Mexico Fintech Chatter – Mar. 24, 2025

marzo 24, 2025
8:23 am

Mexico FinTech News

Rough start of the year for regulated fintechs

CNBV released detailed financials for January for both Sofipos and banks, showing a rough start of 2025 for the larger fintech players, not a lot of surprises (negative or positive), but anyone hoping for improving trends will have to wait for later in the year. Please reach out if you’d like to discuss in greater detail.

Nubank continued to show negative risk-adjusted financial margin, with pressure coming both from a declining loan to deposit ratio (LDR), which stood at 20.1% in January, down from 20.7% in December, with deposits up an impressive but costly 5% sequentially, but also from continued weak credit quality, with the non-performing loans rising 7% in January; the adjusted NPL ratio stood at 21.4%, up from 21.2% in December. Losses before taxes for the month were MXN 302 mn.
Klar, which had boasted about reaching profitability late last year went back to the red in January, losing MXN 21 mn, with pressure from credit quality: despite maintaining strong performing portfolio growth of 6% MoM, non-performing loans surged 19%. Of note, the company also saw an 8% sequential decline in total deposits, in all likelihood driven by its decision to cut rates; still, its LDR remains relatively low at 59% (up from 51% in January) – perhaps others should follow suit and see some depositors walk away?
Stori was similarly in the red, also driven by rising non-performing loans (+14% MoM in January vs +4% for the performing portfolio). The company lost MXN 116 mn before taxes in the month.
The viability of Bineo, Banorte’s fully digital bank, remains a significant question mark, specifically, what are they doing to spend so much money with so little impact? The performing portfolio was actually down marginally at a meagre MXN 33 million, and deposits were flat at 40 million, but they somehow spent 105 million in non-interest expenses, representing the bulk of its MXN 96 mn loss before taxes.
Ualá (a bank) saw performing loan growth of 8% in the month, which looks nice as a percentage, but is decidedly less impressive in absolute terms: its consumer book rose by MXN 18 million, or less than a million dollars, to just MXN 248 mn. The bank lost MXN 82 mn before taxes in January. On the bright side, they keep raising money, so they’ll have ample opportunity to grow this year, as detailed next.
As reported by Margin, loan and deposit performance among the main players in the Sofipo sector was uneven. Stori led deposit growth with a 13% month-over-month increase, followed by Finsus and Nu, both rising 5% MoM. In contrast, Fondeadora, Klar, and Kubo saw declines in their deposit balances compared to December. Total loans across the sector ended January at $64 billion pesos, a 0.7% MoM decline. While Klar posted the steepest drop in deposits (-8% MoM), it also recorded the largest growth in loan volume, up 7% for the month.

Ualá Raises US$66 mn in Series E Extension to Expand in Mexico

Ualá announced it raised an additional US$66 mn in a Series E extension round, with TelevisaUnivision as a key investor, which we now understand participated with 20% of the extension through its media-for-equity program. This brings the total Series E funding to US$366 mn, valuing the company at US$2.75 bn. CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri stated the funds will support growth in Mexico, as well as expansion of services like payments, credit, merchant acquisition, insurance and investments across Latin America. Ualá now serves 9 million users across the region, including 6.5 million in Argentina, and is growing rapidly in Colombia, with monthly growth rates of up to 15%. The company does not rule out further regional expansion or M&A activity, aiming to meet widespread demand for financial digitization. So far at least the expansion in Mexico and purchase of ABC Bank has yielded few obvious positive results.

Bloomberg Línea, 03/20/25, Carolina Millan: “Ualá Raises US$66 mn in Series E Round with Televisa and Plans Expansion in Mexico”

VCs Nazca and Bridge Agree to Merge

Mexico-based VCs Nazca and Bridge will merge going forward, thus combine assets worth over $300 million and expand their footprint in Latin American startups. The Nazca Fund IV will mainly focus on early-stage investments. The challenging fundraising environment for Mexican PE most likely played a part in the merger, with LPs preferring to entrust their money to stronger and larger players, with solid cash-on-cash track records. Expect more mergers in the Mexican PE space going forward.

