Hola amig@s fintech,
If you are a regular reader, you will notice something different about this edition. We have been in renovation mode, rethinking the format to make this newsletter even more useful for you.
Everything is now grouped in three sections. Editor's Picks brings you the reports, data points, and stories we believe everyone following LATAM fintech should know this week. This Week's Key Moves tracks what is happening across the ecosystem —from fundraising to product launches to regulatory shifts— so you can follow the direction investors, innovators, and regulators are taking. And On Our Radar is where we share the signals, analysis, opinions, and market opportunities that may not be breaking news but that we believe are worth your time and might make you pause and think.
If you have ideas or feedback, we want to hear it. Reach us by email or on our social media channels. And stay tuned, we have more in store for you.
~Vivi
🟨Editor’s Picks
TIME magazine's new Industry Leaders list analyzed 20 sectors to spotlight the businesses reshaping their industries, and Latin America's fintech ecosystem claimed two spots in the global finance top 10: Nubank and Mercado Libre's Mercado Pago.
Time Magazine names Nubank and Mercado Pago among the world's most influential finance companies
Latin America is fintech's fastest-growing region, and three companies own half of it
McKinsey and QED Investors' April 2026 global fintech report reveals LATAM grew at 40% annually over five years, the fastest of any region in the world. Yet the gains tell an even sharper story: just three companies capture 48% of all regional fintech revenues; the highest market concentration of any region globally.
Bitso's April 2026 report, based on nearly 10 million users across Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, finds that dollar-pegged stablecoins now account for 40% of all crypto purchases in the region, surpassing Bitcoin for the first time.
Stablecoins overtake Bitcoin as the most purchased crypto asset in Latin America
The fintech conversation continues in our community chats.
Across WhatsApp and Telegram, thousands of founders, operators, investors, and builders connect daily to share insights, opportunities, and market intel.
🟨 This Week’s Key Moves
| Fundraising
🇦🇷 Belo, the Argentina-based crypto-powered digital wallet, raised $14 million Series A round led by Tether, with participation from Titan Fund, The Venture City, Mindset Ventures and G2. The company enables users to hold and move local currencies and digital dollars across borders through a single platform.
🇲🇽 Kleva, the Mexican AI-powered debt collection fintech, raised a $1.55 million Seed round led by Wollef Ventures, with participation from Nascent, Kuiper VC, and Lerer Hippeau. The company develops AI agents that automate collections for banks and lenders.
| Products & Partnerships
🇺🇸 Western Union launched USDPT, a dollar-backed stablecoin on Solana issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, designed to replace correspondent banking rails with 24/7 blockchain settlement across its global remittance network. The pilot starts in Bolivia and the Philippines, with a consumer spending product — "Stable by Western Union" — planned for 40+ countries later this year.
🇲🇽 Belvo and Banco Plata launched an Open Finance integration in Mexico that uses employment and banking data to approve credit in real time — automating everything from income verification to repayment collection. The target: Mexicans with stable jobs but no formal credit history, in a country where fewer than 35% of adults hold a formal credit card.
🇨🇴 BBVA Colombia launched real-time payroll payments via Bre-B, becoming the first bank in the country to do so. The feature enables approximately 100,000 corporate clients to disburse salaries 24/7 using employee "keys" — phone, ID, or email — regardless of the recipient's financial institution.
🇲🇽 Banco Plata integrated cash deposits and payments across OXXO's 24,000+ stores in Mexico via tapi's infrastructure, giving its 3.5 million users access to over 40,000 physical points nationwide. The move addresses the structural gap of a country where cash still accounts for roughly 60% of personal consumption.
🇲🇽 Revolut introduced "Mercados Revolut" in Mexico — a platform giving retail investors access to over 2,000 US stocks and ETFs starting at $1, with instant currency conversion and fractional shares. The move puts Revolut in direct competition with GBM, Actinver, and Bitso in a market that already has 24.6 million investment accounts. For now, access is limited to Metal and Premium plan users.
