Transfeera raised $ 1.3 million this month in a series A round.
The fintech is a banking-as-a-service provider in Brazil focusing on business-to-business transactions.
The company specializes in Pix and provides banking capacity to 470 clients in the country. Founded in 2017 in Brazil’s Southeast region, the company started as a B2C enabler but later pivoted to B2B payments. Last year, it launched a payment API through Px and now reports more than a million monthly transactions.
The investment was led by funds Honey Island Capital and 4UM Investimentos. It also included the participation of Bossanova Investimentos, Opus, GooDz Capital, and Curitiba Angels.
Pix, the central bank’s instant payment system, was introduced by the end of 2020. According to the central bank data, it is now operated by more than 770 institutions in Brazil.
Expand workforce
The company will reportedly apply its capital to expand its workforce. The startup wants to increase its current staff of 52 employees by 150% over the year, most of which will be in the technology area.
“With this round, our focus will be to invest in our product team and accelerate our entry into Open Finance,” Fernando Nunes, CEO and co-founder of Transfeera said.
Its growth is the latest illustration of business opportunities stemming from Pix’s adoption. To this point, Open Finance in Brazil could also prove a significant opportunity.
The startup saw over 5 billion Brazilian reais in transactions in 2022 and reported an 89% year-over-year growth in revenue in the first half of last year, toward 7.1 million reais.
Since April 2022, the company said that all products marketed by Transfeera had used PIX as an instant payment method.
“We decided to focus exclusively on Pix to explore all the features it can offer,” the CEO said. “The future of payments lies with innovations provided by Pix and Open Finance. We seek to be aligned with these two trends.”
The largest fintech ecosystem
The Brazilian fintech ecosystem is the largest in the region, accounting for roughly a third of all startups. It is also the main destination for venture capital funding, although it has decreased this year due to rising interest rates.
With Pix and further regulations such as Open Banking making progress in Brazil, experts believe the ecosystem is getting increasingly attractive for investors, even despite risks of inflation.
Pix has been a dramatic tool for financial inclusion, with over 130 million users now s doing digital transactions through smartphones. That is providing exciting opportunities for many companies looking to provide banking infrastructure.
Related:
- Pix breaks further ground in payments market
- How PIX became a LatAm payments phenomenon in just one year
- Why has Pix done so well while CoDi has struggled?
Pix creates new business opportunities
In line with Pix’s latest innovations, such as the Payment Initiator features, Transfeera’s Pix-focused API is expected to reduce steps while paying online.
“Currently, payment initiators in Brazil can make payments via Pix, but in the next stages of Open Finance in Brazil, it will also be possible to initiate payments via TED, boleto, and direct debit,” said Paulo Oliveira Andreoi, a fintech adviser, about other kinds of payment methods that are popular in Brazil.
