The Argentine neobank Ualá extended its Series E round by US$66 million dollars, which included the participation of Mexican media giant TelevisaUnivision.
This brings the round to a total of US$366 million and makes it one of the largest in the last three years in Latin America. The company was valued at $2.75 billion in the first part of the Series E, which was led by Allianz X, the venture arm of German insurer Allianz SE.
In an interview with Bloomberg, founder and CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri said the funds raised through the share sale will be used to continue growing in Latin America, with a special focus on Mexico.
In a meeting with media in Mexico at the end of 2024, Barbieri spoke of the opportunity that this country represents, as 45% of its users in Mexico had not had a credit card before and boasted that it is acquiring 100,000 monthly users (they have 1.7 million users in the country), the business in Mexico is growing 15% monthly.
In addition, Barbieri assured that after one year operating with a banking license in Mexico, Ualá has multiplied by 5 the number of users and the active portfolio. He also said that they will soon be offering loans for SMEs.
Two of its recent services are: payroll portability (which already has tens of thousands of clients) and remittances (which is growing 15% per month).
An important ally
Having TelevisaUnivision as an ally, Barbieri told Bloomberg, will help them build trust and closeness with Mexicans who are not yet familiar with their offering.
Although the focus is on Mexico, Barbieri also stated that it will continue to bet on the payments, investment and credit ecosystem in Argentina, as it is still the country with the largest number of users of its three markets (it also operates in Colombia). Of its 9 million customers across the region, 6.5 million are in its native Argentina.
Launched in 2017 with its core debit card product, Ualá now offers a range of options including payments, credit, merchant acquiring and investments, with services dependent on each country.
Barbieri said in November 2024 that Ualá is already profitable in Argentina after seven years operating and would reach profitability in Mexico around 2026. He also said that after receiving their Series E they will not require more capital until their IPO.
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