Hola amig@s fintech,

December arrives at TWIF with yours truly stepping in as the new Editor-in-Chief for Latin America. Before diving in, a warm thank you to Lorena for her leadership and the energy she brought to TWIF in the region over the past years.

December also brings the holidays, and I have a treat for you. Since almost every country in our region celebrates in the heat rather than in the snow, I’m sharing the song Calurosa Navidad (hot Christmas) from 31 Minutos. If you are wondering, it’s a puppet show from my native Chile that many in Latin America grew up with, and that somehow gets even funnier when you watch it as an adult.

And with that little detour, let’s get back to fintech with the roundup the team has prepared for you.

🩵 I’ll see you back here next week!

~ Vivi

🌐 TWIF Community

🗣️ Channels

📊 Stat of the Week 

Latin America’s acquiring landscape is shifting fast. Digital-payment volumes are expected to reach about US$300 billion by 2027, and real-time transactions could exceed 100 billion, pointing to a region that is rapidly becoming more digital, fragmented and competitive. The map shows how crowded and diverse each country’s acquiring market has become, with local, regional and global players reshaping the payments ecosystem. (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

The report Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025, by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), projects that remittances will grow for the sixteenth consecutive year, though unevenly across countries. The study highlights how essential these transfers are for millions of households, both as income support and as a driver of poverty reduction.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 Creditas, the Brazilian secured-consumer lending platform, raised $108 million in a Series G led by Andbank. The company offers asset-backed consumer loans, credit scoring and secured credit products as it moves closer to profitability.

🇧🇷 BHub, the Brazil-based back-office platform for SMEs, raised $10 million to accelerate its AI accounting tools and expand its full-stack back-office model. The round included Next Billion Capital Partners, IFC, Valor Capital, Monashees and Hedosophia.

🇨🇷 ARi, the Costa Rica-based AI investment and FX agent, received an investment from Caricaco to scale its AI assistant for retail users and SMEs. The tool guides customers on investments, FX and financial decisions through a low-friction digital interface. Terms were not disclosed.

💵 Debt 

🇧🇷 Mercado de Recebíveis, the Brazil-based receivables-backed credit provider, issued  a $28 million FIDC (credit rights investment fund) structured by Oriz Partners to secure permanent funding and scale its credit operations. The company reached break-even in May 2025 and expects rapid growth in 2026 as the receivables market expands.

☯️ Exits

🇨🇱 Visma, the Norwegian software group, bought the Chilean proptech Comunidad Feliz in a deal close to $70 million. The platform, which manages residential buildings across Latin America, generates about $11.5 million in annual revenue and employs more than 225 people in Chile and Mexico. The founders will remain in place as Visma accelerates the company’s regional expansion.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇲🇽 Novacard integrated Flametree’s agentic AI tools to optimize its credit card operations, aiming to scale while maintaining personalized customer service and stronger user retention during rapid growth.

🇦🇷 Binance enabled Argentines travelling to Brazil to use Pix, Brazil’s national instant-payment network. The feature lets travelers send funds or complete merchant payments in reais while Binance converts crypto to local currency instantly at checkout, expanding cross-border utility.

🌎 Reap joined the Global Dollar Network (GDN) to integrate the consortium’s compliant stablecoin infrastructure, enabling faster, liquidity-efficient corporate settlements across high-growth corridors in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

🇺🇾 Prometeo launched Name Match,  a new capability within its U.S. Bank Account Verification API to authenticate bank account ownership during ACH settlements and reduce fraud risk and administrative friction in corporate payment workflows.

🇧🇷 Banco XP launched the XP Global Account in partnership with Wise and Visa, offering investor clients a multi-currency digital wallet and international debit card to support seamless cross-border liquidity and global asset management.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇨🇴 DaviBank officially launched as the operating brand of the former Scotiabank Colpatria infrastructure, completing its integration into Davivienda Group and becoming a distinct entity within the holding.

🇲🇽 Spin, FEMSA’s financial services arm, plans to introduce credit cards through a partnership with Visa, expanding credit access and enhancing the monetization of its digital ecosystem.

📜 Policy

🇲🇽 Grupo Financiero Multiva received authorization from the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) to acquire CIBanco’s trust business. Regulators found no legal barriers to the transaction, allowing the fiduciary assets to transition without operational disruption.

🇧🇷 Nstech, a supply chain software provider, secured authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) to operate as a Payment Institution (IP) in the electronic money issuer category. The license allows the company to embed financial services and manage digital wallets directly within its logistics platform.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Central Bank decided not to introduce a standardized framework for installment-based Pix payments, allowing institutions to keep their own product structures. The terms “Pix Parcelado” and “Pix Crédito” are now prohibited, while “Pix no crédito” remains permitted.

🇧🇷 Nubank announced plans to pursue a full banking license in Brazil, a move aimed at improving its capital structure and funding costs while expanding its ability to offer a broader set of banking products beyond its current licenses.

🇨🇱 Chile’s Financial Market Commission (CMF) postponed full implementation of the country’s Open Finance System to July 2027, granting an additional year to ensure institutions can meet interoperability and technical-readiness requirements.

🇵🇪 Peru’s Superintendency of Banking, Insurance, and PFPs (SBS) is advancing its Open Finance framework, setting rules for secure, consent-based data sharing among regulated institutions to promote interoperability and competition.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Central Bank (BCB) will integrate credit-portability rules into the Open Finance framework, with full public availability scheduled for February 2026. The move aims to make loan switching easier and increase competition in the credit market.

📰 Other News 

🇲🇽 Liliana Reyes was appointed Director General at Fondo de Fondos.

🇲🇽 Luis Brossier was named Director General at Citi Mexico.

🇲🇽 Santander Mexico removed all fees for international transfers made through its mobile app, allowing customers to send money abroad in seven currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, SEK, JPY, CAD) with no minimums or transaction limits. The move lowers barriers for cross-border payments and simplifies remittances for users in Mexico.

🌍 Klarna announced KlarnaUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin now in testnet, with a public launch planned for 2026 on Tempo, the payments-focused blockchain built by Stripe and Paradigm. The initiative aims to offer a faster and cheaper option for everyday payments and cross-border transactions, potentially accelerating stablecoin use for remittances and commerce across LatAm.

🇨🇱 Vambe, the AI customer-journey platform, raised $14 million in a Series A led by Monashees, with participation from Cathay Latam, Atlantico, Tekton Ventures and existing investors. The company plans to scale operations in Chile and Mexico and prepare its launch in Brazil.

📚 Deeper Reads

Grow without investors: a new path for startups

Klarna: How Does Stablecoin Fit into Long-Term Strategy?

More people with bank accounts, but not using them? The challenge of cash in Mexico (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, Sustainability Analyst at CFECapital

Vivi, Communication expert and Principal at Areté Consulting

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