Uber, the driving service, has launched a debit card product in Latin America, in conjunction with innovative bank, Bankaool; the continent as a whole demonstrates 1.1 mobile phone connections per capita, yet only 14% of the overall population has a traditional savings account; it's difficult to obtain a debit or credit card without being able to link it to a bank account with savings; Bankaool claims to be the first Mexican-based bank where you can fully open a bank account or obtain a card via an online application; Uber acknowledged that a payment card was essential for riders using its service. Source
The Economist magazine's intelligence unit (EIU) has published a report on regulatory support for financial inclusion in developing countries and it is now gaining traction with press and analysts; the report scores countries on having an inclusiveness strategy and building governmental and private sector expertise, then provides in-depth details in areas including credit markets, non-regulated lenders, payments and insurance; Colombia ties Peru this year for the most progressive country; India has shown the most improvement; Latin America and East/South Asia are leaders regionally while Africa and the Middle East remain behind; the EIU performed the research in conjunction with the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and the Multilateral Investment Fund at the Inter-American Development Bank. Source
Latin American online lender Afluenta has obtained the support of the Multilateral Investment Fund, an innovation lab of the Inter-American Development Bank, for development of a green loans product; the lender will provide the loans to individuals and businesses seeking financing for renewable energy equipment, energy-efficient appliances and other green energy related purchases; the development process for the green loans will include customized credit underwriting for energy efficient loans and borrowers. Source
According to Banking Technology, PayU will be implementing Mambu's software-as-a-service based core banking platform; the software will support PayU's short-term deferred payment product; Mambu now has 26 clients which it supports from its Miami office; PayU is currently running a pilot in Colombia but it is expected to roll out services across Latin America. Source
The Brazilian fintech company is opening an office today in Mexico and it is the first step in what might...
Finnovista is a research and industry 'catalyst' firm that is tracking fintech growth across Latin America and Spain; in a recent report on Brazil, they track 219 fintech startups in the country, making it the most prominent Latin American country based on that metric; Mexico follows with 158 startups, then Colombia, Argentina and Chile each having 55 to 80 such startups; an infographic indicates that 26% of Brazil's fintech startups are in the payments sector, 10% in balance sheet lending (with some web presence or other innovation), 2% in true P2P lending and 8% in crowdfunding. Source
The partnership will seek to promote growth of fintech startups in Latin America through investment and business development from QED Investors; Scotiabank has a strong presence in Latin America with interest in the region's digital innovation; it will look to QED Investors for customer development and support it in strategic investments. Source
Fintech innovation has been emerging in Latin America; LendIt USA 2017 featured a panel of Latin American market leaders moderated by Andres Fontao of Finnovista; panelists discussed what is happening in the Latin American fintech market and why there is an opportunity for fintech firms and specifically online lenders to be successful. Source
Earlier this year SoftBank Group invested $20 million into the Mexican payments startup called Clip, marking one of their first...
One of the hottest areas on the globe right now for fintech is Latin America. There is plenty of VC...