👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Stripe is launching a new infrastructure for bank transfers, which automates all reconciliation and creates a simplified refund process. It will be first made available in the EU, UK, Mexico, and Japan. Link here.
Traditionally, bank transfers require manual reconciliation, whereby teams of accountants are employed to match incoming bank transfer payments with outstanding amounts owed. Additionally refunding traditional bank transfers requires the manual setup of an opposite bank transfer.
The reliance on the payer makes bank transfers challenging for businesses. Unlike card payments that are initiated by a business for a set amount, bank transfers put the customer in control of the amount and timing. Customers might enter amounts that are incorrect or piecemeal—or, even worse, sent to the wrong business.
👉 Read the full article here.
👨💻 NEWSLETTER
The Open Views newsletter by belvo brings together the most important news, debates, and events from the ecosystem in Latin America.
The newsletter will be sent monthly to subscribers who are interested in keeping up with the Open Finance ecosystem: regulatory changes, new companies and solutions, analysis and debates, technology news, and even job opportunities across Latin America.
👉 Sign up for The Open Views Newsletter by belvo here.
📰 ARTICLE
Immersed in market uncertainty, are unicorn startups in a bubble that is about to burst?
In Latin America, the last two years have seen an explosion in the number of startups with multi-million-dollar valuations and, probably, overt confidence among investors in business models that, for the most part, have not yet proven their profitability.
👉 Read the full Bloomberglinea article written by Yanin Alfaro here.
💡INSIGHTS
Today, there are over 150 BNPL providers across the world. Partnering with merchants to offer a variety of BNPL services as a payment option at checkout, these companies represent a significant presence in the payments space, including in some cases for cross-border payments.
👉 Download the full FXC Intelligence report by Adeyanju Pinheiro-Aina here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
☕️ REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Ebanx is laying off 20% of its 1,700 employees (340 people). Colombian Frubana, which raised $65 million from GGV, SoftBank, and Tiger Global last year, is cutting Brazilian staff by less than 3%, the company said. Link here.
⭐️ Provenir announced its first customer in Brazil: Provu, a fintech specializing in payment and personal credit, based in São Paulo. Link here.
⭐️ Visa has launched its first crypto cards in the Latin America region – and will debut its new products in Brazil and Argentina via a number of new partner firms. Link here.
BRAZIL
Destaxa raises $3.1 million seed round Equity round led by Quona Capital will power Destaxa’s open payments platform that can optimize 90%+ of payment transactions in Brazil. Link here.
Provenir announced its first customer in Brazil: Provu, a fintech specializing in payment and personal credit, based in São Paulo. Link here.
This month, the South American country of Brazil unveiled a legislative bill that would allow cryptocurrency to be used as a payment method and prevent users' private keys from being used by the country's judiciary. Link here.
Brazil’s investment platform XP expanded its financial services offer by launching a digital account with banking services such as payments, Pix (the Brazilian real-time payments system), transfers, withdrawals, and debit card. Link here.
A long-drawn-out workers’ strike at the Brazilian central bank in protest of wage increases is having an unexpected effect on the financial technology industry, as the process of new agenda releases is slowed down, and startups could face longer approval times. Link here.
COLOMBIA
Mono aims to be ‘first bankingless bank’ for Latin America’s small businesses, providing financial services and fully digital bank accounts that can be opened in around 15 minutes versus an average of two weeks at an incumbent bank. Link here.
Fears of a global recession, added to high inflation, have undermined investor confidence in cryptocurrencies, but Colombians are finding opportunities in digital assets. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.