Hola amig@s fintech,

We’re stoked to share a first announcement of what’s coming during Mexico Fintech Week in February 2026. After hosting our first Roadshow to Stablecon in Las Vegas during Money20/20 week, we’re partnering with Rain & VelaFi to bring the conversation to Mexico City with a new Stablecoin Day edition focused on cross-border payments, money rails, and real-world use cases across LATAM. Save the date & RSVP here. 

We’ll also wrap up the day with a Community Mixer & Happy Hour, a more relaxed space to connect with the local and international fintech and crypto community visiting the city for the week. RSVP and save the date here. 

🩵 I’ll see you back here next week!

~ Vivi

🌐 TWIF Community

🗓️ Events

🗣️ Channels

📊 Stat of the Week 

Digital payments in LatAm and the Caribbean operate as a two-sided market with strong network effects, where adoption depends on balancing participation from both consumers and merchants. Users don’t replace one payment method with another, but instead diversify based on transaction context. Adoption varies widely across countries and demographic groups due to differences in infrastructure, regulation and consumer preferences, with some markets driven by real-time payments and digital wallets while others remain cash- and debit-heavy. Economic factors such as inflation are encouraging crypto use in certain areas. For LatAm fintechs, this means growth is not only about scale, but about closing structural gaps and building platforms that strengthen network effects on both sides of the market (Source)

📖  Read of the Week

“The 2025 Geography of Crypto Report” by Chainalysis reveals that Latin America generated approximately $1.5 trillion in cryptocurrency transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2025, with a 63% year-over-year increase in crypto adoption. Brazil leads the region with $318.8 billion, followed by Argentina with $93.9 billion, Mexico with $71.2 billion, Venezuela with $44.6 billion, and Colombia with $44.2 billion. About 64% of activity occurs on centralized exchanges, with stablecoins dominating usage. This signals that crypto is increasingly used for payments, remittances, savings, and inflation hedging across LatAm, and highlights major opportunities for fintechs to build services around cross-border transfers, stablecoin rails, and inflation-resilient financial products.

🦉 Post of the Week

Evolution of Payments: From Barter to Crypto | Christian Curtin posted on the topic | LinkedIn

Crypto Payments: How far we have come……. When reading this, how many have you seen come to market in your lifetime? (drop a comment) A quick Timeline of Payments: Prehistoric/Ancient Barter System (~10,000 BCE or earlier): Direct exchange of goods and services (e.g., trading tools for food). Commodity Money (~9000–3000 BCE): Use of valuable items like livestock, grains, shells (cowrie shells widely used), beads, or salt as standardized exchange mediums. Metal Coins (~700–600 BCE): First standardized coins in Lydia (modern Turkey) and China; made from gold, silver, or electrum for portability and divisibility. Paper Money (~7th–13th century CE): Originated in China (Tang/Song dynasties, widespread in Yuan); promissory notes backed by commodities or government. Banknotes and Fiat Money (17th–20th century): European banknotes (e.g., Sweden 1661); shift to fiat (not backed by commodities, e.g., post-1971 end of gold standard). Checks and Credit Instruments (17th–19th century): Drawn notes/checks in Europe; allowed transfer without physical cash. Credit Cards (1950s–1960s): Diners Club (1950), first general-purpose cards; enabled borrowing for payments. Electronic and Digital Payments (1970s–2000s): ATMs (1960s–70s), online banking (1990s), mobile/digital wallets (e.g., PayPal 1998, Apple Pay 2014). Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets (2009–present): Bitcoin (2009) introduced decentralized blockchain-based money; followed by Ethereum, Stablecoins, and broader digital assets (e.g., NFTs). CurPay Merchant (2020) Consumer-centric digital asset acceptance, Merchant/Organization-centric settlements in stablecoin or fiat. Each along the way has become a staple of the payments ecosystem. Crypto is your next evolution. Be proactive, reach out, and let’s talk about Digital Assets as a form of payment. Curpaymerchant.com #Payments #Fintech #DigitalPayments #PaymentInnovation #PayTech | 10 comments on LinkedIn

LinkedInChristian Curtin

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Ximple, the Mexican company providing microcredit and working capital to catalog sellers and informal vendors, raised $2.7 million in a pre-seed round led by Boost Capital Partners, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Graph Ventures, 99 Startups, and Lotux.VC. The funding will support the launch and scale its platform across Mexico and later LatAm. 

