Miranda’s Weekly Mex FinTech Monitor
October 30, 2023
Mexico FinTech News
Finerio raises US $6.5 million to create an open finance ecosystem in Latin America
Mexican FinTech open finance startup, Finerio Connect, has raised $6.5 million in funding to advance its open finance platform, offering personalized financial services access. Third Prime led the investment, with participation from strategic investors such as Visa, Bancolombia Ventures, and Krealo, Credicorp’s venture capital arm, along with others like Alaya Capital, Gaingels, Plug and Play, and Winklevoss Capital. The additional funding will support key hires, expansion of the API-based platform to two more countries, and overall increased usage. Founded in 2018 by co-CEOs Nick Grassi and José Luis López, Finerio Connect aims to facilitate financial data exchange across Latin America.
Tekios, 10/24/2023, Staff: Finerio recauda US$6,5 millones para crear un ecosistema de finanzas abiertas en A. Latina
Nu México wants DiMo to be for Mexico what Pix has been for Brazil
Nu México wants its make Dinero Movil (DiMo) one of the favorite payment methods of Mexicans, just as Pix, developed by the Central Bank of Brazil, has become among Brazilians. DiMo, recently launched by Mexico’s Central Bank in September, will allow users to link phone numbers to their bank accounts, enabling real-time transfers and electronic payments. Nu believes that DiMo could help revolutionize the Mexican payment system, which is currently dominated by traditional banks. The fintech expects the payment method to be adopted by a wide range of users, from individuals to small and large businesses.
El Economista, 10/24/2023, Rodrigo Riquelme: Nubank quiere que DIMO sea para México lo que Pix ha sido para Brasil
LatAm FinTech News
Colombian government paves the way for 10 more sandboxes
The Colombian government announced it would create 10 regulatory sandboxes to test innovative products and business models in the FinTech, AgroTech, EdTech, and TravelTech spaces, among others. The sandboxes, which will be overseen by the Ministry of Telecommunications and comes on top of the Financial Oversight Commission’s (SFC) sandbox. The SFC sandbox has been a model for the region with 26 companies and 18 innovative projects having participated, of which four have been given the green light to operate in the country’s public financial markets. In comparison, even five years after Mexico’s sandbox, was first announced as part of the country’s novel Ley Fintech, no fintech has been approved to participate.
Iupana, 10/27/2023, Ivis Aguilera: Colombia trabaja en 10 sandbox: fintechs esperan mejoras regulatorias
Itaú Unibanco and embedded finance company partner to bring Pix to the rest of LatAm
Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco has announced a partnership with Inswitch, an embedded finance company with operations in over 40 countries, to allow Brazilians abroad to use the Brazilian real-time payment system Pix throughout Latin America. By scanning the QR code at the physical point-of-sale, Brazilians will be able to pay for goods and services using Brazilian reais, with interchange fees handled behind the scenes by Inswitch. The partnership seeks to expand Pix use throughout Latin America.
The Papers, 10/27/2023, Staff: Itaú Unibanco and Inswitch introduce Pix no mundo
Other news
Business Insider, 10/25/2023, Staff: Magical lanza fondo de inversión de 5 mdd para startups y emprendedores
Tekios, 10/27/2023, Staff: Tenpo lanza con éxito su tarjeta de crédito: emite en Chile más de 15.000 plásticos el primer mes
Valor Económico, 10/25/2023: Nubank alcança mais de 90 milhões de clientes na América Latina
Global FinTech News
Poor Worldline earnings hit other PayTechs
Worldline, the leading Paris-based European payments company, saw its stock crater 50% when it reported poor third quarter earnings. Affirm, Block, PayPal, Adyen all declined in sympathy. Worldline blamed poor market conditions in Germany, not strictly relevant to the other names, and VISA, a better global proxy, affirmed a positive outlook.
MarketWatch, 10/25/2023, Emily Bary: Block, PayPal and Affirm shares slide after Worldline warning. Are investors overreacting?
Flourish Ventures secures $350 million in new capital
Early-stage global venture capital fund Flourish Ventures announced $350 million in new capital to invest in the U.S. and emerging markets. The fund which focuses on the fintech sector, was founded in 2019 and currently has US $850 million under management, backing 71 startups across five continents. Recently, it invested in Brazilian NeoBank Neon. The firm seeks to back companies that demonstrate new or better ways of doing business.
TechCrunch, 10/25/2023, Mary Ann Azevedo: Flourish Ventures, a ‘fintech venture fund with a purpose,’ secures $350M in new capital
Payments drive open banking boom in the UK
According to Open Banking Limited (OBL), the volume of open banking payments in the UK doubled in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year, with a new record of 9.7 million payments made in June. The organization highlights that payments are driving the overall usage of open banking and expects payments to overtake data use cases. OBL chairwoman Marion King highlighted that there was still much more to be done to optimize the full benefits of opening baking within retail banking markets and beyond.
OpenBanking Expo, 10/23/2023, Ellie Duncan: UK Open Banking payments volume doubles in H1 2023 to reach new record
Other news
TechCrunch, 10/18/2023, Paul Sawers: From zero to Employment Hero
FinTech Global, 10/27/2023, Staff: Shift4 acquires Finaro to boost expansion and elevate ecommerce capabilities
The Wallstreet Journal, 10/25/2023, Denny Jacob: UPS Buys Reverse Logistics Company Happy Returns From PayPal
Forbes, 10/23/2023, Alex Lazarow: 5 Fintech Lessons From 5 Ecosystems, Ending At Money2020