REPORT
Visa and Mastercard reported strong annual performance due to increased consumer spending and cross-border volumes, with cross-border growth slowing to 16% for Visa and 18% for Mastercard from previous higher rates.
Card counts rose by 6% for Visa and 9% for Mastercard, with a 2% increase in average spend per card, rebounding from previous declines.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
The new Colombian fintech Plataform has just closed its first investment round in which it raised US$3 million from Skandia Planeación Financiera S.A., the corporate arm of the Skandia Conglomerate for venture capital investments; Progresión Sociedad Comisionista de Bolsa and others, which are now part of the company's share capital.
With these resources, the fintech will seek to consolidate its portfolio of confirming, crowdfactoring, bank factoring and private factoring services to finance more than 100,000 Colombian and regional companies to the tune of one billion dollars during this and the next few years.
💡INSIGHTS
Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) is growing in popularity among businesses as a strategy to improve client engagement and retention. BaaS in Latin America will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.27% between 2022 and 2027. The market's size is anticipated to expand USD 2,430.08 million.
The notion of open banking, which promotes a secure interchange of financial data between banks and authorized third-party providers, is central to the evolution of BaaS.
🎤 PODCAST
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
☕️ REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Mexican Fintech Dapp obtains authorization from the CNBV to facilitate cash deposits.
⭐️ Hey Banco announces its commitment to the SME segment in Mexico.
⭐️ InvestPlay hires ex-C6 and BRQ for product and marketing leadership.
⭐️ Techreo closes $US 3.4 million investment round in Latin America.
BRAZIL
Nubank has laid out ambitions to be Latin America’s biggest financial services group. With a valuation of $44 billion, the digital lender is predicted to achieve $1 billion in annual profits. The company recently reached a milestone of 1.5 million users, of “Modo Rua,” particularly popular among adults aged 25 to 44. It also announced the launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone for its three million SME customers in Brazil.
Ebury opens Brazil real to China yuan payments corridor. The new solution will facilitate and expedite trade between Brazil and China, which in 2023 alone totaled exports and imports of over US$145 billion.
Brazil Digital Bank Inter&Co Beats Profit Forecasts in Fourth Quarter. The bank, which counts Japanese technology investor Softbank among its main shareholders, posted a net profit of 160 million reais ($32.2 million).
COLOMBIA
Hands In and Yuno Unite to Revolutionise Split Payments in Latin America. This alliance aims to drive innovation and efficiency in the Latin American travel and hospitality sectors.
Colombia regulates open finance: one more step towards financial inclusion. The Financial Superintendency of Colombia has issued Circular No. 004 of 2024, establishing the standards for open finance, also known as open finance.
Fintechs Tapi and Littio team up to offer a simpler and faster payments experience to users in Colombia. This alliance is an example of how Fintech companies can work together to create innovative solutions that benefit consumers in the region.
RapiCredit granted more than 3M loans in almost 10 years of operation, impacting more than 590 thousand customers.
MEXICO
Mercado Pago explores becoming a bank in Mexico. The firm also provides aggregator services (via MP Agregador) and financing (via Mercado Crédito). All this has allowed fintech users to access more products than a traditional IFPE can offer.
Paytech Coba raises US$2.2 million. Coba is bringing the next evolution in cross-border financial services: completely optimizing the way remote workers in Latin America receive, save and spend their money.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Yuno has recently bolstered its executive team with significant new hires in North America and APAC region. Industry veterans Carol Grunberg and Jonathan Hall have joined Yuno, enhancing both its leadership strength and innovative capabilities within the international markets, especially in fintech.