Finnovista is a research and industry 'catalyst' firm that is tracking fintech growth across Latin America and Spain; in a recent report on Brazil, they track 219 fintech startups in the country, making it the most prominent Latin American country based on that metric; Mexico follows with 158 startups, then Colombia, Argentina and Chile each having 55 to 80 such startups; an infographic indicates that 26% of Brazil's fintech startups are in the payments sector, 10% in balance sheet lending (with some web presence or other innovation), 2% in true P2P lending and 8% in crowdfunding. Source
Creditas, a provider of online secured loans in Brazil, has closed a $19 million funding round which included investment from World Bank member, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Naspers Fintech, Redpoint Eventures, Kaszek Ventures, Quona Capital and QED Investors; the financing marks the first investment in fintech from IFC, a global leader in emerging market private sector investments; the firm plans to utilize the new capital for new distribution channels, technology innovation, platform growth and market positioning; additionally the firm also plans to reduce its minimum interest rate from 2.15% to 1.99% per month, which is compared to the average consumer lending rate in Brazil of 7.20%. Source
The Brazilian Central Bank has proposed allowing fintech companies to lend money without taking deposits; the bank is set to hold public hearings for the next two and a half months on the proposed rules; according to Central Bank Director Otávio Damaso the rules do not need congressional approval; the Brazilian fintech industry has grown sixfold in the past few years and now the regulators are looking to make the country more fintech friendly; banks will also be able to create their own fintech arms when the new rules take effect. Source
Brazil and Mexico are often talked about as fintech booms in Latin America; the size of the industry overall is...
WhatsApp launches payments in Brazil and is unceremoniously shut down by the central bank a week later, MasterCard buys Finicity to protect itself against Visa’s recent acquisition of Plaid, Checkout.com continues its largely silent meteoric rise in payments, Softbank-backed and DAX 30 index component Wirecard “loses" $2 billion from its balance sheet and files for insolvency, Upgrade raises $40 million at a $1 billion valuation to extend its personal credit offering.
Creditas is an online secured loan provider in Brazil; the company has announced the release of its 2017 Brazil Lending Market Report which provides an overview of the country's trends in consumer lending; also reports on market metrics including interest rate spreads and outstanding debt by lending categories. Source
Creditas, a provider of online secured loans in Brazil, has raised $16 million from the asset-backed securitization market and will use the proceeds to fund auto loan refinancings; the firm partnered with Empirica Investimentos Gestao de Recursos Ltda to launch the securitized investment portfolio, FIDC Empirica Creditas Auto; Creditas seeks to capitalize on an auto loan refinancing market opportunity that has seen increased risk from higher defaults with decreased lending from traditional banks; Brazil reports secured personal credit accounts for 1% of the country's outstanding loans; Creditas plans to offer auto refinancing at monthly rates of 1.99% to 3.65% for an annual rate of approximately 37% which compares to bank rates annually of 120%. Source
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I have said many times that Latin America is the hottest region for fintech on the planet. The digital banks...