$195.3 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

Yesterday, Argentinians elected a new president in a runoff election. This marks the final electoral process in the Americas for 2023. Looking ahead, countries including El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Mexico, and the United States are set to hold elections in 2024. 

Have a great week, and don't forget to check out this week’s top stories in Latam fintech news. If you’re reading this on the web, your support through sharing and subscribing is greatly appreciated.

💛 Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

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📊 Stat of the Week

Pix transactions in September 2023 totaled 3.9 billion versus 2.3 billion in September 2022. This is a 70% annual growth rate. Additionally, 34% of all Pix transactions in September 2023 were consumers paying businesses, in September 2022, P2B transactions represented 22% of the total. (Source)

📖  Read of the Week

According to TTR Data's monthly M&A report, until October 2023 a total of 135 private equity transactions have been recorded for $4,908 million, which represents a downward trend in both the number of transactions (-19% ) and in its amount (-38%), compared to the same period of the previous year. Brazil leads the region by number of transactions, Chile is second place and Mexico, third; followed by Colombia, Argentina and Peru.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7r69u2uQkggFjE5IMP2RWY?si=9uqiB-m9RGansA8cSM7Y1w

🦉 Post of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 Fnality, the Brazilian tokenization of monetary assets company, raised $95 million in a series B funding round led by Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas. The round also had the participation of DTCC, Eurocrear, Nomura, and WisdomTree.

🇧🇷 Lynx, the Brazilian AI driven company to detect financial frauds, raised $18.5 million in a Series A led by Forgepoint Capital. The round also had the participation of Santander Bank.

🇧🇷 CondoConta, the Brazilian digital bank for condos financial solutions, raised $13.2 million in a Series A round with the participation of SYN Proptech, Endeavor Scale-Up, and Terracotta Ventures, plus the current investors Redpoint eVentures and Igah Ventures.

🇵🇪 Hapi, the Peruvian-led and San Francisco-based wealthtech company, raised $1.6 million from Utec Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, Softeq Ventures, and Mural Capital to expand its asset management portfolio and crypto offering.

💵 Debt 

🇧🇷 Credix, the Brazilian tokenized platform for SMEs, secured a $60 million credit line to expand operations. No further details were disclosed. 

🇨🇴 RapiCredit, the Colombian microcredit startup for unbanked people, secured $7 million in debt from Almavest to expand its offering. 

💰 Venture funds 

🇦🇷 Dividenz Cash, the NY-Buenos Aires financial company to invest in US real estate, secured a $5 million investment.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇨🇱 Ebury, the European platform specialized in international payments and currency risk management for SMEs, announced its expansion to Chile with plans for regional presence. The company offers an alternative to traditional banking.

🌎 Resuelve tu Deuda, the Mexican debt solution platform, announced its transformation into Bravo. The company provides financial advice and settles debts at a discounted rate through its new platform, planning to offer more than 5 million financial consultations globally, emphasizing financial education to reintegrate clients into the credit system.

🇲🇽 ETPay, the Chilean cardless payment services platform for business, announced the launch of its new platform in Mexico. The platform enables the handling of payments, including buyer transfers, recurring payments, and inter-business transfers, while providing real-time access to bank reconciliation.

🇬🇹 Cubo, the Salvadoran payment services platform for SMEs, announced its expansion to Guatemala after venturing in El Salvador and Panama. The company enables businesses to effortlessly accept card payments through methods like POS, payment links, and QR codes.

🇺🇾 Prometeo, the Uruguayan tech infrastructure platform, announced a new link-based and QR code payments solution. This will simplify secure transactions for users and businesses.

🌎 Nubank, the Brazilian neobank, announced a new metrics dashboard, Nucoin Explorer, providing transparency to users of its cryptocurrency Nucoin. The platform offers real-time information on key indicators, including wallet count, transactions, trade data, and economic insights.

🇨🇱 SumUp, the European payment solutions platform, and Mastercad announced a partnership to introduce a free prepaid card and digital account for entrepreneurs, businesses, and SMEs in Chile, starting from December.

🌎 Bitso, the Mexican crypto exchange platform, and Beetransfer, the US-based dollar collection and payment solutions for freelancers, announced a partnership to enable users to receive international payments instantly. The partnership, focused on Latam, aims to ensure flexibility, security, and immediate transactions, starting in Argentina and expanding across Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🌎 Agibank, the Brazilian commercial bank, and PagBank, the Brazilian neobank, announced they have completed the first interbank transfer using the Real Digital's Drex Platform. The test involved creating a wallet, depositing assets, and transferring funds between institutions.

📜 Policy

🇲🇽 The Mexican Central Bank authorized Pomelo, Klu, and XC Networks to operate as electronic payment fund institutions (IFPE) under the Fintech Law. 

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Some of Brazil's digital banks are leading a new credit cycle in the country, showing solid results thanks to increased exposure to consumer credit, even before the banking system recorded a rebound in credit demand.

🇲🇽 Bitso announced the departure of its CEO in Mexico, Bárbara González Briseño, who will be replaced on January 1, 2024 by Felipe Vallejo, the Global Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs.

🇲🇽 The main microfinance companies in Mexico, which make up the ProDesarrollo microfinance network, reported a credit portfolio of 15 billions at the end of Q1-2023. This represents a 13% growth compared to Q1-2022.

🌎 International banks and local banks began to offer bitcoin and crypto services; focusing on the strong interest of clients and investors in digital assets.

📚 Deeper Reads

APIs: A Breakdown for Non Technical Product Managers

The Paypers Global Partnerships Analysis Q3 2023

Cybersecurity in financial institutions: the Mexican battle against cybercrime (ES)

Remittances in LatAm advance at a record pace in 2023: which countries receive the most? (ES)

Venture Capital In AI

Latin America Blockchain Technology Market Analysis 2023 Examining the SWOT of Key Players and Predicting Explosive Growth by 2032

📣 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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