$265.5 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

I would like to pause for a moment to address the devastating tragedy that has struck Acapulco due to Hurricane Otis. For many of us in Mexico, Acapulco holds a special place in our hearts. The human losses and the extensive damage inflicted on lives, families, friends, and the city's infrastructure are beyond words. We still can't comprehend the full extent of the losses or how long it will take for the beautiful Puerto de Acapulco to recover. The role that financial institutions will play, both traditional and innovative, will be more than relevant. Our thoughts and hearts go out to those who are suffering and have lost so much. Please consider making a donation to a trusted organization (for me, is Cruz Roja Mexicana) to assist Acapulco and the resilient people of Guerrero in this challenging time.

Now, please find below this week’s Latam fintech news.  

🖤 Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

📊 Stat of the Week

According to the Statista Consumer Insights macro survey, Chile is the Latin American country where the majority of its population (52%) claims to be worried about their financial future, followed by the Dominican Republic (49%) and Argentina (48%). 

📖  Read of the Week

According to the report "Global Insurance Report 2023" of "McKinsey Company", insurance companies can play a key role in the fight against financial inequality in Latam. The insurance sector can identify opportunities by diversifying product portfolios, personalizing and digitizing customer interactions, and promoting economic development.

🎙️Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Finerio Connect, the Mexican open finance startup, raised $6.5 million in a Seed funding round to keep developing its open finance platform and tools. The round was led by Third Prime, with the participation of Visa, Bancolombia Ventures and Krealo (the VC arm from Credicorp), Alaya Capital, Gaingels, Plug and Play and Winklevoss Capital.

🌎 Atani, the Spanish startup that simplifies crypto management, raised a $6 million funding round led by the Mexican VC fund Cometa. It also had the participation of JME Ventures, Conexo Ventures, and CDTI.  

🇧🇷 Vaas, the Brazilian anti-fraud tech company, raised $2 million in a Pre-Seed funding round from ABSeed Ventures, Honey Island and Fuse Capital. 

🇸🇻 Abaco Capital, the Salvadorian platform for money tracking automatization and budget control, raised $500,000 in a Pre-Seed round with participation of HubSpot, Tap Tap Send, Jeeves, Cacao Capital and Caricao.

🇨🇴 FinMaq, the Colombian company centered on productive assets, secured a $500,000 investment from the 'International Soft Landing' program by the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) and Manutara Ventures. 

💵 Debt 

🇨🇱 Banco Consorcio, the Chilean banking institution that recently invested in the Pago Fácil fintech company, received a $250 million credit by International Finance Corporation for a five-year period.

💰 Venture funds  

🇨🇱 Magical, the Chilean accelerator, introduced a $5 million investment fund, allocating up to $100,000 USD for each regional startup to fuel their development. 

🌎 Flourish Ventures, the California-based early-stage fund with a focus in US and emerging markets, secured $350 million in capital. Among its previous investments is the Brazilian neobank Neon.  

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇨🇱 Tenpo, the Chilean financial management platform, announced the launch of its credit card, issuing 15,000 cards in their first month, with a NPS rating of 79%. The new card will offer customers total control, no fees, and a loyalty program.

🇲🇽 Didi, the Chinese ride-hailing and transportation company, launched its credit card in Mexico, providing users with an initial credit line of $165, with no annual fees supporting contactless payments, and a daily 3% cashback.

🇨🇴 Nequi, Bancolombia's digital financial platform, and Terrapay, the global cross-border payments network, announced a partnership to streamline international remittances for Colombians. It will allow users to receive remittances from over 200 countries.

🇨🇴 KII Global, the Colombian digital asset solutions platform, announced the launch of KIIEX, the new exchange.It offers secure connectivity and competitive fees, and is set to launch on November 30.

🇧🇷 Nubank, the Brazilian neobank, announced a new loan offering to retirees and pensioners of the National Social Security Institute (INSS). This new option, with interest rates starting at 1.35% per month, complements Nubank's existing offering for federal public servants in Brazil. 

🌎 Sensedia, the Brazilian company that delivers API solutions for businesses, and Mambu, the European cloud-native core banking platform, announced a partnership to provide advanced API management and modern banking solutions for financial institutions.

📜 Policy

🇲🇽 Mexican Senator Indira Kempis modified her initial bill seeking to create a Mexican central bank digital currency (CBDC), to include crypto assets. She intends to debate the bill in Congress.

📺 Sponsored Content

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📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 BS2, the Brazil-based digital bank, carried out the first transaction in digital reais with the Central Bank, which will allow more digital wallets to join the pilot of the Brazilian CBDC.

🇦🇷 Bitcoin is reaching a new all-time highs in Argentina amid the continued devaluation of the local currency. The value of BTC has increased by 277% in the last 12 months and more than 5,000% in the last 5 years.

🌎 JPMorgan (JPM) conducts $1 billion worth of transactions in its JPM Coin digital token per day, through its token allowing its institutional clients to make blockchain-based wholesale payments between accounts around the world.

📚 Deeper Reads

Women in fintech: industry support with worldline, avant and more

AI and the art of the fintech possible

Getting fintech right

Banks and fintechs need to act so that Drex benefits the whole of society and not just the BC

Strategies to follow the financial market (PO)

Tokenization and business financing (ES)

Getting started in the fintech sector 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

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