Klar recently raised $57.5 million in debt and equity seed funding, the largest ever recorded in Mexico, from a group of five venture capitalists that includes Santander’s global corporate venture capital arm focused on early stage fintech investments. Santander UK has also launched Asto, a digital financial services platform in the U.K. for SMEs, which is run on Mambu. The proceeds provide Klar capital to expand its team and perfect its systems and services to offer fair, efficient entry into the financial system. Mambu will support Klar’s launch in 2019 and through its innovative composable banking platform, reach 100,000 new customers.

“Klar is the future of banking, and the good news is that it’s available to all Mexicans, not just a select few,” said Klar CEO and Co-founder Stefan Moller. “Today a mere 15% of adults in Mexico have access to a credit card, and only 3% of credit applications coming from middle class consumers are approved."

“Klar is paving the way for access to credit and banking services in Mexico,” said Edgardo Torres-Caballero, Managing Director for Mambu Americas. “We have the technological - edge to provide superior support and tools to our customers throughout the region who currently service thousands of end consumers. Klar will be an agile, market-responsive player and together we will expand financial services and digitize daily transactions for Mexican consumers.”

Smartphone penetration in Mexico and across Latin America is on the rise, according to a recent report. The percentage of the region’s population that used a smartphone in 2018 grew to 64% and is expected to reach 78% by 2025. By 2022, it’s expected that 90% of all internet connections across the region will be made via smartphone. Coupled with the more than 200 million unbanked adults in Mexico, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex, means years of both growth and improving lives across the country.