Galileo, the financial technology company that powers many of the world’s leading fintechs, has announced it is powering an important cross-border initiative for Ualá, the fintech that leads the revolution of personal finances in Latin America. Galileo has partnered with Ualá to enable the company’s expansion into Mexico.
Founded by Buenos Aires-native and Harvard graduate Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ualá is improving financial inclusion in Latin America and bringing financial services into the 21st century. Ualá’s feature product is an app and a debit card that enables users to transfer money, pay bills and shop anywhere in the world 100% digitally. Since its launch in 2017, Ualá has issued 2.5 million cards in Argentina, a number equivalent to almost 6% of the country’s population.
Ualá recently announced its launch into Mexico, marking the company’s first expansion outside Argentina. Ualá provides a mobile app, linked to a digital account, and an international debit card with no issue, renewal or maintenance costs. Available throughout Mexico, for anyone over 18, in iOS and Android, the Ualá card can be topped up through SPEI transfers or cash deposits in more than 14,000 stores nationwide and used to make purchases using contactless, chip and offline PIN technology. In addition, the Udalá account enables customers to safely and easily conduct transactions, such as transferring and receiving money, and withdrawing cash from ATMs.
Ualá’s expansion into Mexico was made possible through its partnership with Galileo, a global payment processing platform that powers world-leading fintechs by providing access to its world-class suite of APIs. Galileo is directly connected to Mastercard MX to support real-time authorization for Ualá transactions and provides backend processing services for Ualá.
“Ualá has received global recognition and investment from some of the world’s biggest investors for good reason,” said Galileo In-Country Manager for Mexico Tory Jackson. “The company has revolutionized financial services in Argentina, and Galileo is honored to help facilitate Ualá’s expansion into Mexico. With Galileo providing processing services, Ualá can focus on what it does best: innovative payments and creating a financially inclusive environment for all.”
Andrea Arrebola, head of payments of Ualá, said: “Making personal finances more innovative, more accessible and more inclusive in Latin America is our dream. Mexico is a huge step forward for our company, and as Ualá embarks on this new journey, we are privileged to have an established partner like Galileo providing the processing services and expertise we need to support this international growth.”
