Miranda’s Weekly Mex FinTech Chatter – September 23rd, 2024
Mexico FinTech News
Mercado Pago Obtains $250 Million Financing from JPMorgan to Expand Credit in Mexico
Mercado Pago, the FinTech division of Mercado Libre, secured $250 million in financing from JPMorgan. This capital will be used to expand its credit services, focusing on providing loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals with limited access to traditional banking services.
Forbes México, 09/18/24, Forbes Staff: Mercado Pago obtiene financiación de JPMorgan para expandir sector de créditos en México Other Sources: Expansion, El Economista, y Milenio
RappiCard Surpasses 5 Billion Pesos in Credit Portfolio
RappiCard, a credit card product from the partnership between Grupo Financiero Banorte and Rappi, has exceeded 5 billion pesos in its credit portfolio. This achievement positions RappiCard as one of the largest FinTechs in Mexico, driven by features such as cashback and no annual fees. GF Banorte recently consolidated Rappicard, suggesting that Rappi’s stake has fallen to non-control, and possibly its main role and source of profits is in helping acquire clients through its core delivery business and app.
El Economista, 09/17/24, Branden Content: RappiCard supera los 5 mil millones de pesos en su cartera de crédito.
Fundary and Cumplo Form Strategic Alliance to Offer Collective Financing for SMEs in Mexico
Fundary and Cumplo, two leading FinTech platforms, have formed a strategic alliance to strengthen their collective financing offerings for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mexico. This partnership allows both platforms to expand their reach, providing financing solutions that connect investors directly with businesses in need of capital.
Mundo Ejecutivo, 09/16/24, Aldo Mejia: Fundary y Cumplo: financiamiento colectivo para pymes en México.
Nu continues to bleed money in Mexico
The CNBV released Nu Mexico’s July operating figures, showing a loss of MXN 329mn, up from MXN 87mn in June. Nu Mexico’s cost of risk hit a record 39% in July, up from 20% in June, leading to a coverage ratio increase to 119%. The Non-Performing Loan ratio worsened to 7.6%, while fee income dropped 2.3% to MXN 183mn, and operating expenses surged 44% to MXN 356mn. Demand deposits grew 9.4% MoM to MXN 51.0bn, with loan growth at 4.4% MoM. In short, while Nu’s loan portfolio accelerated, and deposits grew solidly, higher costs and modest fee income continued to weigh on profitability. When will investors begin to get impatient?
Other news
El Economista, 09/18/24, Sebastian Estrada: Llega a México nuevo competidor de transferencias internacionales mediante stablecoins
México simplifica apertura de cuentas digitales de pymes, repatriados y refugiados (iupana.com)
Open finance avanza en espera de la regulación (eleconomista.com.mx)
CoDi continúa con avance lento; DiMo, suma participantes (eleconomista.com.mx)
LatAm FinTech News
Finkargo Raises $95M in Series A Extension Round
Colombian FinTech Finkargo raised $95 million in a Series A extension round, which includes $20 million in equity and $75 million in debt. The round was led by QED Investors and CIM, with participation from other investors such as Quona, Flybridge, Nazca, Maya, and OneVC. The funds will be used to expand Finkargo’s services, including financing fleets and shipping insurance, as the company aims to triple its operations. Finkargo focuses on providing fast credit to SME importers in Latin America, with its client base currently spanning Colombia and Mexico.
LatamList, 09/17/24, Felipe Osorno-Giraldo: Finkargo raises a $95M Series A extension round
Other news
Brazilian VC fund Atlantico published its annual digital report: LatAm Does it Best: How adversity breeds world-class tech companies and returns
LatAm List, 09/17/24, Sara Delgado: Koggi raises $3M from Second Century Ventures
Reuters, 09/16/24, Staff: FinTech Clara taps new finance head as Brazil operations grow ‘quickly’
Global FinTech News
AtoB FinTech raised $130 million
The company that provides payment solutions for the transportation industry, raised a $130 million Series C led by General Catalyst and Bloomberg Beta. The round was a mix of equity and debt funding. The San Francisco-based company provides drivers and fleet operators with financial products such as fleet cards, instant direct-deposit payroll, and access to bank accounts and savings tools. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $312 million,.
CrunchBase, 09/17/24, Staff: The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds:
Yonder Secures New Funding for Expansion Plans
UK-based credit card FinTech Yonder has raised £23.4 million in its latest funding round, co-led by RTP Global and Jigsaw VC, with participation from LocalGlobe, Northzone, and Seedcamp. The funds will be used to support Yonder’s plans to expand beyond the UK and grow its team. Yonder offers a rewards-based credit card targeting users who value lifestyle perks and aims to differentiate itself in the competitive FinTech space with customer-centric offerings.
Raidiam, 09/20/24, Ellie Duncan: Credit card FinTech Yonder secures new funding for expansion plans.
Other news
Milenio, 09/17/24, Staff: India es semillero de innovación FinTech:
TyN, 09/18/24, Staff: Ibanera teams up with Visa to drive digital payment solutions
Walmart (WMT) Plans Instant Bank Payments, Cutting Out Card Networks – Bloomberg
Amazon Teams With PayPal as Buy With Prime Jumps 50% (pymnts.com)
Exclusive | JPMorgan in Talks With Apple to Take Over Credit Card From Goldman – WSJ