Argentina, one of South America’s most promising economies, has a burgeoning fintech ecosystem that’s evolved rapidly over the past years, fueled by favorable factors including a growing tech-savvy population, increasing smartphone adoption, and a thirst for financial inclusion.
Today, Argentina has one of LatAm’s fastest growing fintech sectors, behind only Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, according to a study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Data from the Argentinian Fintech Chamber show that as of September 2022, there were 330 fintech companies operating in Argentina, employing 23,548 people directly. These metrics suggest a 15% growth compared to 2021 projections. Digital payments, the largest fintech vertical in the country, grew by 60% during the period to reach 132 companies in 2022.
To get a better understanding of the country’s fast-growing fintech sector, we look today at five rising stars and up-and-coming fintech leaders in the Argentine fintech industry. These startups have all witnessed considerable traction and recorded strong customer growth, and are now poised for further expansion.
For this list, we focus on early-stage startups at the seed or Series A stage which have secured their latest round of funding over the past year or so, and which have been founded within the past three years.
Pomelo
Founded in 2021, Pomelo is a fintech-as-a-service platform that allows financial services companies and embedded finance players to launch new products within weeks and in a compliant manner.
The platform lets companies issue physical and virtual cards, manage digital accounts for their customers, and help businesses protect themselves from fraud. It also provides services in digital identity validation, payment processing and crypto assets, according to Tekios Mag.
Pomelo received in March authorization from the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) to operate as a payment institution, allowing it to issue electronic money and post-paid payment instruments, such as credit cards, and expand its product offering.
In November 2022, Pomelo extended its Series A funding round by US$15 million, bringing the round’s total to US$50 million. The extension increased the startup’s valuation by 50% in the span of just nine months, Fintech Global reported.
Rebill
Founded in 2020, Rebill is a fintech startup building automated payment collection and management tools. Rebill’s platform automates the collection process and integrates payment gateways invoicing tools. It also pre-approves credit and debit cards so customers can avoid complex billing scenarios.
Rebill currently operates on a subscription basis and is available in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, collecting payments in 15 currencies. The company says it is growing at a 20% rate month-on-month.
Rebill raised US$3.6 million in funding in August 2022 which it said it would use to scale its presence in LatAm, improve its payment gateways and bank integration, and integrate with relationship management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and lending platforms.
Wibond
Founded in 2020, Wibond is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup that provides a 100% flexible digital payment method and which targets LatAm’s underbanked and underbanked consumers.
Wibond’s solution integrates directly into the purchase flow of online merchants, and provides consumers with the ability to pay for their purchases in multiple installments. Customers can create an account for free to quickly access and pay without banks, in installments, and without needing a card.
Wibond says it currently has 300 stores part of its network, which are leveraging its BNPL payment capability to boost sales and access new customers.
Wibond secured a US$6 million seed funding round in June 2022. The company said it would use the proceeds to fuel its growth and expand to other countries in the region, including Chile and Mexico.
Menta
Founded in 2021, Menta is an Argentine embedded fintech startup that provides a plug-and-play solution for B2B companies to integrate financial services into their offerings.
Menta’s platform is open and collaborative, making it possible for businesses and organizations to integrate all types of financial solutions, including utility bills payments, credits, investments, cryptocurrency payments, and loyalty programs, among many others. The company also offers smart point-of-sale (smartPOS) payment capabilities.
Menta raised a US$6 million round in October 2022, tripling its valuation. The startup now plans to consolidate its position in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, reach new markets and strengthen and diversify its embedded payments and finance solution for B2B companies.
Num Finance
Founded in 2021, Num Finance is an issuer of local stablecoins in LatAm. The company offers a suite of financial products and digital tokens designed to help businesses scale operations in emerging markets through cryptocurrency finance tools such as collateralized loans underpinned by local stablecoins.
Num Finance’s current offerings include nARS, a digital asset pegged to the Argentine peso, and nPEN, a stablecoin linked to the Peruvian sol. The company plans to launch new stablecoin tokens for the Brazilian Real (nBRL), Colombian Peso (nCOP), Mexican Peso (nMXN), as well as Dinar Bahrain (nBHD), marking its expansion to the Middle East.
Num Finance secured a US$1.5 million pre-seed funding round in May 2023. The company said it would use the proceeds to extend its service offering to Colombia and Brazil, as well as probing other emerging markets in LatAm, North Africa, and Asia. Additionally, Num Finance said it will increase its focus on developing its real-world asset offering, starting with the tokenization of money market financial instruments.
Featured image credit: Edited from Unsplash
