Plata Completed Its Series A Round with a USD 1.5B Valuation

Plata, the Mexican digital bank that received its banking license authorization in December 2024, has successfully closed its Series A equity round with a USD 1.5 billion valuation less than two years after launching operations and after surpassing one million active credit card users.

The Series A raised USD 160 million in a combined equity round, led by Kora—a global investment firm specializing in emerging digital economies—, subject to regulatory approvals. The round also saw participation from Moore Strategic Ventures, among other U.S. and European investors. Following this transaction, Plata has now secured a total of USD 750 million in debt and equity investment since its inception to deploy in Mexico.

With this investment, Plata demonstrates confidence in the Mexican market and strengthens its commitment to digitalizing financial services in the country. Coupled with the recent approval of a banking license, Plata consolidates its position in Mexico as a pioneer in financial innovation.

“The real value of Plata lies in the collective talent we’ve gathered to achieve exceptional growth while maintaining a strong financial model,” said Neri Tollardo, Co-Founder and CEO of Plata. “I am confident that our focus on technological solutions, accessible through an intuitive and simple customer-facing app, sets a benchmark for financial services in Latin America. Our products have been met with incredible enthusiasm, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.”

“We believe financial services are a powerful driver of economic development in emerging markets and have been fortunate to partner with companies driving this change across the globe,” said Nitin Saigal, Co-Founder of Kora. “Plata has an exceptional team, in our view, with a unique combination of talent and integrity that positions it to be one of the key players driving this change in Mexico. We are excited to strengthen our partnership with them.”

“With a highly experienced team, a Banking license authorization, proprietary technology like our own core banking system, and this capital investment, we are confident that we will continue to be one of the fastest-growing digital banks in Latin America. Even more, we are poised to be a driver of change in digitalization and financial inclusion,” added Tollardo

Additionally to the Series A investment, some of Plata’s most notable capital markets transactions completed since inception include a USD 200mln warehouse facility from Fasanara Capital, a London-based fund manager, and a USD 55mln Senior Unsecured Bond, which was the first unsecured issuance for a Mexican Non-Bank Financial Institution since 2021.

A Digital Bank with a Human Touch

Founded in Mexico City by international banking executives led by Neri Tollardo and Danil Anisimov, Plata started operations in April 2023, and since then, it has grown to a global team of over 1,500 employees, with close to 40% of them STEM professionals and responsible for the development of Plata’s own core banking system (infrastructure, systems, and applications), enabling faster and more efficient innovation and solution implementation. This positions Plata as one of the few financial companies that, instead of outsourcing this service, develops its infrastructure internally.

True to its value proposition of simplifying the financial experience through cutting-edge technology, Plata remains committed to operating as a fully digital bank. This means Plata will not have physical bank branches. Instead, it will offer all of its products and services through its digital platform, prioritizing accessibility and efficiency for its users.

“While we are a 100% digital platform, we understand the importance of human contact in addressing any questions or issues. Not having physical branches leads us to make exceptional customer service one of our main pillars. We offer instant response via chat and a direct contact phone number without any phone menus,” explained Tollardo.

In addition to its internal development team, Plata directly hires all of its agents who handle customer requests and its ambassadors, who deliver cards to clients’ homes and perform identity verification in person.