Hola amig@s fintech,

Thanks to all of the fintech enthusiasts that participated in our event in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thanks to our amazing partners Sphere, Utila, Lumx, Arex & Cámara Argentina Fintech. And last, but not least, congrats to Merge Buenos Aires Conference for their efforts to connect Europe and LatAm through Web3, and visualize the fintech agenda across regions.

Now, get ready for our future events and gatherings in LatAm, starting with an exciting one in Rio at the end of April!

🩵 Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

🌐 TWIF Community

🗓️ Events

Fintech Founders & VC Mixer, Monday, April 28

By  TWIF & Web Summit Rio

🗣️ Channels

📊 Stat of the Week 

Mexico's banking sector closed 2024 with a strong credit portfolio growth, and expects loan demand to increase by 7–10% in 2025, despite economic headwinds. Regarding credit cards, BBVA Mexico leads with a 32.2% market share, up 4.8% points since 2019, while Banorte (10.2%) and HSBC (7.1%) also gained ground, driven by digital and expansion strategies. (Source) 

📖  Read of the Week

“The economic state of Latinos in America: Building up small businesses” by McKinsey & Company, highlights that, although Latinos represent 19% of the U.S. population, they account for only 6% of net income and just 2% of total wealth. Additionally, Latinos face significant barriers to financing: only 1% of VC funding goes to Latino founders. While Latino-led businesses are growing rapidly, their average size remains three times smaller than that of other U.S. companies. The report emphasizes the untapped economic potential of the Latino community and proposes solutions to close these structural gaps.

🦉 Post of the Week

 🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇨🇴 Quipu, the Colombian company providing working capital loans to micro and small businesses, raised $1.5 million from Addem Capital. Founded in 2019, Quipu has lent over $3 million to more than 15,000 businesses. 

🇧🇷 FinanZero, the Brazilian marketplace for consumer loans, raised $920k in a funding round led by Webrock Ventures, with participation from existing shareholders. The company, which achieved profitability in September 2024, plans to invest in infrastructure and AI tools to maintain profitability and increase revenue by 50% in 2025.

📺 Sponsored Content

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🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇧🇷 PicPay, the Brazilian digital wallet and payments platform, announced a partnership with Icatu Seguros, for the launch of 32 investment funds focused on private pensions.

🇨🇴 Monet, Colombian credit platform, and Refácil, the technology solutions company for micro-businesses and SMEs, launched a joint credit-based bill payment solution. The service allows users to pay utility and other bills in installments, addressing liquidity challenges and expanding access to consumer credit in Colombia.

🇨🇱 Sensedia, the Brazilian API management and open finance company, officially launched in Chile as part of its LatAm expansion strategy. The company aims to accelerate Chile’s open finance ecosystem by offering API-based solutions for banks and fintechs.

🇧🇷 Nubank expanded its crypto offering by adding support for Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), and Stellar (XLM) on its platform, allowing users to diversify their digital assets beyond BTC and ETH.

🌍 Trubit, the Mexico-based crypto exchange, announced a partnership with the decentralized lending protocol Morpho to launch a DeFi yield product. The integration allows users to earn interest through DeFi mechanisms while staying within the Trubit platform.

🇨🇴 Littio, the Colombia-based neobank offering a global multi-currency account, launched a euro savings account, allowing local users to save in foreign currency through a regulated platform and hedge against devaluation risk.

🇲🇽 Valiu, the Mexican international payments platform, launched a remunerated account for SMBs, enabling small businesses to earn interest on their funds. The product aims to bridge liquidity management gaps for companies traditionally excluded from high-yield financial tools.

🇧🇷 Zoop, the iFood group financial startup, has embedded financial services into enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. This integration allows Brazilian companies to offer embedded banking services, streamlining operations and enhancing revenue.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇧🇷 Itaú Unibanco launched a new international transfer feature via its app, allowing users to send money abroad instantly in partnership with fintech Remessa Online. The move positions Itaú to compete with neobanks and specialized remittance platforms by offering faster and cheaper FX transfers.

🇲🇽 BBVA Mexico launched "Cuenta para Chavos," a new savings product targeted at teenagers. The account allows people aged 13 to 17 to save and manage their money digitally while being linked to a parent’s or guardian’s account. It aims to foster financial education and inclusion from an early age.

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 Pix Automático, the new feature of Brazil’s instant payment system, launched to drive financial digitalization with innovative solutions. This new functionality enables recurring and automated payments, similar to direct debits, streamlining transactions for both businesses and consumers.  

🇧🇷 Stark Infra, the Brazilian company specializing in financial infrastructure, received authorization from Brazil’s Central Bank to operate as a Payment Service Technology Provider (PSTI). This allows the company to offer payment processing solutions.  

🇧🇷 Grupo Entre, the Brazilian financial group, received approval from Brazil’s Central Bank to acquire Credihome SCD’s credit fintech license. The deal involves only the direct credit society (SCD) license, not the full company, which remains under Loft. 

🇧🇷 A data breach exposed multiple Pix keys, prompting Brazil’s Central Bank to take action by officially registering the incident. Although no sensitive banking information was compromised, authorities are reinforcing security measures to protect users and ensure the continued reliability of the payment system.

🇧🇷 Mentore Bank, a digital bank based in Ceará, faces a potential rebranding due to a new naming rule proposed by Brazil's Central Bank, which restricts smaller institutions from using the term "bank" in their names.

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Luiz Landgraff was named President of Business Unit at 99Pay.

🇲🇽 Walmart announced a $6 billion investment in Mexico for 2025, focusing on expanding its store network, strengthening its supply chain, and enhancing its digital and omnichannel capabilities to meet growing consumer demand.  

🇨🇴 Colombia’s digital wallet ecosystem continues to grow, with over 54 million unique users now relying on digital payments. This expansion reflects a broader shift toward financial digitalization, with fintech solutions playing a critical role in financial inclusion.  

🇨🇴 Cash usage in Colombia is increasing at an annual rate of 20%, according to the National Association of Financial Institutions. Despite the rise of digital payment alternatives, cash remains a dominant payment method, highlighting the need for advancements in digital financial literacy and accessibility.

🇧🇷 Kingdom Auto Finance, the U.S.-based company focuses on facilitating auto loans for Latin American immigrants, particularly the Brazilian community, has financed over 500 vehicles, maintaining a default rate below 3%.

📚 Deeper Reads

Hyperpersonalization and trust: the challenge facing Mexican banking in the face of new generations (ES)

Why haven't online operations in the financial system grown?  (ES) 

What will happen if the US adds Bitcoin to its reserves? (ES)

Gender gap in fintech: How to address this pending challenge? (ES)

📣 LatAm startup alumni 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, Digital Innovation Manager at Banco Azteca

Lorena, Head of Policy for Spanish-speaking LatAm at Tools for Humanity

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