LATAM Fintech | 2021 #10
Hi, there! Welcome back to another LATAM Fintech Newsletter. In this newsletter, I cover all the major news related to LATAM Fintech. Thank you for subscribing!
Mexican financial authorities on Monday said that crypto assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not considered currencies under current laws, warning that financial institutions that operate with them are subject to sanctions.
The joint statement by the Banco de México, finance ministry and banking regulator comes after Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego on Sunday said his banking business, Banco Azteca, may begin using bitcoin, which would make it the country's first bank to start accepting the cryptocurrency.
👉 Read more here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF THE LATEST NEWS IN LATAM
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Amid increasing rivalry in the payments vertical in Latin America, delivery company Rappi is rolling out credit cards for Brazilian users.
Rappi teamed with Visa to provide the credit cards. Its credit cards offerings include RappiPrime Infinite, which will come with a fee of 89 reais (approximately $17.50) per month, and RappiGold, which doesn’t come with a fee.
Those who harness the firm’s credit cards will get a minimum of 3 percent cash back on Rappi purchases or at least 1 percent with other merchants.
👉 Read more here.
BRAZIL
About half the population of Latin America has no access to financial products, according to the World Bank. Its traditional banking system is associated with high fees and difficult-to-obtain lines of credit.
Sao Paulo-based Nubank l has spent eight years challenging those banks, and now offers banking and financial services to more than 25 million users.
Catalyst Cristina Junqueira Co-Founder of Nubank looks at the challenges of banking in Latin America with Bloomberg News Wealth Reporter Felipe Marques.
👉 Read more here.
Also, Nubank is said to be in the early stages of pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) in the US.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Nubank had acquired $750 million in capital as part of two extensions of its latest Series G round on its way to raising $1.15 billion.
👉 Read more here.
2TM Group, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America, announced that Mercado Bitcoin has raised $200 million USD from the SoftBank Group Corp. Latin America Fund.
The fundraise represents the largest Series B round in Latin America’s history and SoftBank’s largest investment in a Latin America crypto company. The investment values 2TM Group at $2.1 billion USD, making it the eighth most valuable unicorn in Latin America.
👉 Read more here.
JPMorgan Chase and C6 Bank announced that they have entered into a strategic agreement, whereby JPMorgan Chase will take a 40% ownership stake in the full-service Brazilian digital bank, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We’re excited to be partnering with one of Brazil’s fastest growing digital banks,” said Sanoke Viswanathan, CEO of International Consumer for JPMorgan Chase.
👉 Read more here.
COLOMBIA
In the coming days Lulo Bank will receive the certificate of operations that will allow it to enter the Colombian financial market and compete with other neobanks; such as: Nequi, from Bancolombia, Nubank, Rappi and Davivienda.
This new digital bank received the endorsement of the Superfinanciera in February 2020 and will have a capital of 105,000 million pesos, according to the newspaper La República. In a first stage, the entity will offer credit card services, free investment and drafts.
👉 Read more here.
PERU
Máximo, a Peruvian fintech that develops financial services for Millennials and Generation Z has, with the support of Mastercard, launched “Máximo Teens” in the Peruvian market; the first prepaid card for adolescents.
This service seeks to be the ally of both adolescents and gamers in their first contact with the financial world, educating themselves in a sector that will accompany them throughout their adult lives.
Through this innovative product, Máximo hopes to reach more than 11 million Peruvian gamers; a segment in continual growth.
👉 Read more here.
This ends my weekly LATAM fintech newsletter. Thank you for reading to the end! If you liked it, I invite you to like, share and/or leave a comment below.
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Regards,
Marcel van Oost
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