LatAm Lender Kueski Approaches $1B in Loans

Kueski has made nearly $1 billion in loans to one million costumers, the Latin American lender and buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm said in a news release Tuesday (March 8).

“The $1 billion figure shows impressive growth, but the real impact we are having on people’s financial situation is much more impressive,” said Adalberto Flores, founder and CEO of Kueski. “We’re delivering on our mission to help customers meet their financial needs no matter the stage of their financial journey.”

Read more: Mexican BNPL Platform Kueski Snags $202M

Founded in 2013 and based in Guadalajara, Mexico, Kueski offers customers three chief products. Kueski Pay, its BNPL solution, is offered at more than 2,000 stores (compared to 56 this time last year), including brands such as VivaAerobus, Xiaomi, Nautica and Steve Madden.

Kueski Cash, its loan offering, disbursed more than 600,00 loans in the last year and has been “immensely popular with Mexican consumers, who typically use the capital to cover monthly expenses, as well as investments in health and education.”

Finally there’s Kueski Up, which lets employees access wages as needed, and has helped provide advances on 4,000 salaries to date.

The company said it was able to expand these products with the help of the $202 million in funding it raised late last year.

Read more: Buy Now, Pay Later Becoming a Pathway to Mainstream Banking in Mexico

PYMNTS spoke to Kueski’s Flores at the end of 2021 about the rise of BNPL, which has become a solution for millions of unbanked and underbanked customers around the world accessing financial services for the first time. This is especially true in developing economies, where many people work in the informal economy.

“The potential we have is we’re not only solving the credit aspect; we’re also solving the payment aspect as well,” Flores told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster.

“In Mexico, most people work in the informal economy, and they don’t want to open or use a bank account. So, we don’t want to force them to use a bank account. We can enable someone who is 100% outside of the formal economy to start accessing credit.”