Hola amig@s fintech,

Welcome to this week’s edition, which is a special one for me. After an inspiring journey of almost three years as Chief Editor, this will be my final issue in the role. It has been a privilege to help tell the stories of innovators, entrepreneurs, regulators, and communities that continue to redefine the financial landscape across Latin America. To our subscribers and readers, thank you for your trust, curiosity, and ongoing engagement. To Nik, thank you for your creativity, trust, support, and partnership every step of the way. To Elena, Carlos, Ramon, thank you for the commitment, team spirit, and friendship. To Christine, the first Editor of TWIF LatAm, thank you for bringing me into this wonderful adventure. 

I’m also delighted to share that Vivi Giacaman will be stepping in as the new editor. With a rich background in communications and a deep understanding of the fintech space, she brings fresh insight and a sharp editorial eye that will undoubtedly elevate this publication even further.

Thank you once again for being part of this journey. The future of fintech in LATAM is brighter than ever—and with Elena, Carlos, and Vivi at the helm, so is the future of this newsletter. Keep staying in the loop by subscribing and following us! 

🩵Until next weekend. Até a próxima!

-Lorena

🌐 TWIF Community

🗣️ Channels

📊 Stat of the Week 

Digital payments in LatAm continue to boom. More than 50% of Latin Americans made a digital payment in 2024, according to the World Bank. However, LatAm countries still show major gaps in digital payment adoption, both within their populations and compared to other developing regions. In some countries, like Guatemala, only 17% of the population is making digital payments, and even in countries where they are easily accessible, such as Mexico or Peru, usage remains significantly lower than among the poorest populations in China or Thailand. Despite these divides, volumes are surging, and analysts expect digital-payment revenues to reach $300 billion by 2027, creating a major opportunity for LatAm fintechs. (Source)

📖  Read of the Week

“The 2025 Salary Study” by Caricaco Ventures shows that 100% of startups pay their founders a salary, averaging $4,050/month. 87% have developers, and 80% have operations or sales staff, yet only 30% offer bonuses and equity remains limited. These figures bring much-needed transparency to compensation practices in Central American startups, and can help founders attract and retain technical and operational talent. These insights are important for fintechs and tech firms in the region looking to grow, scale operations, and compete globally.

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

This episode features Fabrice Grinda, cofounder of FJ Labs and one of the most active angel investors globally, with more than 1,100 startup bets. The conversation explores his path building companies like Zingy and OLX, and how he now evaluates hundreds of opportunities each week.

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇨🇱 Cenit, the Chilean startup that automates tax filing for freelancers and SMEs, raised $1.8 million in seed funding from Hi Ventures. The investment will fund product development and expansion into Mexico and Chile.

💵 Debt 

🇲🇽 Clara, the Mexico-based corporate expense management platform, secured $70 million in structured debt to accelerate its expansion in Mexico and Colombia. The financing comes from BBVA Spark, Covalto, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and will help scale its corporate cards, bill-payments services, and other payment products. Clara had already raised $80 million earlier this year.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇵🇪 ProntoPaga, the Peru-based payments platform, has integrated Yape's On File system to enable instant and secure payments for online entertainment and other digital services in Peru. This marks the first time Yape On File is being used for online entertainment, setting a precedent for digital payments in the country.

🇨🇴 Refácil, the Colombian digital payment platform for micro-business, SMEs and others, announced a strategic partnership with Akua, a cloud-native payments infrastructure provider. The goal is to strengthen Colombia’s digital payments ecosystem by giving merchants reliable and scalable systems. 

🇲🇽 Bitget Wallet, the international platform for managing digital assets, launched a new bank-transfer feature in Nigeria and Mexico that lets users convert stablecoins like USDT and USDC into local currency and sends funds directly to traditional bank accounts. The update creates a bridge and improves the flow between digital and local currency, making it easier for users to move funds in and out of crypto. 

🇨🇴 Su Red, the Colombian company focused on money transfers and payments, has integrated digital dollars (like USDT) to its physical branch network. Users can now receive remittances, manage savings, or collect payments for work done abroad directly in stablecoins.

