The Mexican fintech Clip received $20M earlier this year from the Japanese corporate Softbank. This investment was part of a round that raised $100M.
Clip is now valued between $350M to $400M. The startup mentioned to Reuters that Softbank and General Atlantic have invested in the company. The agreement was made before Softbank announced an investment fund exclusively for Latin America.
Softbank’s investment in Clip is a small amount compared to the investments that the Softbank group is accustomed to doing. Softbank Group recently invested a billion dollars in Rappi, and probably they will allocate $200M to the Brazilian fintech Creditas. However, for some media, this is not so strange considering the investment amounts that are usuals in Latin America, where companies have lower valuations and less competition. LatAm companies can scale with lower money injection.
Clip, a Mexican fintech
Clip is a Mexican fintech founded in 2012 that offers a card reader that works with a cell phone. The company provides advantages over payment terminals by requiring less paperwork to provide the service and by having a lower commission.
In Mexico, many people do not have a bank account, but they do have a cell phone. For Eric Perez-Grovas, general partner of the local investment firm Jaguar Ventures, this means that “You have the perfect elements to create fintech giants in the country.”
Mexico and Brazil are the two markets with the most fintech startups in Latin America, according to Finnovista data.