Venture capital funding to LatAm startups droped 70% to $1.3 billion in the quarter, down from $4.1 billion in the year-ago period.
The new alliance between Banca Afirme and Clara guarantees the investment of $55 million throughout 2023 for 200 businesses in LatAm.
Brazil's teenage-focused neobank Z1 received a $10.4 million investment to build new products to cater to young adults as well.
A year after launching in Colombia, Argentine neobank Ualá reached 200,000 customers in the country, its CEO Natalia Ríos told Fintech Nexus.
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.
Nubank and Ualá expanded to Colombia to boost customer acquisition. Replicating success in Latin America is no easy feat for digital banks.
Walmart Mexico announced the acquisition of payments startup Trafalgar to strengthen its digital wallet initiative.
With payroll lending, Nubank blazes a trail into secured lending, an asset that bears less risk than credit cards and individual loans.
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.