🇨🇴 Movii, the third-largest digital wallet in Colombia, is entering Peru with a neo-acquiring business model aimed at competing in a market structured similarly to its home country. The company, which processes 60% of Colombia’s e-commerce, plans to challenge a sector long  dominated by a few major players. The company is targeting an 8% share of the Peruvian market within five years. 

🇺🇸 Perplexity, the US-based AI search and answer engine, introduced an AI-powered shopping assistant with PayPal Instant Buy, that lets users move directly from product research in the chat to completing a purchase. The update shows how generative AI is blending with digital payments and e-commerce to make online shopping faster and more seamless. 

🇺🇾 dLocal, the Uruguayan cross-border payments platform that operates in more than 40 emerging markets, partnered with XanderPay to optimize cross-border payments and payouts for hotels and OTAs. The collaboration aims to lower costs, speed up transactions and simplify global operations for the hospitality sector across Latin America.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking 

🇲🇽 Mastercard and L'Oréal Professional introduced the L'Oréal Mastercard BusinessCard, a new credit product designed specifically for beauty sector professionals and entrepreneurs. The card, issued in Mexico by Clara, aims to support financial inclusion and accelerate B2B payment digitalization in the sector. 

🇲🇽 Smart Fit, the Brazilian gym chain operating in more than 420 locations and with 1.2 million users in Mexico, partnered with Belvo to digitize its payment system and enable direct bank debits. The update removes reliance on card payments and makes it easier for members to automate their monthly fees. 

🇧🇷 Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank, partnered with Amazon Brazil to introduce “special credit” through its NuPay payment platform. The move lets customers pay for Amazon purchases in up to 24 installments, expanding access to credit in e-commerce and deepening the reach of digital payments in Brazil.

📜 Policy

🇨🇴 The Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) approved the merger of Davivienda and Scotiabank's operations in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama, completing all necessary regulatory processes across the countries where it operated, which also include Honduras and El Salvador. The newly consolidated entity will operate under the holding company Davivienda Group S.A.

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) banned fintechs and non-bank financial companies from using the terms "banco" or "bank" in their commercial names, branding, or public disclosures. The regulation aims to improve consumer transparency and clarity by preventing companies from appearing like licensed banks and indicating their scope of services.

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) introduced a new Banking as a Service (BaaS) framework, that some see as a turning point for the sector. The rules bring clearer oversight, higher service quality standards, and more defined responsibilities for licensed financial institutions offering  BaaS. These providers now face stricter obligations in areas such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance, risk management, and internal controls.

📰 Other News

🇦🇷 Ariel Szarfsztejn was named CEO at Mercado Libre.

🌎Sofía Padilla was named a new Managing Partner at Redwood Capital Partners.

🇨🇴 Nu Colombia, reached 4 million active users in November 2025, doubling its customer base in just one year and now serving around 10 % of the country’s adult population. The rapid growth highlights strong demand for accessible digital financial services and marks another step forward for financial inclusion in a historically underserved market.

🇦🇷 Veritran, the Argentina-based provider of digital banking solutions, joined AWS Marketplace, allowing banks in Latin America to deploy its services with faster implementation, streamlined legal processes, and centralized billing. The move accelerates the digitalization of the region’s financial sector and helps institutions launch new products more efficiently and securely.

🇲🇽 inDrive, the global mobility and services app, partnered with Pro Mujer to launch “Travels for a Cause” in Mexico, aiming to support more than 1,000 women entrepreneurs in 2025. A share of every ride will fund training, mentorship and financial support. The initiative shows how platform-economy models can advance women’s economic empowerment and strengthen  social inclusion in the region.

📚 Deeper Reads

Building a digitally resilient Caribbean: how financial institutions are accelerating transformation

How the Marriage of Open Banking and Payments Will Change Everything

International payments: when waiting can be too expensive (ES)

The rise of real-time payments brings ‘smart frictionless’ strategies (ES)

The future of payments is not measured in seconds, but in trust (ES)

Can AI really learn to defend us? (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

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

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