Argentine financial services startup Uala is starting its own broker-dealer to boost the investment options it offers clients through its wallet app.
It will be known as Ualintec Capital and kick off operations Tuesday by allowing some users in the South American country to purchase dollars through a parallel rate known locally as “Dolar MEP,” said Pierpaolo Barbieri, the company’s founder and chief executive officer. It plans to eventually allow users to purchase depository receipts of U.S. stocks, known as Cedears, and to offer its own funds in early 2022.
Uala, which was valued at $2.5 billion in its latest funding round, is among a slew of fintech companies going up against brick-and-mortar banks as the region’s middle class seeks more sophisticated financial services. In Argentina, where annual inflation tops 50%, an option for Uala users to invest cash stored in their electronic wallets into a money-market mutual fund quickly gained popularity, with adoption from 1.3 million users of the 3.5 million it has in the country.