Finovate, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Fintech Innovation in Latin America

Finovate, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Fintech Innovation in Latin America

This week’s Finovate Alumni Profile is a salute to Hispanic Heritage Month, an opportunity every year to recognize the achievements of Americans whose ancestors came from Central and South America, as well as Spain, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Here are some of the Latino and Hispanic fintech leaders who have demonstrated their company’s innovations on the Finovate stage since our return to live events in the fall of 2021. We’re also taking this opportunity to highlight recent Finovate alums that are headquartered in Latin America and the Caribbean.


Able (FinovateFall 2022) empowers commercial lenders to quickly collect data from borrowers, streamline the loan process, and book loans faster. The company was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Co-founder Diego Represas led the company’s demo at its Finovate debut earlier this month at FinovateFall.

Incognia (FinovateSpring 2022) is a privacy-first, location identity company that offers frictionless mobile authentication to banks and fintechs to help them lower fraud losses. Founded by CEO Andre Ferraz, Incognia is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company’s appearance at FinovateSpring in May of this year was Incognia’s Finovate debut.

Rillavoice (FinovateSpring 2022) offers conversation intelligence software that leverages AI to record, transcribe, and analyze conversations between bank branch associates and customers. The technology helps make bank managers more productive and enables reps to improve conversion rates by 30%. The New York City-based company was founded in 2019. CEO Sebastian Jimenez led the company’s FinovateSpring 2022 demo – Rillavoice’s first time on the Finovate stage.

Nufi (FinovateFall 2021) calls itself “the Legos of fintech.” The firm empowers companies to build financial products quickly while remaining compliant with relevant regulations. Specializing in markets in Latin America, the company’s Finovate debut in the fall of 2021 was led by Chief Operating Officer Ilich Nuñez. Nufi is headquartered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and was founded in 2020.

With its Tap on Phone technology, Symbiotic (FinovateFall 2021) allows anyone with a cellphone to accept contactless card payments. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica, Symbiotic is the first company to secure the PCI-CPoC certification of the Tap on Pone technology on the American continent. CEO and founder Javier Chacón led Symbiotic’s FinovateFall 2021 demo of the technology.

Snap Compliance (FinovateFall 2021) is a regtech company that provides holistic compliance and risk management solutions. A one-stop shop for compliance management, Snap Compliance offers a pay per consumption subscription model that adapts to the customer’s risk models with multiple integration options – including no integration at all. The Costa Rica-based company was founded in 2019, and FinovateFall 2021 was its first live demo on the Finovate stage. Snap Compliance founder and CEO Alex Siles, along with Head of Expansion & Product Development Katherine Morales, led the company’s presentation.

Masterzon (FinovateFall 2021) offers a platform that transforms commercial documents into negotiable securities. The technology operates in real time efficiently and transparently, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Co-founded by Elio Rojas in 2016, Masterzon is based in San José, Costa Rica. FinovateFall 2021 marked the company’s Finovate debut.

Fintech software developer IMPESA (FinovateFall 2021) includes some of the largest banks in Central America and the Caribbean among its B2B corporate customers. In its Finovate debut, IMPESA demonstrated its P2P payments app that offers customers card controls and gives banks new revenue opportunities. Mario Hernández, CEO and co-founder, co-led the company’s FinovateFall 2021 on stage demo. IMPESA is headquartered in San José, Costa Rica, and was founded in 2013.

Infocorp (FinovateFall 2021) was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. The company’s smart omnichannel platform and best of breed digital channels give banks fast and flexible solutions to enhance the customer experience. At the company’s FinovateFall demo in 2021, CEO Ana Inés Echavarren and Product Manager Gonzalo Laguna demonstrated Infocorp’s App of the Future, a user-centric, mobile native banking app.


Photo by Emma Bauso

FinovateFall 2021 Sneak Peek: Symbiotic

FinovateFall 2021 Sneak Peek: Symbiotic

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.

Symbiotic‘s Tap on Phone is a technology that allows anyone to accept contactless card payments just with a cellphone.

Features

  • Anyone can accept contactless card payments with just a cellphone
  • Disruptive technology of payments that allows cost effective growth and velocity
  • Only company certified PCI-CPoC in the Americas

Why it’s great
Accept contactless card payments with just a phone.

Presenter

Javier Chacon, CEO and Founder
Chacon is an experienced leader in digital strategy with 28 years in the banking industry. He is an award-winning fintech entrepreneur and innovator, and a technology professional with an MBA with honors from INCAE Business School.
LinkedIn

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Symbiotic

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Symbiotic

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateFall on September 23 through 25, 2019 in New York City. Register today and save your spot.

Symbiotic is presenting a disruption that will change the payments industry; a mechanism that enables a simple cellphone to accept contactless card payments with no additional devices required.

Features

  • Now anyone with a cell phone can accept contactless card payments
  • No additional devices required, just a cellphone
  • This solution can be integrated with apps that already exist very easily

Why it’s great
Symbiotic represents a new paradigm where anyone can accept card payments with just a cellphone, no additional devices required. The possibilities are enormous and create a new era of applications in the payments industry

Presenter

Javier Chacon, Founder and CEO
Chacon has been a banker for 26 years working in the finance industry. He is an expert in digital transformation, payment methods, and innovation, as well as an industry opinion leader in the field.
LinkedIn

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Wells Fargo announces data sharing agreement with Plaid.
  • Austin, Texas-based Velocity Credit Union picks Fiserv as its key technology provider.
  • Technology from MicroStrategy to help power analytics behind Freddie Mac’s mortgage insights tool.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.