Klar
“Can a CNBV-licensed SOFIPO scale into Mexico's full-stack consumer + SMB financial OS without a sponsor bank dependency?”
Founded2019
HQMexico City, Mexico
FoundersStefan Möller
Total raised~$250M+ (equity + debt)
Latest roundSeries C, 2025
Valuation$800M (2025)
IndustryFintech / Neobank
The story
Founded 2019 as a consumer challenger bank for Mexico, pitched as the 'Chime of Mexico' with cashback debit and credit alternatives. Built around a CNBV-regulated SOFIPO entity (Klar Technologies / Servicios Financieros Alternativos), giving the company its own deposit-taking license rather than depending on a sponsor bank. By 2025 it had crossed 7M users and broadened beyond consumer into Klar Empresarial — a full SMB stack with corporate cards, working-capital lines, payroll-style mass payouts (SPEI) and investment products — positioning Klar as a vertically integrated financial OS for Mexican consumers and SMBs.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
2019
Klar founded in Mexico City as a digital banking startup targeting the underbanked Mexican market· pivot
2020
Raised $57.5M seed (equity + debt), positioned as the 'Chime of Mexico'· banking
2022
Series B led by General Atlantic at $500M valuation; reached 1.4M customers, $100M in loan originations· lending
2024
Operating as licensed SOFIPO under CNBV supervision via Klar Technologies S.A. S.F.P.· banking
2025
Series C at $800M valuation; 7M+ users; launched Klar Empresarial (SMB account, credit card, line of credit up to $5M MXN)· banking
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by Klar
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
5 layers disclosed in Klar’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Klar consumer card acceptance via Mastercard (self-operated)SPEI (Mexico) for transfers and mass payouts (self-operated)
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Card issuing
in the full report
Ledger
in the full report
Lending
in the full report
Accounting gap: significant
11 more providers across 4 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.