Citi Provides Investment and Technology to Colombian FinTech Supra

Citi has led a strategic investment round in Supra, a Colombian FinTech that enables cross-border payments and treasury solutions.

Supra provides these solutions to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) involved in import and export activities, Citi said in a Monday (Dec. 11) press release.

With the new capital, Supra’s Colombian operations will grow to fulfill its payment aggregator role in partnership with Foreign Exchange Market Intermediaries (IMC) and licensed Payment Service Providers, according to the release.

“At Supra, we are developing cutting-edge cross-border payment solutions that provide value-added services to our clients as well as transaction speed and highly competitive rates,” Emilio Pardo, CEO and co-founder at Supra, said in the release. “Our technology is one of the first in the country that complies with the regulations issued by the Colombian Central Bank for payment aggregators.”

Citi’s cross-border payments and foreign exchange (FX) technology will facilitate Supra’s expansion in Colombia, according to the press release.

Supra serves a Colombian market for B2B cross-border payments that totaled about $134 billion in 2022 and includes more than 40,000 companies that participate in import and export commercial activities, the release said.

Citi’s strategic investments arm led the investment, with Far Out Ventures and H20 Capital also participating in the financing round, per the release.

“We believe Supra’s product, business model and collaboration with Citi will allow them to create competitive moats in the multi-billion-dollar import and export cross-border payments market in Colombia,” Aldo Alvarez, lead for LatAm strategic investments in Citi’s Markets business, said in the release.

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that Latin America is in the midst of a historical digital commerce boom. The region’s market of SMBs and professionals that offer digital services has grown rapidly, and this transformation is also reshaping the payments space, according to “The Digital Businesses’ Guide to Latin America,” a PYMNTS and Payoneer collaboration.

In another recent development in the region, it was reported in October that Cobre raised $13 million to take its treasury platform beyond its native Colombia.

Cobre plans to enter Mexico next year, while also updating its product — initially designed for big companies — for use by smaller businesses.