Argentine financial services firm Ualá said on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to purchase Mexican bank ABC Capital, which will allow it to accelerate its expansion and growth plans in the North American country.
The closing of the deal is subject to obtaining the required government authorizations, the company said in a statement.
The Argentine unicorn, which estimates investments of some $150 million in Mexico in the next 18 months, says it plans to accelerate the launch of new business verticals to strengthen its financial ecosystem.
“Our commitment to financial inclusion in Mexico is absolute. We come to revolutionize the market with more technology, access and transparency,” Pierpaolo Barbieri, founder and CEO of Ualá, said in the statement.
“Once we obtain the corresponding authorizations, the incorporation of ABC Capital to our group will allow us to offer better financial services to all Mexicans. This great step will accelerate our investment and growth in this beautiful country,” he added.
Ualá in August closed an investment round for $350 million led by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd, and SoftBank Group Corp’s Latin America-focused fund, reaching a valuation of around $2.45 billion.
Launched in October 2017, Uala offers a Mastercard branded prepaid card and an app that allows users access to a number of financial services including sending and receiving money, online shopping, withdrawing cash at ATMs, and requesting loans.
The round came at a time when investors were putting a lot of money into Latin America, with the economy shifting to digital payments.
Ualá debuted operations in Mexico in September 2020. It has issued around 1,000 cards per day and has issued over 2.5 million cards in Argentina since 2017 when it launched.
The company also announced plans to buy Wilobank, Argentina’s first digital bank, a move that would help the company reach more unbanked customers in a region where nearly half the population has no access to financial services.