Challenger bank albo secures US $45m investment
The Mexican challenger bank Albo closed a US $45m investment round from Flourish Ventures, Mountain Nazca, Valar Ventures, and Greyhound Capital, to expand its range of services to credit and insurance products, its founders said. The fintech, which already has half a million users and about 30,000 affiliated businesses, wants to become the leader in its region.
Heru raises capital for solutions focused on gig economy workers
Heru, a new Mexican platform for participants in the sharing economy, closed a pre-seed round for US $1.7 million. The startup allows freelancers to access better insurance plans, credits, tax products and financial guidance. The financing round was led by Mountain Nazca, with the participation of Flourish Ventures, YCombinator and Magma Partners, among others.
Nelogica raises US $10m+ investment
Nelogica, a Brazilian startup focused on the development of data analysis systems for financial trading, raised BRL $550m (US $10m) from Crescera and Vulcan Capital.
See also: Customer experience: Can banks have it all?
BBVA and Xiaomi form an alliance to pre-install financial app on mobiles
New smartphones sold by Xiaomi in Spain and Mexico will have the BBVA bank app pre-installed, thanks to an agreement between the two companies. Later, the strategy is expected to be rolled out in all markets where BBVA operates. With the alliance, the bank seeks to capture the youth market, which makes up the majority of Xiaomi’s user base.
Payments in Latin America are ready to take a turn, says BIS
Payment services in Latin America and the Caribbean are still characterized by high costs and insufficient access for large sections of the population. However, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the region has conditions to overcome these limitations. The largest central banks in the region have taken the initiative to introduce faster retail payment systems and develop open banking ecosystems, supported by digital solutions and fintechs.
Santiago Stock Exchange adopts Volante’s financial messaging technology
The Santiago Stock Exchange has selected Volate Technologies to replace its legacy ERP SaaS solution with Optimus for financial messaging.
See also: iupana Awards 2020: Most innovative financial services projects