Fintech Snapshot: October 2019
8 November, 2019
Katie Llanos-Small
October wasn’t as active as September, the most active month so far this year, (check out my September Snapshot), but it was still was an interesting month for the fintech ecosystem. It had 9 deals (8 equity and 1 M&A), raising a total of US$ 30.29 million in disclosed equity deals, and also gave rise to another unicorn, Ebanx.
Brazil was the most active country this month, with its fintechs involved in 7 of the 8 equity rounds and 100% of the disclosed amount raised.
Of course, the most relevant deal was Ebanx’s one. The Brazilian payment processor raised an undisclosed amount from FTV and Endeavor Catalyst at an announced valuation of over US$ 1 billion.
Although the only Mexican deal, the Bitso round was a significant one as it had the participation of some of the main players on the crypto space globally: Ripple, Pantera Capital, Jump Capital, Coinbase, and Digital Currency Group.
As for the M&As, Carrefour in Brazil acquired 49% of Ewally for an undisclosed amount. Also, Stripe finally launched its expansion in Latin America starting with Mexico.
Here are the main events from October – you can also keep up with the latest in iupana’s Fintech Tracker, here. And stay tuned to the next Fintech Snapshot next month!
Main Investments
- Brazil – The payment processing company Ebanx became the latest fintech unicorn after an undisclosed round by FTV and Endeavor Catalyst;
- Brazil – The Banking-as-a-Service platform, BBNK, received US$ 14.93 million investment from BRQ and Parallax;
- Brazil – The validation and identification startup idwall secured a US$ 9.95 million round led by Qualcomm Ventures and followed by ONEVC, Canary, Monashees, and Grupo Globo;
- Brazil – The credit marketplace EasyCrédito secured a US$ 620 thousand investment from Criatec 2;
- Brazil – VirtusPay, a consumer lending platform for making e-commerce purchases with installment payments received a US$ 1.49 million investment from Vox Capital and Kviv Ventures;
- Brazil – The factoring platform Antecipa received an investment of US$ 1.12 million led by Redpoint e.Ventures with the participation of some angels;
- Brazil – The consumer lending fintech GlooPay received a US$ 300 thousand investment from North Star and Axen Capital;
- Mexico – The cryptocurrency exchange Bitso closed an undisclosed round led by Ripple and with the participation of Pantera Capital, Jump Capital, Coinbase, and Digital Currency Group;
M&A
Partnerships
- Brazil – Uber partnered with the payment processor Ebanx to launch Uber Pay in Brazil;
- Mexico – The digital wallet Weex acquired a Mastercard license that will enable it to issue debit cards;
Regulations
No relevant announcement this month.
Relevant Moves
- Argentina – The Argentinan Fintech Chamber launched a job board for fintech jobs;
- Brazil – The leading Brazilian bank Itaú bought ZUp Serviços, a Brazilian startup focused on digital transformation, for US$ 145 million;
- Mexico – Stripe launched in Mexico City;
Thiago Paiva is a partner at Liquia Digital Assets, an investment bank for the digital assets economy. He is passionate about the intersection of finance and technology.
He has 9+ years working with startups and innovation, investing in more than 60 startups through global accelerators Wayra (Telefonica’s global accelerator) and Startupbootcamp Fintech. He worked closely with more than 20 fintechs from 8 different countries for the past five years.