$11.5 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

September is a festive season for our region, as Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, and Nicaragua celebrate their independence this month. These eight countries, with their distinct Latam characteristics and cultures, play a crucial role for the development of the fintech industry and its regulatory framework. So as we reach the half of September, we celebrate each of these nations. 

I’d like to mention that the TWIF Latam team will be taking a break next weekend, and we’ll be back in October. Meanwhile, a friendly reminder about the upcoming events:

1. Finnosummit Mexico 2023 (remember to use the exclusive 15% discount for TWIF subscribers with the FSTHISWEEK code). 
2. The TWIF Latam Finnosummit Kickoff Mixer, RSVP here. 
3. The Fintech Trek in Mexico City in October, apply here to participate. 

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

Latam’s fintech industry generates the largest number of transactions and it is expected to reach $333 million by the end of 2023, an interannual growth of 6% (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

Kushki and Statista released "Industries that transform the world of payments", a study on the advances, challenges, and opportunities that have shaped Latam's business landscape in five key industries: fintech, food delivery, tourism, shared mobility, and retail.

🎙️Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸Equity

🇵🇪 Prestapyme, a Peruvian collaborative finance platform, raised $5 million in pre-Series A funding co-led by ALIVE Ventures and Oikocredit. The round was also supported by Salkantay Ventures, INCA Ventures, AVP Ventures, and existing business angel investors.

🇦🇷 N5, the Argentinian systematic platform designed for open finance, closed a Series A funding round with an undisclosed amount. The financing round was led by Illuminate Capital, Exor Ventures, and Overboost.

🇧🇷 Caliza, the Miami-based software company that provides an API to create digital dollar accounts, raised a $5.3 million seed round for its Brazil expansion. The round was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures and Abstract Ventures. 

💵 Debt 

🇧🇷 UP Vendas, the Brazilian startup specializing in online clothing and accessories retail, raised $1.23 million through the tokenization of credit card receivables. This funding method involved collaboration with AmFi, the digital asset tokenization and distribution startup. The transaction was structured using a traditional debenture, further tokenized and backed by the fintech's credit card receivables.

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇧🇷 Sinapse, the São Paulo company to automatize financial management for SMEs, announced the acquisition of UpTick, the accounting firm for the same segment. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. 

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ

🇩🇴 Grupo Popular, the Dominican financial group, announced the acquisition of GCS International, the technology firm for processing financial transactions. No additional details were disclosed.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇲🇽 Paymentology, the leading global issuer-processor, and Nelo, the Mexico-based mobile application for financial transactions, announced a partnership to facilitate in-person payments in Mexico and bring financial services to previously unbanked sectors.

🇨🇴 Pomelo, the Argentine financial infrastructure platform, and Stable, the company offering remittances and P2P payments, announced the launch of their credit card in just 18 days in Colombia, when the process usually lasts more than a year.

🇧🇷 Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank, announced the launch of a guaranteed loan in Brazil, with which it will expand its portfolio without increasing the risk of default.

🇨🇴 Conduit, the a US-based platform of crypto products that use DeFi, announced its launch in Colombia. They will provide payment infrastructure services to Latam companies, and will send and receive money to and from the US.

🇦🇷 Ualá, the Argentinean financial ecosystem app, and MeCubro, the online insurance company, announced a partnership to offer insurance and assistance through the Ualá app.

🇧🇷 Ramp, a Poland-based payments infrastructure to connect crypto and traditional finance, announced the integration of PIX, so that Brazilians can easily purchase cryptocurrencies.

🌎 Alza, the US/Mexican neobank, announced its public launch, with the goal of helping meet the diverse banking needs of Latin or Central Americans living and working in the US.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇧🇷 Itaú Unibanco, announced a digital platform that will enhance the financial management of companies through the implementation of APIs. The platform will accelerate business transformation, while ensuring the security of financial transactions.

🇦🇷 BBVA announced the launch of Spark in Argentina, a service focused on providing banking services to technology startups.

🇨🇴 MiBanco and Belvo, the Mexican open finance API platform, announced a partnership to offer expanded opportunities to receive credit for its users through open finance.

🌎 Visa and Paysend, the UK-based platform that enables any bank card to send and receive money worldwide, announced a partnership to expand remittance service in the US and Latam.

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 The Brazilian Central Bank’s new rule on fraud data sharing will enter into force in November. The rule  specifies that the authorized institutions have to share information regarding potential frauds in transactions in the financial system. 

🇵🇪 A bill seeking to regulate crypto in Peru is moving forward in Congress and Peru's Fintech Association has issued a warning regarding an upcoming congressional vote. The bill, which was approved by the Economic Commission, proposes a framework to oversee crypto asset marketing. It lacks the support of the government’s financial regulatory agencies. 

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Transfeera, the Brazilian business payment infrastructure company, named Ester Caresma as Director of Compliance and Risks, her objective will be to strengthen the risk management system.

🇧🇷 Nomad, the Brazil-based neobank offering bank accounts and an investment platform, named Sabrina Loureuro as Head of Content and Research, her objective is to support the expansion of the investment area and to democratize access to international assets.

🇧🇷 BTG Pactual, the leading Brazilian bank, announced the start of the distribution of QR Asset crypto funds.

🇧🇷 Coingecko’s survey indicates that Brazil has the third largest cryptocurrency ETF in the world: the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index FI (HASH11), with $1.27 billion of assets under management in its products.

📚 Deeper Reads

8 Latin American VCs share why they’re brimming with optimism about the region’s startups

Latin America’s Startup Ecosystem Extends Beyond Fintech

Where to bank? - Tips for Mexican Savers

Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in MercadoLibre Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

Bootstrapping vs. Seeking Venture Capital 

Insurtech and fintech, unicorns of Latin America (ES)

Food delivery and Fintech: fastest growing industries in Latin America (ES)

Made in Latam with 💚 by Elena and Lorena

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