Klar, arguably the largest digital bank in Mexico, secured $70 million in equity funding this week. The investment – led by existing investor General Atlantic and featuring participation from Prosus Ventures, Quona Capital, Mouro, IFC, Acrew, and Endeavor Catalyst – gives the company a valuation of $500 million. Klar has raised more than $150 million in equity funding since its founding in 2019. The sum represents the largest amount raised by a Mexican neobank to date.
“Since its inception, Klar has aimed to empower millions of consumers across Mexico with simple and transparent offerings that enable them to live better lives,” Klar CEO and co-founder Stefan Möller said. “We see an opportunity to provide bespoke solutions to Mexican consumers who are eager to adopt technology, and who are not adequately served by anachronistic institutions.”
In addition to the equity investment, Klar received $20 million in venture debt funding from WTI.
Klar offers financial services consumers a wide range of solutions, including credit, mobile payments, rewards programs, loans, early wage access, and BNPL. The largest digital finance platform in Mexico, Klar has added 1.4 million customers in the last 12 months, reported revenue gains of 7x and transaction volume increases of 4x year over year.
Klar plans to use the fresh capital to enhance its platform, explore strategic acquisitions, pursue new distribution channels, and “invest in its team and talent.”
In other Latin American fintech news, we learned that Argentina’s Ualá has won approval from the country’s central bank to acquire Wilobank, Argentina’s first digital bank.
The deal was first announced in 2021, and this week’s decision will enable the transaction to close as early as next week, according to Bloomberg. The deal will also make Wilobank founder Eduardo Eurnekian a minority stakeholder in Ualá.
“The acquisition of Wilobank will significantly expand the value proposition of the Ualá ecosystem, offering better credit and collection tools not only for individuals but also for entrepreneurs,” Ualá founder and CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri said. “It is a crucial step so that more and more people can access simpler, more accessible and transparent financial products.”
Ualá’s acquisition will enable the $2.5 billion Argentinian fintech to accelerate growth and reach more customers. Especially attractive as new potential clients are pensioners and government welfare recipients who receive government payments via savings accounts that can only be provided by banks. Ualá has five million accounts – four million in Argentina – on the region. Wilobank has more than 250,000 savings accounts and has issued more than 113,000 debit cards.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
- Indonesian cryptocurrency trading app Pintu secured $113 million in Series B funding.
- TechCrunch profiled Thailand-based earned wage access company Salary Hero.
- Vietnamese fintech ONUS earned a license to exchange digital assets in Lithuania.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- MFS Africa, Africa’s largest digital payments network, acquired U.S.-based Global Technology Partners
- Ukheshe, a digital-first financial services provider based in South Africa, launched its Tap-to-Pay phone payment solution.
- QuartzAfrica profiled the fintech scene in Ethiopia.
Central and Eastern Europe
- Hungary-based Dorsum, a three-time Finovate Best of Show winner, announced a partnership with incubator and accelerator, F10 Switzerland.
- Euronet Worldwide’s digital payments processing division pay expanded its recurring billing solution Renewal to new markets in Australia, Germany, the UAE, Singapore, and Mexico.
- The Baltic Times profiled LendSecured, a lending platform for Latvian farmers.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Online B2B marketplace, SAFQAT, announced plans to go live in the UAE.
- Spain’s CaixaBank launched its online, real-time currency trading platform, FXNow, in Morocco.
- UAE-based digital payments solution provider FlexxPay partnered with AppSealing to provide mobile security for its app.
Central and Southern Asia
- Cashfree Payments teamed up with EasyTransfer to help Indian students make payments when studying abroad.
- ICICI Bank announces partnership with Indian digital EMI/BNPL platform Zest Money.
- Karandaaz Pakistan and Pakistan Fintech Network inked an agreement to jointly support Pakistan’s fintech ecosystem.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Colombian insurtech R5 secured $7 million in funding in a round led by Germany’s Global Founders Capital.
- Jewel Bank secured regulatory approval from Bermuda for a banking and digital asset business license.
- Ecuadorean payments infrastructure company Kushki raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion.