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The big story
Trump’s tariff threats don’t scare this Mexican fintech
Mexico’s economic development has made it a fertile ground for startups. But the trend is under threat if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his plans to take a harder line on trade with Mexico.
Jaime Tabachnik, co-founder and CEO of Mexican trucking finance startup Solvento, isn’t too worried, though. Solvento just closed its $12.5 million Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Cometa.
The firm provides modern financial services to trucking companies in Mexico, including financing and automated payments. Tabachnik told TechCrunch that its products in general increase transparency and liquidity in the trucking sector.
Analysis of the week
Latin America fintech might just be a market to watch in 2025. The volume of venture capital dollars invested into fintech companies in LatAm this year has increased 73% from 2023. And $2.6 billion has been invested in 2024, compared to the $1.5 billion invested in 2023.
While these may not sound like huge totals, especially in comparison to 2021 when $7.5 billion was invested, these numbers show that the market could be starting to turn around.
“I believe the region is underfunded coming out of the [post] 2021 correction,” QED Investors partner Mike Packer told TechCrunch. “We need more investors to look at LatAm as a global opportunity and need entrepreneurs to believe that they can make a difference and change things.”
Dollars and cents
Cardless announced $30 million in funding to expand its co-branded credit card business. The company is not disclosing its valuation with this round — nor is it indicating whether it is flat, up, or down on its previous $40 billion valuation.
StoreCash announced the closing of a $3.7 million seed round led by Black Ops Ventures for its instant cash-back app that aims to “help the average American build generational wealth.” The company has raised $6.4 million to date.
German fintech unicorn N26 reported its first ever quarterly (pretax) profit. The challenger bank generated a net operating income of €2.8 million during the third quarter of 2024 ($2.9 million at current exchange rates).
High-interest headlines 🗞
New UK crypto regulations will include stablecoins and staking services
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal leaves PhonePe’s board
Revolut to launch mortgages, smart ATMs, and business credit products
Apple Pay, Cash App, PayPal and other apps to be treated more like banks