The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a global engagement program for startups that seeks to connect with startups that solve the challenges of tomorrow, promote new business models and accelerate collaboration between players in the global payments ecosystem.
In a global environment impacted by COVID-19, the fourth edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative LAC, which will be held for the first time virtually, seeks to promote economic recovery through support for startups in Latin America and the Caribbean, while accelerates the digitization of all economic activities.
With all the world’s economies being impacted by the pandemic, innovation is more important than ever. On the one hand, small businesses are the engine of the region’s economies, particularly in Latin America, where 99% of companies are SMEs and these represent 61% of formal employment. All companies in the world have been impacted, but the situation is especially worrying for SMEs.
On the other hand, there are enormous challenges to face in all societies to fight the pandemic. Hundreds of millions of people use public transport (train, subway, bus, etc.) every day around the world. To prevent people from touching cash or payment terminals, the innovators, and Visa in particular, are working to implement new technologies that can provide people with a frictionless, more hygienic and more secure payment system.
This time the winner was the Mexican startup Finerio Connect, a technology solutions company for the financial ecosystem. He will now compete for $ 100,000 in the world final in September this year.
Fineiro Connect, winner among more than 300 applicants from 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, will compete with its open banking solution against startups from North America, Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa that seek to solve the challenges of commerce and payments of the future.
“Digitization has been key over the last year. Startups and fintech play a key role in fostering innovation and the transformation of financial services. Supporting these players and collaborating to promote solutions that help close the digital divide and strengthen the region’s economy is a top priority for Visa, “said Arnoldo Reyes, Vice President of Strategic Alliances, Fintech and Business Development in Latin America and the Caribbean at Visa. “We are proud that a Mexican startup represents our region in the global final of the Visa Everywhere Initiative, as well as continuing to promote the growth of innovations such as Fineiro Connect.”
“We are delighted to be named winners of the Visa Everywhere Initiative for Latin America and to go to the global final, because it shows the great opportunity that exists in the region to transform access to data and the financial user experience. With the knowledge of Visa In technology and innovation we want to completely reinvent how data is used to drive everything from credit rating, personal finance management and even instant payments, “said Nick Grassi, Cofounder & Co-CEO at Finerio Connect.
