Mexican Fintech Albo Raises 40M as Neobanks Increase in Popularity Among Latinos

Mexican neobank albo raised $40 million in a Series C round announced Friday. The operation furthers the thesis that Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America are open to adopting new fintech technologies.

Founded in 2016, albo began its fintech journey by offering customers prepaid cards to receive, transfer and spend money; over the years, it has expanded its banking products to deliver commission-free debit and savings accounts, personal loans and crypto trading, among other products.

Morpheus Ventures, a U.S.-based venture capital firm, led the latest raise, which also included participation from previous investors Valar Ventures and Nazca Ventures.

"We are very impressed with albo's performance in a challenging environment. albo delivered remarkable growth metrics throughout 2023," said Joseph Miller, managing partner of Morpheus Ventures. "We are very excited to join albo on its mission to provide a modern fintech platform to both consumers and small businesses."

Valar Ventures, which led albo's Series A funding round in 2019, also recognized albo as a leader in the fintech space in Mexico and decided to make the company its first Mexico investment.

"Based on the experience we have in digital financial services worldwide, we want to grow with them and take them to the next level of operations in Mexico," said Andrew McCormack of Valar Ventures.

According to Brookings, a nonprofit research institute, Latinos are increasingly adopting fintech products because they remove the barrier to entry for services such as investing, opening a credit card and banking.

Historically, banks have charged fees to open accounts and have required good credit to open credit. Both those instances have caused many Latinos hardships due to their financial situations. However, with the rise of neobanks, more Latinos are getting to those services without having to hop over barriers.