The VC arm of insurance giant Allianz has led a $300 million Series E funding round for Ualá which values the Argentinian mobile banking player at $2.75 billion.
Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Tencent, Pershing Square Foundation, Ribbit Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Soros Fund Management, Rodina, SoftBank Latin America Fund, Jefferies, D1 Capital Partners, Claure Group, AlleyCorp and Monashees all joined the round.
Launched in 2017, Ualá now claims more than eight million customers cross Argentina, Mexico and Colombia and has granted more than seven million loans.
Having started life with a debit card, it now has banking licenses and provides a host of services via its app, including money transfers, bill payment, credit options and savings and investments.
The company has developed a proprietary AI-driven credit scoring engine, which uses socio-demographic, transactional, and user data to deliver personalised offers to its users.
Pierpaolo Barbieri, CEO, Ualá, says: "The trust and confidence from our investors reaffirms our vision: we will soon be the largest bank in Argentina. Mexico and Colombia are next. Our single focus is the finest product: we will keep delivering the best value proposition for our users in Mexico, Argentina and Colombia — and grow beyond."
Nazim Cetin, CEO, Allianz X, adds: "As a digital financial platform with its own banking licenses, a broad product range, and strong customer growth since 2017, Ualá is uniquely positioned to participate in the upcoming growth of the Latin American financial markets."
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