Bloomberg, 03/20/25, Kylie Madry: “Latam VCs Nazca, Bridge Merge to Combine $300 Million in Assets”

Tala Secures US$150 mn Debt Facility to Expand SME Lending in Mexico

Tala, a U.S.-based microlender focused on emerging markets, secured a US$150 mn debt facility to expand its operations in Mexico, its only Latin American market. Issued by funds managed by Neuberger Berman, the facility begins at US$75 mn, with potential to scale. CEO Shivani Siroya stated the funds will help widen access through embedded partnerships and new credit products, particularly targeting small-business owners, who make up a large share of Tala’s clients. In 2024, Tala issued over US$500 mn in loans in Mexico, where it has more than 3 mn users, with an average loan size of MXN$2,300.

Reuters, 03/19/25, Kylie Madry: “Microlender Tala Lands US$150 mn Debt Facility to Expand Mexico Business”

Key Findings – ENIF 2024 (Mexico):

✅ 8 in 10 adults have at least one formal financial product — the highest since 2015.
📈 Financial well-being rose by 8 points between 2021 and 2024, especially among women and rural populations.
👩‍🌾 Growth in account ownership was faster among women and rural residents than men and urban dwellers.
🧠 Financial literacy has shown no significant improvement since 2018.
💵 Cash remains the dominant form of payment in Mexico, especially for everyday purchases and among lower-income segments — highlighting ongoing challenges in digital adoption.

“CNBV and INEGI Present Results of Financial Inclusion Poll”

Additional reading…

LatAm FinTech News

dLocal and Temu Announce Partnership

Fintech dLocal announced a strategic partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Temu. The agreement seeks to enhance the shopping experience for millions of customers in 14 emerging markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America by offering seamless and secure payment options tailored to local preferences.

Press release, 03/20/25: “dLocal and Temu join forces to help millions of shoppers access affordable quality products”

Zíro Raises Undisclosed Funding from Sustainable Futures to Empower Small Retailers

Colombian fintech Zíro raised an undisclosed amount from Sustainable Futures, the impact investment arm of Mondelēz International. Zíro enables manufacturers, distributors, and B2B marketplaces to offer short-term loans to small retailers for inventory purchases.

LatamList, 03/19/25, Matheus Tomé: “Zíro Raises Undisclosed Amount from Sustainable Futures”

Global FinTech News

These Are the Fintech IPOs That Could Follow Klarna’s Debut

Following Klarna’s recent IPO filing, a number of other venture-backed fintech startups are emerging as potential candidates to go public. According to Crunchbase’s forecasting tools, leading contenders include Stripe—valued at US$91.5 bn after a recent employee share buyback—and Chime, both of which have raised billions in private capital. Other notable names on the list are Plaid, Brex, Ramp, Rippling, Deel, Monzo, and N26, signaling a potential fintech IPO wave in the coming months. Despite prior hesitation, improved profitability and stronger balance sheets may push these companies to seize favorable public market conditions post-Klarna.

Crunchbase News, 03/20/25, Joanna Glasner: “These Are The Fintech IPOs That Could Follow Klarna’s Debut”

Verizon and Santander Partner to Enhance Openbank’s Digital Experience in the U.S.

Verizon Business and Santander have announced a strategic collaboration to boost the digital banking experience of Openbank, Santander’s digital bank. The partnership will integrate Verizon’s advanced network and cybersecurity services into Openbank’s digital platform, focusing on security, scalability, and operational resilience.

Santander, 03/21/25, Staff: “Verizon y Santander anuncian una colaboración que potenciará la experiencia digital de Openbank en Estados Unidos”

Flowpay Secures €30 mn from Fasanara Capital to Expand SME Lending and Embedded Finance

Flowpay, a Prague-based fintech, raised €30 mn in debt financing from Fasanara Capital to boost working capital loans for SMEs and accelerate its growth in embedded finance across Europe. Founded in 2021, Flowpay uses AI-driven tools to automate loan assessments and tailor financing offers by integrating directly with clients’ POS and e-commerce platforms. The new funds will enable expansion beyond the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Netherlands, with ambitions to become a leading embedded lending provider in Europe.

FF News, 03/21/25, Staff: “Flowpay Raises €30 Million From Fasanara Capital to Lend to Small and Medium-Sized Companies”

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