🇵🇪 Yape expanded its international remittance service to Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Italy, bringing its total to eight destinations. The most notable addition is Argentina, where transfers land directly in Mercado Pago — connecting two of LATAM's largest digital finance platforms.
| Policy
🇧🇷 Brazil's Central Bank published new rules for international payment services, effective October 1, banning stablecoins and crypto as settlement rails for cross-border transfers. Fintechs that had been using stablecoin infrastructure on the backend — like Nomad and Braza Bank — must now route payments through traditional foreign exchange channels. Unauthorized providers have until May 2027 to seek licensing.
🇦🇷 Argentina's Central Bank published new rules formally regulating for the first time fintechs that offer payment accounts through third parties. Existing providers have 90 days to comply. With 370 registered PSPs in Argentina, some read the move as a consolidation filter favoring larger, better-capitalized players.
🇵🇪 Peru's Central Bank announced TAPP, a public digital payment infrastructure that will allow users to initiate real-time transfers from any authorized app — not just their bank's. A pilot is expected between June and July, with full launch by end of 2026. The move signals Peru is building open payment infrastructure at the state level, opening the door to fintechs and new players
🇲🇽 Mexico's CNBV authorized Trafalgar to acquire CIBanco's brokerage house — beating out Bitso, whose bid was blocked by the Finance Ministry. The move completes Trafalgar's rapid expansion from fintech to full-service financial platform, and the company is now eyeing a dual listing in Mexico and the US.
🟨 On Our Radar
| Signals
An analysis of the LATAM remittance market shows that most fintech and stablecoin companies are fighting over the US-Mexico corridor — a $61.8 billion market that actually shrank 4.5% in 2025 — while the remaining $112 billion sits in corridors they're not optimized for: Venezuela-Colombia, Argentina-Bolivia, Spain-Ecuador, and a fast-growing US-Central America flow driven by deportation-driven "panic-send" behavior.
A16zcrypto's latest market map lays out the full stablecoin stack from blockchains and issuers to liquidity providers, bank connectivity, and end-user applications. The piece argues that stablecoins are no longer a product but the backbone of a new global financial infrastructure.
Innogen Capital closed ICV Delta Fund I at $11M — backed by IDB Lab among others — targeting around 25 early-stage startups across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in fintech, logistics, and proptech. To put that in perspective: of the $4.1 billion invested in Latin American startups in 2025, Central America captured just $107 million — and early-stage funding in the region fell 40% last year. Closes of this kind remain the exception in the region, not the rule. The fund is still raising toward a $15M final close.
The pre-seed accelerator for LATAM fintech and AI-native founders is now accepting applications for PY9 — a 12-week program offering SAFE investment, founder coaching, and demo day exposure across Bogotá, Mexico City, and New York. They're explicitly looking for AI-first builders rethinking financial services.
| People
The Latin American biometrics and digital identity verification platform chose a rare crossover between public sector and tech to lead its regional efforts. Monteiro, former Brazilian Secretary of Digital Government, was the architect of Gov.br —the world's largest digital government platform with 160 million users. His appointment to lead Unico's operations across Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina comes as digital identity becomes critical infrastructure across the region.
Stop Talking, Start Building: The Fintech Builders Lab Hits Bogotá & Mexico City
We are thrilled to announce the Fintech Builders Lab, a collaborative series presented by This Week in Fintech and the Interledger Foundation.
This isn't just another networking event. It’s an intensive, collaborative sandbox designed for the founders and engineers who are actually moving the needle. We’re moving beyond the headlines to solve real-world friction in interoperability, fees, and UX.
Why you should care: The Lab serves as the official launchpad for the Interledger Hackathon, focusing on accelerating the transition from cash to digital for small merchants across LATAM.
Choose your city and apply below (Spots are limited and curated):
📍 Bogotá - Wednesday, May 27 | 4:00 p.m.
📍 Mexico City - Wednesday, June 3 | 4:00 p.m.
TWIF Latin America editorial team
Editor-in-Chief: Vivi, Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Advisor
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