Clip, the Mexican payments fintech founded in 2012 by Adolfo Babatz, launched a digital wallet with which it seeks to incorporate millions of consumers and small businesses into the country’s formal financial system. The product was developed in alliance with Ant International, Mastercard and TelevisaUnivision, and will offer digital accounts for everyday payments, banking services and credit products.
To finance this development, Clip raised US$500 million from investors, reaching a valuation of more than US$2.5 billion. The company did not disclose the identity of the investors, as the round is still subject to regulatory approval. With this amount, the operation is among the largest investment rounds for startups in Latin America this year, along with those of Banco Plata, Kavak and Ualá.
From businesses to consumers
Clip built its business helping cash-reliant merchants accept card payments, and has since expanded into software, loans and business management tools. With this new wallet, the company focuses for the first time on end consumers, especially those who operate mainly with cash.
“There’s no single tool that really helps people have everything in one place. We’re not targeting card users, not bank users, but cash users,” Babatz explained.
A commitment to financial inclusion
As part of the implementation, Clip plans to increase its cash deposit points throughout Mexico from 28,000 to 100,000, where users will be able to load money into their digital wallets. The measure seeks to connect Mexico’s heavily cash-based economy with digital financial services: around 85% of small purchases in the country are still paid for in cash, and around 40% of adults remain outside the formal financial system.
This new round adds to Clip’s history of international support, which in 2021 reached a valuation of more than US$1 billion after a US$250 million investment led by SoftBank, and which in 2024 received US$100 million from Morgan Stanley Tactical Value.
