#Strategic Plays 📊
Interbank ends Rappi card tie-up in Peru
RappiBank says goodbye to Peru. The Colombian superapp is ending its credit-card alliance with local partner Interbank after two years. As we previously reported, Rappi cards are growing more slowly than rival products in the region. And Interbank’s CEO said last year that the joint venture was not yielding the expected results. Rappi said that the dissolution of RappiBank is by mutual agreement, and it stressed that Peru is one of the most important markets for the company and consequently it doesn’t foresee changes to the rest of its verticals.
Amazon debuts credit card in Brazil
Amazon launched a credit card in Brazil in partnership with Banco Bradesco and Mastercard. The online retail giant aims to gain market share with cashback and months-long, interest-free purchases. The card, which was previously introduced in the U.S. and Europe, seeks to encourage online shopping and the company stressed it is not striving to become a bank. In 10 days, Amazon approved 14,000 card requests.
Clara moves headquarters to Brazil after gaining license
Mexican fintech Clara obtained approval from the Central Bank of Brazil to operate as a local payment platform, allowing it to add digital accounts to its gamut of business products and to link up with the Pix instant payment system. The company also decided to move almost 50% of its executives to a new headquarters in Sao Paulo, with a view to making Brazil its main market in 2024.
Apple Pay starts operations in Chile
Chile has become the eleventh country in the region to welcome Apple Pay. Initially, only the debit and credit cards issued by eight banks (including Banco de Chile, Itaú and Bci) will be compatible. The launch had been postponed, because the local terminals network was not geared up to receive payments with NFC technology. Chile’s central bank has proposed regulatory reforms seeking to enable more operators to participate in the service and energize the sector.
Also…
- In Argentina, Santander’s Openbank has partnered with the fintech GOcuotas to offer financing through the Visa Open debit card.
- In Mexico, card issuer Paymentology joined forces with dollar account platform DolarApp to expand its payment methods offering.
- In Colombia, fintech Plurall added Arrebol Capital as an investor with a view to expanding its integrated finance offering and allow microenterprises to provide loans and additional transactional products. It’s a strategy that we detailed a few months ago.
#Cripto🪙
Brazil’s CBDC will be called Drex
Brazil’s central bank has dubbed its digital currency Drex. It’s the most recent addition to the bank’s innovation agenda, which started with Pix.
Binance: Layoffs in Brazil and license in El Salvador
The Binance crypto exchange announced major layoffs in Brazil, primarily in its marketing and customer-service departments. In El Salvador, the company is gaining momentum by becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange platform to obtain a license —something it hopes to replicate in other countries.
Also…
- PayPal launched a dollar-backed stable digital currency, supported by US Treasury bonds and deposits and issued by blockchain specialist Paxos.
#Investment💰
Softbank turns a profit
Softbank Group reported that its Vision Fund 1 and 2, together with its LatAm investments, yielded returns totaling US$ 939 million in the second quarter of the year, reporting positive numbers after six consecutive quarters in the red. The result seems to have less to do with the firm’s LatAm projects and more to do with its semiconductor company ARM and a stronger performance by Japanese paytech PayPay, which is part of its portfolio.
Brazil’s Educbank captures US$14.3M
Educbank, which offers accounts receivable to educational institutions, raised R$70 million (US$14.3 million) through a placement of debentures, in a sale coordinated by Itaú BBA and guaranted by school fees. This fundraising method prevented the transfer of the fintech’s shares to creditors.
#People🫂
Global66 debuts shareholder
Local comedian Fabrizio Copano invests in Chilean fintech Global66, which is looking to become a major neobank in the region. Copano says he sees the investment as an opportunity to strengthen financial inclusion in LatAm.
#iupanaExclusive 🔥
This week, we took a deep dive into investments and the fintech market in the region to help you make better decisions in the months ahead. After an explosion of unprecedented investment rounds in 2021, the sector has suffered massive layoffs, slumps in valuation and setbacks to expansion plans in recent months. Still, there are tentative signs of recovery.
- Valuations have fallen as financing rounds become more selective, especially in late stages.
- IPOs have also been put on ice, forcing companies to rethink fundraising plans.
- Fintech heavyweights such as Nubank and Mercado Pago have reported favorable financial results.
Gauge the challenges in the region’s fintech market for the months ahead, in this week’s iupanaExclusive.