Hola amig@s fintech,

We’re grateful to everyone who joined us for two standout events this past Monday, June 9. Whether you were with us in São Paulo for RiskCon, co-hosted with our partners at Oscilar and Decidir, or in Mexico City for The Future of AI & Fintech, in collaboration with pygma, thank you for being part of the conversation.

From groundbreaking discussions on risk, compliance, and innovation to exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming the financial landscape, your presence made these gatherings a true success.

Also, Happy Father’s Day!

Wishing all the amazing dads, father figures, and mentors a day filled with love, gratitude, and well-deserved celebration. Thank you for everything you do! 💙

Let’s keep the momentum going—dive into this week’s top LatAm fintech stories below!

🩵Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

• Lorena

🌐 TWIF Community

🗣️ Channels

📊 Stat of the Week 

In Panama, the top five banks hold only 60% of total assets—despite total banking assets being more than twice the country’s GDP. Brazil’s five largest banks control nearly 80% of national banking assets, totaling over $1.8 trillion and exceeding 75% of the country’s GDP, highlighting increasing concentration despite fintech growth (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

According to “Competition in mobile payment services” by the OCDE, in LatAm mobile payments are reshaping financial inclusion, especially in underbanked regions. As of 2024, mobile payments represented 66% of e-commerce and 53% of physical POS transactions globally. The mobile payment sector is projected to grow 38% annually through 2030, reaching $500B in global revenue, signaling major opportunities for inclusive digital finance.

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 Méliuz, the Brazilian financial services platform, raised $32.4 million through a share offering to invest in Bitcoin and expand its crypto-related services. This move aligns with its strategy to enhance digital asset offerings. 

🇨🇱 Frente, the Chilean payments platform, raised a $5.5 million Series A round led by Magma Partners.

💵 Debt 

🇲🇽 Xepelin, the Mexican/Chilean startup offering working capital loans, factoring, and financial management tools for SMEs, secured a $15.75 million credit line from BBVA Spark to support client financing needs. 

📺 Sponsored Content

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☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇺🇾 dLocal, the Uruguay-based cross-border payment company,  plans to acquire AZA Finance, an African digital remittance platform. The acquisition aims to enhance dLocal's payout capabilities and expand its global remittance network.No additional information was disclosed.

🇨🇴 Topaz, the Colombian payment solutions provider, acquired Valids’ local financial transactions business. The deal strengthens Topaz’s position in Colombia’s payments market by incorporating Valdid’s processing infrastructure and client portfolio.

🏦 M&A - Banks, Insurers & Incumbents

🇧🇷 BTG Pactual, Brazil’s investment bank, acquired Justa, the Brazilian B2B payment solutions company. With this move, BTG is advancing its digital offerings by integrating Justa's platform to enhance corporate payment services.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇧🇷 Conduit, the Boston-based cross-border payments through stablecoins company, , announced a strategic partnership with Brazil's Braza Group to enable real-time foreign exchange (FX) swaps between the Brazilian Real and major foreign currencies such as the U.S. Dollar and the Euro, using stablecoins for settlement. 

🇲🇽 DiDi México announced the launch of a high-yield account offering a 15% return. The account will operate under the license of a Financial Popular Society (Sofipo).

🇲🇽 Muney App, the Mexican startup, enables Venezuelan users to receive cash dollars from international remittances by exchanging digital currencies for physical USD at affiliated merchants. 

🇦🇷 Ualá announced its integration with Google Wallet, the application that enables secure contactless payments from Android devices. Users of the Ualá Prepaid Card can store their cards in the platform and make payments at merchants, as well as perform secure transactions on websites and apps. 

🇦🇷 Evertec, the Argentinian payment processing company, announced the integration of Google Pay into its Placetopay platform across the 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries where it operates. Additionally, in Colombia, Evertec revealed the integration of the Bre-B immediate payment button, a system set to launch in September 2025.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇲🇽 Hey Banco, the Mexican former Banregio fintech branch, revealed that their AI tool “Havi” handles 40% of customer interactions, with plans to expand its use and embed AI into everyday financial management. The bank is also developing a financial education feature to help clients understand their finances. 

🇧🇷 Itaú Unibanco announced the plans to  advance with its AI-powered assistant that enables Pix transactions via WhatsApp. The feature is currently being tested with 200,000 customers and is expected to soon reach around 2 million users.

🇲🇽 Círculo de Crédito, the Mexican credit information society, unveiled the integration of T1Score — an advanced credit scoring model leveraging alternative data sourced from mobile phone usage. 

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 The Ministry of  Finance published Provisional Measure No. 1.303/2025, which increases the CSLL (Social Contribution on Net Profit) tax rate from 9% to 15% for Payment Institutions (IPs) and from 15% to 20% for Credit, Financing, and Investment Companies (SCFIs)—which are classified as financial institutions. Additionally, Direct Credit Societies (SCDs) and Peer-to-Peer Lending Societies (SEPs), which previously paid a 9% CSLL rate, will now also be subject to the 15% rate.

📰 Other News 

🇨🇱 Ignacio Fernández was named Country Manager at Fintoc Chile.

🇨🇴 David Ballesteros was named Country Manager at dLocal Colombia.

🌎 Fabián Aguilar was named Partner at Angel Ventures.

🇲🇽 BIVA, Mexico's second stock exchange, launched an AI-powered system aimed at democratizing and modernizing access to the stock market. The platform seeks to improve decision-making and enhance transparency for both institutional and retail investors through AI-driven insights.

🇲🇽 Crabi, the Mexican insurtech offering AI-based auto insurance, raised $13.6 million in a new funding round to support its national expansion and tech development. Crabi provides fully digital, customizable insurance plans. 

🌎 Mastercard announced new frictionless payment technologies across LatAm, focusing on biometric authentication and tokenization. These innovations aim to enhance security and user experience in digital transactions. 

📚 Deeper Reads

The Quiet Fintech Revolution in Mexico: What’s Changing Beneath the Surface

We cannot talk about financial inclusion without talking about collaboration (ES)

This is what the new digital money that is about to arrive at your bank will look like (ES)

The evolution of digital payment methods in Chile: digital wallets and cryptocurrencies (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, Senior Associate at Emant Consultants

Lorena, Head of Policy for Spanish-speaking LatAm at Tools for Humanity

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