Pomelo is a leader in financial technology for the issuance, processing, and management of the card business in Latin America. Pomelo creates world-class financial infrastructure that enables any company—whether a bank, retailer, or fintech—to quickly and securely launch credit, debit, or prepaid cards, adhering to the highest security standards.
Pomelo’s Inception Story
Since its inception, Pomelo has expanded to six countries, including Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Perú. Each country presents its regulatory challenges, but a primary focus is the opportunity for Pomelo in Mexico. With opportunities to enhance financial inclusion and modernize its payment systems, Mexico stands to benefit significantly from Pomelo's innovative card solutions.
The inspiration behind Pomelo came from the challenges faced by its founders, who previously worked at prominent Latin American FinTechs like Mercado Pago and Naranja X.
It was then they realized that launching financial services in Latin America is much more difficult compared to regions like Europe, where scaling across countries is simpler.
Expanding across Latin America
Ray Guerrero, the Country Manager of Pomelo in Mexico, has spent over a decade in the FinTech space. Before joining Pomelo, he worked at Mercado Pago, one of Latin America’s biggest fintech companies. There, he led several major products, including credit and debit card offerings, remittances, and cash services. His expertise in payments and remittances led to a deep understanding of the complexities of launching financial products in Mexico and the region.
I was responsible for launching credit and debit cards in Mexico, and I was suffering from the many frustrations Pomelo is now solving. Much of the complexity stems from obsolete technology and fragmented financial systems in each country. The opportunity to build an infrastructure that addressed these problems on a regional scale, allowing fintech to expand more easily across Latin America. - Ray Guerrero (Country Manager, Mexico)
Pomelo: Providing Efficient Card Issuing
Pomelo is changing how legacy players, banks, and fintech companies launch credit and debit cards, significantly reducing the time required compared to traditional methods.
Ray, country manager of Mexico at Pomelo, highlighted the stark difference. “I mentioned my experience and when I was working on Mercado Pago, the standard for launching a credit or debit card was 18 to 24 months… at Pomelo we have been able to launch a credit card in 11 days."
But How…
This incredible speed is made possible by Pomelo’s approach, which includes having pre-prepared BINs (Bank Identification Numbers) ready for immediate use. Instead of waiting months to get a BIN, Pomelo partners with brands like MasterCard and Visa to have these numbers ready for production. The BINs are live and just waiting for activation.
Easy API Integration for Faster Implementation
Pomelo’s technology is API-driven, simplifying integration for fintech companies. The system is designed with over 100 microservices, allowing technical teams to access their public API documentation with ease.
“When CTOs from fintechs go to our APIs web page, they see that making the integration is very simple. You just need to integrate 10 APIs to launch a credit card with us.” - Ray Guerrero (Country Manager, Mexico)
This modular, flexible technology allows for quick integration, meaning most companies can go live with Pomelo within 4-8 weeks for credit card launches. For debit cards, it can be even faster in some countries, although challenges still exist in more regulated markets like Mexico.
Pomelo’s Vision for Mexico and Beyond
We want to become like Google Chrome or Amazon Web Services for financial services.
Looking ahead, Pomelo is focused on becoming the go-to provider for card issuing and processing in Mexico and beyond.
Pomelo recently raised a Series B round, with plans to invest 40-50% of the funds in strengthening its value proposition in Mexico.
“From 2022 to 2023, we grew our business by 3x and increased our processing capacity by 7x.” - Ray Guerrero (Country Manager of Mx)
Ray shared, adding that the company aims to expand its client base significantly by the end of 2024. Looking ahead, Pomelo is working through Mexico’s Fintech Committee to advocate for a more competitive and fair financial ecosystem.
Ray mentioned an initiative called RedM, which seeks to create a legal entity responsible for setting rules in the Mexican payment ecosystem. However, the proposal looks to increase costs and regulations for new entrants into the ecosystem, ultimately limiting access to new participants in the fintech ecosystem and hindering innovation.
“We’re trying to fight to have a seat at the table, to create a more fair ecosystem… for banks, fintechs, and ultimately, the end consumer.” - Ray Guerrero (Country Manager of Mx)
By staying engaged with regulators and pushing for policies that foster innovation, Pomelo aims to drive financial inclusion and bring more competitive products to the Mexican market.
Founders
Gaston Irigoyen (CEO), Hernan Corral (CPO), Juan Fantoni (CCO)
Funding
2024, $40M (Series B) led by Kaszek including TQ Ventures, Section 32, Monashees, Insight Partners, Index Ventures, Alter Global & Endeavor Catalyst
2021, $35M (Series A) led by Tiger Global, Monashees, Gilgamesh Ventures, QED Investors, BoxGroup, Clocktower Technology Ventures, SciFi VC, & Insight Partners
2021, $1M (Seed Ext.) Sequoia
2021, $9M (Seed) co-led by Index Ventures & Monashees
Fintech Challenges and Opportunities
Launching a fintech in Mexico comes with unique hurdles. For example, Mexican regulators, such as the CNBV (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores), require companies to seek approval before hiring technology providers like Pomelo, a process that can take up to six months.
While Pomelo can complete technical integration in days, regulatory procedures typically extend the final launch.
As Ray Guerrero explained, "In Mexico, launching a debit card is limited to regulated entities, and getting a license can take up to three years. We’re working closely with regulators to see how we can speed up this process, it's not a regulation change, but a more agile and flexible process for us, the providers.”
Pomelo is choosing to look at bringing payment infrastructure solutions from a regional scope rather than a local one. Ray emphasized that by leveraging best practices from countries like Brazil, where financial ecosystems are more developed, Pomelo can bring innovative solutions to Mexico’s financial landscape.
Regional Fintech Innovation
Pomelo’s strength lies in creating infrastructure that works across borders, something unique in Latin America, where each country has different regulations, financial systems, and levels of financial inclusion.
Broadly speaking, our main goal for the next 3-5 years is to become the default payments infrastructure platform in Latin America. As the largest card issuers undergo their digital transformation processes and new players emerge to compete with modern use cases, Pomelo seeks to capture a significant share of the region’s payment volume. - Gaston Irigoyen, Co-Founder & CEO of Pomelo
