Prometeo secures 13M Series A from PayPal Ventures, Samsung Next and others to scale its fintech API across Latin America, bridging fragmented banking systems with secure infrastructure.
I’m Aadi, an MBA with a background in marketing and finance. Over the past few years I’ve worked with fintech startups and seen how big players decide when to back small ones. That mix of boardroom strategy and on-ground reality shapes how I read funding stories like this.
Summary:
Prometeo, a fintech quietly building infrastructure across Latin America, just pulled in 13 million dollars from names like PayPal Ventures and Samsung Next. The number itself is news, but the real story is about what this says for cross-border fintech and the unglamorous pipes powering it.
1. Prometeo raised 13 million dollars in Series A from PayPal Ventures, Samsung Next and other global investors.
2. The fintech provides a single API to connect banks and financial data across Latin America.
3. The company already integrates with over 283 financial institutions in 10 countries.
4. Investors are betting on infrastructure, not consumer-facing apps, which signals a deeper trend in fintech.
5. Expansion funds will go toward scaling security, compliance and new services in underbanked regions.
Everyone loves to talk about shiny consumer apps, but the money often hides in the plumbing. Prometeo is not building another digital wallet or lending app. Instead it is offering a single API that lets financial institutions and startups tap into bank data and payments across Latin America. Think of it as the invisible bridge that makes apps like wallets or lending platforms actually work.
The bet here is on infrastructure. Latin America is fragmented, with each country having its own banking systems, compliance hurdles and customer habits. For a fintech in Mexico to launch in Brazil or Colombia, the challenge is not just language or branding.
It is connecting to dozens of banks with different formats and rules. Prometeo claims to simplify this mess by offering connections to more than 283 institutions across 10 countries. That scale is unusual for a young fintech in the region.
Now let’s talk about the investors. PayPal Ventures and Samsung Next do not usually jump into just any Series A. They are strategic backers looking for tech that aligns with future use cases. For PayPal, having better rails in Latin America could mean easier integration for merchants and cross-border transactions.
For Samsung, it may tie into its push to make mobile payments seamless in regions where card penetration is low. When giants like these step in early, it signals confidence in both the team and the market opportunity.
What excites me is the timing. Latin America has one of the fastest growing fintech adoption rates globally. Millions of people are skipping traditional banks and moving straight to digital options. Yet regulators are tightening their grip after years of freewheeling experimentation.
A company like Prometeo that builds security and compliance into its stack is suddenly more valuable. It is not the flashy part of fintech, but it is the part that keeps regulators calm and investors secure.
There is also a bigger angle. Infrastructure companies tend to grow slower at first but build defensible moats. Once you integrate with 283 banks, replacing you becomes painful. For fintech founders and investors, that lesson is key.
Chasing consumer apps may feel sexier, but building the underlying roads can be where the real longevity lies.
5 Do’s and Don’ts for Founders, Investors and Entrepreneurs:
1. Do look beyond consumer apps. Infrastructure can be the real long-term play.
2. Do prioritize compliance early if you are expanding into regulated markets.
3. Do build sticky integrations that are hard to replace.
4. Don’t assume scale in one country means instant scale in another. Latin America is fragmented.
5. Don’t ignore the boring parts of fintech. Often that is where the biggest returns hide.