🌍Finturu, the Colombia-based cross-border commerce platform, raised $1.3 million from angel investors to accelerate its regional expansion. With the funding, Finturu plans to develop one of the region’s first crypto-acquiring systems and launch multi-currency accounts to simplify cross-border revenue management, while expanding its presence in Mexico, Brazil, and Central America.

🇧🇷 FlowCredi, the Brazilian marketplace connecting borrowers and lenders for property-backed credit, raised $650,000 in a pre-seed round led by Verve Capital and Norte Ventures. The company plans to expand distribution partnerships and offer white-label credit solutions in education and healthcare sectors.

💵 Debt 

🌍Jeeves, the Miami-based global financial infrastructure platform,  secured a $100 million financing facility from Community Investment Management (CIM) to expand its credit capacity. The funding will support Jeeve’s growth in Mexico, strengthening its multi-currency cards, expense management, and treasury tools.

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇦🇷 Nexo, the global digital assets and crypto lending platform, acquired Buenbit, the Argentine crypto exchange, positioning Argentina as its operational hub for Latin America. The deal allows Nexo to integrate Buenbit’s local infrastructure, regulatory footprint, and user base to expand access to crypto savings, payments, and yield products across the region.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇨🇴 Grupo Aval, Colombia’s banking holding, integrated money transfer capabilities via WhatsApp for its entire user base, becoming the first financial institution in the country to offer the service to its 17 million clients and 340,000 corporate customers.

🇧🇷 Z.ro Bank launched Z.ro Digital Assets,  a new division focused on processing international payments via cryptocurrencies, expanding its B2B ecosystem to streamline cross-border settlement operations.

🇨🇱 Mercado Pago, the fintech arm of Mercado Libre, plans to launch a credit card in Chile in 2026, expanding its consumer credit offering and positioning it more directly against traditional banks.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇲🇽 Grupo Financiero Banorte received authorization from Mexico’s National Antitrust Commission (CNA)  to sell its digital banking subsidiary, Bineo, to Clearscope Holdings, a subsidiary of Klar Holdings Limited (Klar USA).

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) published its 2026 Regulatory Agenda, prioritizing investment crowdfunding, tokenization, and market democratization, while delaying the implementation of the Regime Fácil to March 16, 2026, to give SMEs more time to adapt.

🇵🇪 The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) authorized seven digital wallets and fintechs, including Yape, Niubiz, and Bitel, to participate in the pilot phase of the Retail Payments Platform (PPM), modeled on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Controlled testing of interoperable QR codes and real-time transfers is set to begin in December 2026.

🇲🇽 Fintoc, a Chilean payments and open banking infrastructure provider, secured authorization to connect directly to Mexico’s Interbank Electronic Payment System (SPEI), joining the country’s real-time payments network.

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Pix, Brazil’s instant payments system, has become a central battleground for fintechs and banks in the country, as players compete on FX rates, cross-border features, and value-added services. The system’s expansion into e-commerce, recurring payments, and international use cases reinforces Brazil’s leadership in real-time payments across LatAm.

🇲🇽 Finabien, Mexico’s state-owned financial institution, unveiled a new digital design focused on inclusion, combining simplified accounts, remittances, and payment services to reach underserved populations.

🇲🇽 Binance, said Mexico is a priority market, highlighting a strategy focused on user experience, education, and engagement with regulators. The company framed the country as central to its broader growth plans in Latin America, as crypto adoption continues to evolve amid regulatory and market shifts.

🇧🇷 Brazilian fintechs across consórcios, home equity lending, crypto and healthtech secured new investments, signaling sustained investor interest in diversified fintech verticals beyond payments and banking, and underscoring the maturation and specialization of Brazil’s fintech ecosystem.

🌍The Bank of Mexico warned that fragmented global regulation exposes stablecoins to regulatory arbitrage and financial stress, calling for coordinated oversight as stablecoins gain importance in cross-border payments and remittances.

📚 Deeper Reads

Brazil Takes the Lead Again: Venture Investment in LatAm Revives with AI and Fintech as Drivers

AI Reshapes the Venture Unicorn Landscape

New Boost to the Capital Markets (ES)

📣 LatAm fintech enthusiasts looking for a new role, check out https://jobs.thisweekinfintech.com

Made in LatAm with 🩵by 

Elena, Digital Innovation Manager at Banco Azteca

Carlos, ESG Analyst at CFECapital

Vivi, Communication expert and Principal at Areté Consulting

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