talks at Mexico Fintech Week by TWIF
• Thursday, Feb 27 - Mexico Fintech Festival Conference by Fintech Mexico

You can also keep the conversation going by joining our Mexico fintech WhatsApp group. If your company wants to partner with TWIF, send us a note to ramon@thisweekinfintech.com

🩵Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

📊 Stat of the Week 

As of January 2025, Bancolombia leads the savings account market in Colombia with $37.82 billion in deposits, representing 42.97% of the market. It is followed by Banco Davivienda with $13.58 billion (14.69%), BBVA Colombia with $10.3 billion (11.3%), Nu Colombia with $6.29 billion (6.8%), and Banco de Bogotá with $5.49 billion (5.9%). The total savings account market stands at $99.37 billion (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

The “Latam Startup Salary Study 2024” by 500 Global and descubre.vc, reveals that only 14% of startup CEOs in LatAm are women, highlighting a significant gender gap in the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Despite some progress, women continue to face major barriers to accessing funding, with less than 10% of venture capital in LatAm allocated to women-led startups. Additionally, the study highlights that 35% of startups in the region have at least one female co-founder, indicating a growing - but still insufficient - female representation in leadership roles within the sector.

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 Neofin, the Brazilian startup for AI-powered accounts receivable solutions, secured a $7 million Seed round led by Kaszek Ventures, with participation from Canary and Norte Ventures. 

🇧🇷 Kanastra, the Brazilian platform offering infrastructure solutions for fintechs and financial institutions raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Itaú’s Kinea Ventures. 

📺 Sponsored Content

Want to sponsor a newsletter? See our sponsorship information here or reach out to latam@thisweekinfintech.com. Want to sponsor an event with the TWIF LatAm community?  Check out the FAQ here, send us your info via this form or reach out to latam@thisweekinfintech.com

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇧🇷 BYX Capital, the Brazilian company offering infrastructure for payroll loans, acquired Nvio , the Sociedade de Crédito Direto (SCD), from Bitso. This move strengthens BYX's banking structure and provides greater security for transaction settlements.

🇧🇷 Afinz, the Brazilian financial planning & advisory platform, acquired Joinkey, the sales and receivables reconciliation platform. Joinkey's solution unifies and manages electronic transactions from debit and credit cards, vouchers, delivery apps, and wallets. 

🏦 M&A - Banks, Insurers & Incumbents

🇲🇽 Finamex, the Mexican brokerage firm, announced the acquisition of a majority stake at Columbus, the Mexican independent financial advisory firm, pending regulatory approval. No further details were announced. 

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🌍 Fintual, the Mexican investment platform, announced the launch of Fintual Acciones, allowing users to invest in US-listed stocks and ETFs with zero trading fees and fractional shares. The company opens an account for users with Alpaca Markets, the US-based regulated broker. 

🇲🇽 Stori, the Mexican credit card issuer, announced a partnership with Atlas FC, the Mexican professional football club to launch a co-branded credit card tailored for the club’s fanbase. The partnership marks Stori’s entry into the sports world, and will invest $20 million in financial access initiatives, while becoming an official sponsor of Atlas FC for the next three years.

🇲🇽 Creditea Pay, the UK-based BNPL financing provider, and Conekta, the Mexican payment platform, announced a partnership to offer flexible payment solutions for e-commerce businesses in Mexico. The integration enables merchants to offer BNPL options, allowing customers to split payments into four interest-free biweekly installments or extend payments with interest.

🇲🇽 Crediclub, the Mexican digital lending platform, and Belvo, the Mexican open finance provider, announced a partnership to improve credit accessibility using alternative data. The partnership allows Crediclub to verify income and employment stability through Belvo’s technology, enabling faster and more inclusive loan approvals, even for users without traditional credit history. 

🇦🇷 Ualá, the Argentinian digital banking platform, announced the launch of Uali, an AI-powered chatbot developed using OpenAI’s GPT-4 to enhance customer service. The chatbot is designed to not only understand user inquiries but also proactively provide personalized solutions, improving the overall customer experience. 

🌍 Mercado Pago announced the introduction of Pix payments for Brazilian tourists in Argentina. The feature will be gradually rolled out to merchants using the Point Smart terminal, enabling seamless cross-border transactions.

🇪🇨 Deuna, the Mexican digital payments platform, announced the launch of an offline payment feature in Ecuador, allowing users and merchants to process transactions without internet or mobile signal. This innovation aims to address connectivity challenges, especially in rural areas.

🇨🇴 Lulo Bank, the Colombian digital bank, announced the launch of new benefits for customers who receive their payroll deposits with the bank, including 1% cashback on debit card purchases, a savings interest rate of 11.5% E.A., and perks for saving in digital dollars through Lulo X. The initiative aims to provide users with higher financial returns and greater flexibility.

🌍 Yuno, the Colombian payment orchestration platform, announced the launch of Mastercard Payment Passkey Service across LatAm, enabling merchants in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to streamline online checkout, enhance security, and reduce cart abandonment. The service leverages biometric authentication and tokenization to replace one-time passwords (OTPs).

🇧🇷 Bitybank, the Brazilian cryptocurrency investment platform, announced the launch of Compra Turbinada, a new credit line that allows users to invest in crypto with a 30-day loan. The acquired digital assets serve as collateral and are released once the debt is settled, with a 3% monthly interest rate. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇨🇴 Plurall, the Colombian digital lending platform, and Bogotá’s Secretariat of Economic Development, announced a partnership to expand the “Ciérrale la llave al gota a gota” initiative, aimed at combating informal lending. Through this partnership, microentrepreneurs can access formal credit ranging from $100 to $3,800 for inventory, equipment, payroll, and business growth. 

📜 Policy

🇨🇱 Tenpo, the Chilean digital financial services platform, obtained further regulatory approvals and is advancing toward its official launch as a neobank. This milestone positions Tenpo as a key player in Chile’s evolving digital banking landscape.

🇧🇷 The Brazilian Central Bank announced a Special Refund Mechanism through Pix, so users can request a refund through the system. This is part of the improvements being made in face of Automatic Pix, which is scheduled for June 2025. 

🇧🇷 Muevy, the Brazilian cross-border payments company, received authorization from the regulatory financial institutions of Brazil to operate as a Payment Transaction Initiator (ITP) via Pix on Open Finance. 

📰 Other News 

🌎 Juan Pablo Taylor was named Country Manager at Visa for Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

🇨🇷 Carlos José Pardo was named Country Manager at Visa Costa Rica.

🇸🇻 El Salvador announced the removal of Bitcoin as an official currency, reversing its 2021 decision to make it legal tender. The government cited regulatory adjustments and financial stability concerns as reasons for the change, although Bitcoin will still be accepted for transactions within the country.

🇨🇴 Banco de Bogotá launched 'Tag Aval,' a payment system aimed at reducing cash usage in Colombia. The initiative seeks to streamline transactions and encourage digital financial inclusion by leveraging contactless technology.

🌎 Davivienda launched an initiative to support entrepreneurs in Colombia, Mexico, and Central America by providing financing opportunities. The program aims to boost regional startups and strengthen the financial ecosystem in LatAm.

📚 Deeper Reads

Donald Trump’s resurgence and the impact on Latam’s future

2025: Venture Capital takes off in Fintech in Latam (ES)

Without global regulation, AI will cause creative destruction (ES)

Rediscovering Blockchain: Building trust at scale

Startups face the recurring dilemma of whether to partner 

📣 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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