Clave, Kandeo to Expand Consumer Lending in Colombia

Two Latin American companies — the consumer lending platform Clave and the private equity firm Kandeo Asset Management — say they are joining forces to expand digital consumer lending in Colombia.

“Starting with Rayco (a nationwide Colombian retailer), Clave will significantly enhance the consumer experience by providing its customers with a digital wallet to easily access credit and payment options at point of sale,” the companies said in a news release Tuesday (Dec. 7).

The two companies say the partnership marries Clave’s technology and consumer credit expertise to Kandeo’s experience offering leadership and management to companies in Latin America, while also lining up with “their shared vision of enhancing the financial inclusion of the people of Latin America.”

Pablo Pizzimbono, Clave’s co-founder and CEO, says the company’s digital wallet “will boost the growth of thousands, if not millions, of merchants while enhancing the lives of millions of consumers in Latin America that lack easy access to credit and services that are critical to their standard of living.”

Read more: Unbanked Segments Become Valuable Focus For Payments Companies

As PYMNTS noted in March, many consumers in Latin America are still using digital tools such as mobile wallets to make purchases, even as people in that part of the world increasingly get access to financial services.

One recent study found that nearly 60% of online purchases in the region were made using a mobile device this year, a 5% increase over last year.

According to recent report by PYMNTS and EBANX, consumers in Latin America are also using alternative mobile wallet tools not connected to traditional methods such as bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards, with these tools making up 30% of eCommerce payments in the region.

At the same time, a lot of consumers in Latin America stick by their established, local payment preferences, which often involve cash vouchers and transfers, mainly because many consumers have no access to traditional banking, Camillo Riveros, of the eCommerce firm Dafiti, told PYMNTS.

“Economies [such as] Colombia and Peru are still very much [informal] economies,” Riveros said. “So, they depend on cash a lot, [and] that might become a barrier for people to actually use eCommerce because … they are not part of the digital world.”