Increase Awarded $50,000 in the first Visa’s Everywhere Initiative in Latin America

The Argentine start-up won with an innovative solution that facilitates how businesses reconcile their operations. More than 250 entries submitted from start-ups in 10 Latin American countries.
Ganador con premio en mano

Miami, November 13, 2017 – Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced the winner of its first Visa’s Everywhere Initiative program in Latin America, awarding one start-up for their successful proposal a total of $50,000 USD and the opportunity to work with Visa’s capabilities in conjunction with executive mentors and technologists. The solution presented by Increase, IncreaseCard, simplifies and modernizes how retailers control, manage and reconcile their credit card transactions.

Sebastian Cadenas CEO and Founder of Increase said, "After winning Visa's Everywhere Initiative, I feel very confident in what we are doing, this is just the beginning, and we also have a great opportunity and with every opportunity comes an enormous responsibility. Our solution really offers businesses in Latin America an easier way to manage their operations and we are excited to collaborate with Visa for the possibility to escalate the solution."

“We believe innovation is based on collaboration and co-creation, by bringing different parties together to jointly produce an outcome that brings value to all,” said Eduardo Coello, Group Executive for Visa Latin America and the Caribbean. “There is a lot of momentum in Latin America, where more than two thirds of the fintechs were created in the last two years. Visa’s Everywhere Initiative has allowed us to discover 250 early stage fintechs, who look to transform financial services and payments by offering solutions that drive financial inclusion and develop the small business segment. We congratulate Sebastian and Matías from Increase and look forward to working with them, to help take their idea to the next level,” he added.

The Latin American rendition of Visa’s Everywhere Initiative began accepting proposals in June and held a semifinals tour across the region, where two finalists were selected from each of the five events which took place in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Bogota and Sao Paulo. The ten finalists were invited to Miami for a three-day immersion program and to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges including executives from Visa as well as Johanna Posada, Managing Director and co-founder of Elevar Equity and Mariano Amartino, Director of Startups for Latin America at Microsoft. The winners were announced by Jim McCarthy, Executive Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships at Visa and Eduardo Coello, during FINNOSUMMIT in Miami, one of the largest fintech startups conference in the region.

At the FINNOSUMMIT conference, Jim McCarthy awarded the prize and said: “Visa’s Everywhere Initiative is a fundamental part of our innovation strategy. The fintech category is evolving rapidly and with Visa’s Everywhere Initiative, we are looking to harness this energy around the world and bring new ideas and diverse thinking into our industry.” Further, during Jim’s presentation he said, “We see the future of payments as being about capabilities that can be shared or adapted across the value chain to create new experiences.”

Since the program launched in the United States in 2015, more than 2,000 start-ups from 40 countries including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa have participated.

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative is organized in partnership with Finnovista. For more details about the initiative click here.


About Visa's Everywhere Initiative

Visa's Everywhere Initiative is an innovation program designed to encourage the next big thing in payments, as the payments industry shifts from plastic to digital and new entrants join traditional stakeholders in payments. The program first launched in the U.S. in 2015 and quickly expanded into a global program with more than 2,000 participating start-ups, which have collectively raised over $2 billion in funding, with more than 125 finalists and 34 winners selected. The program is being run in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa in 2017 touching 40 countries.

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit visa.com/about-visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.

About Finnovista

Finnovista is an impact organization that enhances fintech ecosystems in Spain and Latin America, doing so through collaborative activities and networks, such as events, workshops, hackathons and startup competitions. Finnovista designs and executes fintech startups acceleration and scaling programs, as exemplified by tartupbootcamp FinTech. Finnovista's mission is to accelerate fintech ventures by bridging the gap between startups and financial institutions while facilitating the transformation of advanced financial services and the eradication of financial exclusion. More information is available at www.finnovista.com.