Bold, the Colombian fintech that was born with low-cost card machines for small businesses, obtained a US$11.7 million loan from BBVA Spark, BBVA’s unit for technology companies. The operation was structured as a bilateral loan, Cuatrecasas advised Bold and PPU advised BBVA Spark, and the resources will be used to expand the loans that the company grants to micro, small and medium-sized companies in Colombia.
Neither party reported the rate or the deadline. In Colombia, BBVA Spark had already financed the fintech Addi; In Mexico, this year it granted lines of credit to Galgo and Baubap.
Bold was founded in 2019 in Bogotá by José Vélez (CEO), co-founder of PayU in Latin America; Ana Sandoval (COO), former commercial vice president of PayU for the region; Jorge Ulloa (CTO), former director of software engineering at PayU; Sergio Vergara (CXO); and Enrique Ramírez (CFO), with an MBA from ESADE.
In October 2025, it raised US$40 million in a round led by General Atlantic, with which it exceeded US$180 million in accumulated investment. Since 2023 it has had a financing company license, which allows it to capture deposits and lend.
From dataphone to credit: a model that evaluates sales, not just credit history
Lending is the business Bold is looking to scale. The company launched its credit product in May 2025 with a model that evaluates the payment capacity of each business based on its sales behavior, without depending exclusively on the history in the risk centers. As of last August, Bold had already spent more than US$30 million and is preparing to take the product to Peru, where it still must obtain the corresponding licenses.
“Bold was born as a credit card company, but our aspiration has always been to become the digital bank for SMEs in northern Latin America. Credit is the chapter we are writing now, and this financing from BBVA Spark encourages us to meet that goal,” said José Vélez.
For Eduardo González, country manager of BBVA Spark Colombia and Argentina, the operation has an impact that goes beyond the company: “This financing will help thousands of small and medium-sized businesses to access new credit alternatives to continue growing.”
From payments to a complete financial ecosystem for SMEs
In six years, Bold went from offering low-cost card machines to building a financial services ecosystem that includes accounts, credit and profitability products.
The company linked more than 700,000 businesses in Colombia and Peru and processes nearly US$6.3 billion in card and QR code payments. On October 15, it also launched a digital account without a management fee for individuals, with time deposits that yield up to 12.5% annually.
The BBVA Spark loan comes at a time when Bold is deepening its commitment to financing SMEs as a differentiator compared to traditional banks.
Structured debt with a commercial bank, instead of venture capital, is also a sign of operational maturity: it validates that the business model generates predictable flows and that traditional banks are willing to bet on fintechs that combine transactional data with credit services for historically underserved segments.
