FinTech investment in Argentina falters in 2022 and falls by 70% from 2021
Key Statistics for FinTech Investments in Argentina from 2022:
• FinTech investment in Argentina reached $132 million in 2022, down 70% from 2021 levels
• FinTech Deal activity in 2022 increased by one deal, for a total of 24
• Fourth quarter 2022 was the most active quarter defying global trends with eight announced deals
FinTech in Argentina has had a rocky 2022 with investment in the country falling significantly from 2021 levels. That said, Ualá, a mobile app used to manage paid debit cards, raised $350 million in 2021 and $150 million in 2019. Stripping out those deals, 2022 broke a new record for FinTech investment. Deal activity has remained strong over the past five years with a small drop during 2020 attributable to Covid-19. Last year also saw the most deals brought in by Argentine FinTech companies, and Q4 was the most active quarter, indicating a strong 2023.
Geopagos, an embedded PayTech solution, was the largest FinTech deal in Argentina in 2022, raising $35 million in their latest venture round led by Riverwood Capital. Geopagos plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its Latin American presence and make new investments in its digital portfolio. The company also aims to increase its efforts to develop innovative solutions such as increasing its omnichannel products and facilitating the development of new payment acceptance systems. Geopagos has a presence in 15 Latin American countries and says it facilitates more than 150 million transactions with a processed volume of $5 billion per year.
In May 2022, Banco Central de la República Argentina, the country’s central bank, adopted new rules for digital wallets. The board’s mandate requires financial institutions, including banks, FinTechs, payment service providers and digital wallet administrators, to provide their customers with the ability to link other accounts. This allows customers to make payments and transfers through one digital wallet while using funds from another account. The Central Bank has mandated that banks provide account information to payment service providers to enable this function. Participants in the industry have until 30 September 2022 to comply and implement the necessary changes, according to the central bank.
The data for this research was obtained from the FinTech Global database. More in-depth data and analysis on investments and companies across all FinTech sectors and regions around the world is available to FinTech Global subscribers. ©2023 FinTech Global
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