Druo's technology creates an ecosystem that enables B2B users to charge or pay directly to any bank account without having to go through the complex network of financial intermediaries.
JoinedOct. 7, 2022
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Jorge C. Carrasco is a Contributing Reporter at Fintech Nexus. He reports on fintech, economy, banking, startups, and technology, covering the most impactful stories from a Latin American perspective.
He has contributed to several international publications, such as Foreign Policy, The Spectator Australia, Estadão, Época, Washington Examiner, and Quillette. Originally from Havana, Cuba, he is now based in Brazil.
The new alliance between Banca Afirme and Clara guarantees the investment of $55 million throughout 2023 for 200 businesses in LatAm.
The investment, which was made in two parts, will serve to expand Kala's commercial and engineering team, as well as lay the groundwork to take its operations to other parts of LatAm.
The payment operation, which has been awaiting regulatory approval for three years, will first focus on small merchants and will be implemented gradually in the South American country.
According to the company, the goal of this expansion is to consolidate the fintech as one of the major players in LatAm, helping small businesses to reduce costs with payments by improving their financial management.
The agreement for the acquisition of NetPay had been announced in November 2022. FEMSA had owned minority shares in the fintech since 2019.
BTG's recent move anticipates a scenario that should be commonplace starting next year in Brazil.
According to Ripio executives, this partnership will allow users of both fintechs to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in their respective apps.
These operations had been legally challenged by credit card companies, which currently dominate this type of activity in Chile.
This is Visa's second offer for the Brazilian fintech. Previously, the American company offered $1 billion to acquire the startup, but the offer was refused.