Friday Briefing: Paying with your face in Qatar

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December 9, 2022

#TopStory 🔝

Visa tests facial biometrics at the World Cup

As contactless payments continue to gain traction, Visa is putting its new Pay with your Face functionality to the test at the world’s biggest sporting spectacle: the men’s soccer World Cup in Qatar.

The company uses large events to test new technologies on different scales, Darío Cutin, Visa’s vice president of communications for Latin America and the Caribbean, tells iupana. “It’s the consumer,
through its preferences, that’s going to decide which technologies are massified.”

Pay with Your Face allows consumers to authenticate payments using facial biometrics without the need for their Visa card or a mobile phone. The new feature is being tested at three branches of Flat White Specialty Coffee in Doha. “It’s still too early to say if this is something that’ll grow to a larger scale worldwide. It’s the first time we’ve installed it and put it to the test in a market where we have a very large number of international visitors,” Cutin says.

This new technology has clear potential. Visa has received inquiries from different LatAm countries asking how the technology works. “Just as in the case of contactless, four
years ago less than 5% of transactions in Latin America and the Caribbean were contactless, and today it is practically half. And there are countries where they are exceeding 60%, 70%,” he says.

At the World Cup, the penetration of contactless payments is even greater. They represented 88% of all transactions made at official venues, such as stadiums and the Fan Festival, during the tournament’s first week, according to Visa, which is a FIFA partner. Cutin noted that 70% of the transactions were made by foreigners and Brazilians were among the most enthusiastic users.

Women in Digital Finance

This week, we held our Women in Digital Finance event and announced the six winners of our “Disruptoras 2022” award, recognizing women that have made a difference in the ecosystem.

It was an enriching exchange that put a spotlight on several key issues: from how to overcome the impostor syndrome to climbing the highest corporate rungs and the growing adoption among women of digital products that are narrowing the financial inclusion gap. You can watch the event here, and on Monday
we’ll profiles this year’s Disruptoras, so you can see how they’re leading innovation in the region.

#Strategic Plays 📊

Nubank Mexico obtains financial license

Nubank announced that its Mexican subsidiary obtained a license to operate as a Sofipo or a community financial institution (Sofipo). The permit from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) means the company can now expand its operations. In addition, the digital bank said its parent company, Nu Holdings, injected US$330 million of fresh capital into the Mexican operation.

Ualá Mexico launches personal loans

The Mexican subsidiary of Argentine fintech Ualá introduced personal loans of up to US$1,000. Initially, the product is only available to selected users but that’s expected to change in the coming months. The loans of up to 36 months can be requested through the Ualá ABC app.

Motorola debuts digital account in Brazil

Motorola launched Dimo in Brazil, a digital account that’s integrated into the manufacturer’s mobile devices. It’s the
company’s first foray into banking solutions. Dimo users can also request a Visa debit card.

#Investments 📈

Colombian wallet Dale! picks up US$30 million

Colombia’s Grupo Aval will spend US$30 million to strengthen the operations of its fintech Dale!, with the aim of competing with local wallet giants Nequi (Bancolombia) and Daviplata (Davivienda). Colombian fintech Plurall also unveiled a tie-up with Dale! as it launched a Visa debit card.

Syncfy raises US$10 million

Open Finance platform Syncfy received US$10 million in an investment round led by Point72 Ventures. The company will use the proceeds to expand its product offering in Mexico and branch into Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia.

Also…

• Ecuadorian fintech AltScore raised US$3.5 million in a seed round to finance an expansion of its operations in Mexico.

#iupanaExclusive 🔥

Contactless payments, blockchain, tokenization and BNPL will be the technologies that drive transactions in the coming years, according to speakers at the Mastercard Innovation Forum earlier this month. iupana was there and brings you this round-up.

• Digital currencies and buy now, pay later (BNPL) products will be key growth areas in future.
• According to Mastercard, 33% of the payments they handle are already tokenized and around 86% of LatAm consumers used at least one emerging payment method last year.
• Industry leaders agree that regulation is essential for the development of cryptocurrencies and to avoid FTX aftershocks in the region.

Learn more about the topics discussed at the Mastercard LAC Innovation Forum in Miami in our lead story.