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Contxto – In its goal of becoming the Latin American super-app, Rappi has taken the next step. Of course, Covid-19 likely has fueled the development of its latest alliance.
The SoftBank-backed, Colombian unicorn has allied with Arcus, the Fintech-as-a-Service created in the summer batch of Y Combinator from 2013.
Powered by Arcus
RappiPay is an electronic payment facilitator for consumer convenience.
Arcus will contribute with its technology to the further development of the existing RappiPay platform. It will allow users, within Rappi, to manage their finances, schedule payments, and autopay options, among others.
Finance is an issue that still requires a lot of education in Latin America. We must remember that these same consumers are changing their behaviors because of Covid-19.
Rappi decided this is the right time for his consumers to better manage their finances now that they are in quarantine.
We want to make life easier for our clients, especially during this difficult time. With RappiPay, people can manage all their financial needs from the security of their homes.
Alejandro Solis, General Manager of Rappi in Mexico
“Arcus was a natural partner to us as they had the necessary operational, technical and regional experience to help us get to market quickly with exceptional customer experience.” Alejandro Solis continued.
At the right moment
Taking into account that quarantine is not permanent (yet), I think this alliance is not a temporary plan to deal with the current situation.
As we have previously mentioned, Rappi has the goal of becoming the super-app of Latin America (with its respective setbacks). Therefore, the alliance with Arcus, in addition to taking advantage of the momentum, could have been planned for a much longer term than 90 days.
Arcus’ long-term vision is shared by the company’s co-founder and CRO, Inigo Rumayor, who said:
We are excited to collaborate with Rappi on this initiative, which we believe is the first step in a long, promising road of fintech innovation and expansion within the Latin American market.
With this collaboration, and during this period of Covid-19 that has us locked up, there is no better time for Rappi to achieve the correct consumer adoption. If they embrace it during the quarantine, they will trust it when its over, especially now that last-mile delivery apps are a must.
With good execution during the planning and launch stages, the results will surely be immediately positive.
However, let’s also remember that if a customer doesn’t understand or doesn’t like it, they simply won’t use it again. Even in the worst-case scenario, a serious RappiPay error could cost Rappi a client permanently.
Based on Rappi‘s bad luck earlier this year, the pandemic, the recession to come, and iFood‘s recent alliance with Domicilios.com in Colombia, Rappi can’t really afford to make a mistake.
Wanna hear more? We recommend you listen to the following podcast episode: Automatización vs factor humano. You can find the time stamp available in the description.
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-CM
