October 21st 2024
Akua, a Latin American-based payment processing platform, announced today that it has secured a $4.3 million seed investment led by Propel and supported by Plug and Play, HTwenty, RallyCap, Flourish Ventures and ICventures, along with high-impact angel investors with experience in companies such as Mastercard, dLocal, Jeeves, and Nubank, providing the necessary support for the fintech’s ambitious project.
“This is the right team to deliver scalable, secure, and efficient payment processing solutions for LatAm. Harmonizing the noise between merchants, card networks, and acquirers is key to unlocking business value and growing the new digital economy” commented David Mort from Propel.
With this backing, it is building the first “as-a-service” acquiring processor platform with direct connections to the most relevant payment methods in the region. Completely cloud-native, highly secure, operated in real-time, and powered by artificial intelligence, the technology aims to set a new standard for efficiency and trust for financial institutions and merchants.
The Fintech was recently founded by three well-known leaders in the tech sector, who together bring more than 45 years of combined experience in the payments industry. The Colombian Carlos Marín, who played key roles at PayU and Mastercard, leading acquiring and issuing strategies as well as launching Pomelo’s operations in the Andean markets; Uruguayan Juan José Behrend, responsible for building technology at companies like dLocal, Pomelo, and PedidosYa; and Brazilian Rodrigo Rodrigues, who led the development of neobanks for Mastercard in Brazil, launched Movii’s acquiring vertical in Colombia, and managed the global card operations for Jeeves.
“With over 45 years of combined experience in the fintech sector, the founding team—Carlos Marín (CEO), Juan José Behrend (CTO), and Rodrigo Rodrigues (COO)—brings a wealth of knowledge from notable companies like Pomelo, Dlocal, PayU, Movii, Jeeves and Mastercard. This team is as strong as it could be for the product they are building, we believe they are uniquely positioned to transform the payments landscape in Latin America.” commented Renzo Sesana, Principal at HTwenty Capital Innovation.
In Latin America and globally, the rails on which the majority of payment transactions are processed were built over 30 years ago and are still in use today. This has resulted in a payments ecosystem that operates on inefficient and fragmented infrastructure.
A Commitment to Innovation in Latin America
With this funding, the Fintech is working on launching its platform in Colombia next year, with accelerated expansion plans into Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Brazil. In its first phase, it will enable card payment processing with direct connections to Visa and Mastercard, followed by the inclusion of alternative payment methods.
“The payment landscape in Latin America is at a crucial turning point. Many businesses still use three-decade-old legacy systems that result in slow processing times and high fraud rates. We will be the first to offer a regionally integrated platform for the processing of any payment rail, to bring efficiency, productivity, and immediacy to consumers through the organizations that serve them.” commented Carlos Marín, CEO of Akua.
Currently, Latin America loses about 20% of total e-commerce revenue to fraud, a statistic that underscores the urgent need for improved payment processing infrastructure. Despite the rise of digital payments, Mexico, for example, has seen only about 5% adoption of contactless payment systems, and is one of the countries most affected by online fraud, with an alarming statistic indicating that the country faces about 463 fraudulent digital transactions every hour.
Founded just a few months ago, Akua already has over 20 employees spread across various countries in Latin America, with 90% of them being engineers from top global tech companies. The name “Akua” is inspired by the Wayuu people, an indigenous community from the Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia, and translates to “speed,” reflecting the company’s commitment to agility and efficiency in payment processing.
Key Features of Akua’s Platform:
● Cloud-Native Technology: Unlike traditional payment processors that use old technology, Akua operates entirely in the cloud. This allows them to provide services faster and with greater flexibility. Example: If a customer wants to pay for a product online, Akua processes that payment in real-time, making the transaction quick and seamless.
● Integration Across Payment Methods: Akua can handle different types of payment systems (like credit cards, digital wallets, and even cryptocurrencies) all in one place. Example: A merchant can use Akua to accept payments from Visa, Mastercard, and various digital wallets without needing separate systems for each.
● Advanced Fraud Prevention: Akua includes built-in tools that help detect and
prevent fraudulent transactions, which protects businesses from losses. Example: If
someone tries to purchase with a stolen credit card, Akua’s system can flag that
transaction and stop it before it goes through.
About Akua
Akua is a Latin American company that offers and develops state-of-the-art, proprietary, cloud-native payment processing infrastructure with global reach that allows any company to become an acquirer of its payments using state-of-the-art technology. Founders Carlos Marin, Juan Jose Behrend and Rodrigo Rodrigues have over 45 years of combined experience in PayTech and Fintech as executives in companies such as Mastercard, dLocal, PedidosYa, PayU, Jeeves and Pomelo. Learn more about Akua at www.akua.la and follow them on their LinkedIn.
About Our Investors
Propel: A venture capital firm focused on investing in innovative fintech startups, driving growth in emerging markets and Latin America. Having as partners Jay Reinemann and David Mort, and with a strong partnership with BBVA, early investor in Coinbase, Nomad, Neon, Conekta and others relevants fintechs
HTwenty: A Latin American-focused fund backing fintech startups that aim to revolutionize the financial landscape in the region with strong presence in Colombia and Mexico. Led by partner Miguel Armaza and principal Renzo Sesana
Flourish Ventures: A global fund investing in fintech solutions that promote financial inclusion in underserved markets, particularly in LatAm. Led by partners Emmalyn Shaw and Arjuna Costa, with LP support from The Omidyar Network.
RallyCap: Specializes in early-stage fintech investments in emerging markets, with a strong focus on Latin America’s financial ecosystem and Africa. Led by partners Hayden Simmons and Kyane Kassiri.
Plug and Play: A global innovation platform investing in fintech companies across Latin America, fostering startup growth through its accelerator programs. Led by partner Saeed Amidi, early investor in Paypal, N26, Rappi, Dropbox and others relevants tech companies. With strong partnerships with VISA, Amazon and strongs Banks of Latin America.
ICVentures: Focuses on supporting fintech innovation in Latin America, empowering startups that drive financial disruption and inclusion. Led by partners Andres Cerisola, Eduardo Mangarelli and Martin Naor, Alvaro More y Gabriel Colla. With strong connections with severals Banks in Latin America. Learn more in media
Global | USA 🇺🇸 | Colombia 🇨🇴 | Uruguay 🇺🇾 | Argentina 🇦🇷 | Mexico 🇲🇽 |
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