“Can a free prepaid Mastercard account become the primary financial platform for underbanked consumers and SMBs across LatAm?”
Founded in 2014 in Uruguay, Prex started as a free prepaid Mastercard digital account for underbanked LatAm consumers, regulated by the Banco Central del Uruguay via its operating entity Econstar S.A. Over time, Prex layered in lending (Prextamo via FLODER S.A.), FX (FORTIGOLD SA), crypto investing (Lirium AG), and international payment integrations (PayPal, Payoneer), transforming from a basic prepaid card into a full-featured neobank. It subsequently expanded into a B2B segment (Prex Empresas) serving freelancers, SMEs, and large companies with corporate cards, payroll, and supplier payment capabilities, positioning itself as the financial OS for underserved LatAm individuals and businesses.
Prex discloses Econstar S.A. (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Prex does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Econstar S.A. (in-house).
Prex's cards run on Mastercard.
Prex's lending and capital products are provided by FLODER S.A. (in-house).
Prex uses Payoneer and FORTIGOLD SA (in-house) for FX and cross-border payouts.
Prex's crypto products run on Lirium AG.
Prex's investing and wealth products are powered by Lirium AG.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 6 layers in Prex's stack: Banking / BaaS (Econstar S.A. (in-house)); Card network (Mastercard); Lending (FLODER S.A. (in-house) and Prextamo (personal loan)); FX & payouts (Payoneer and FORTIGOLD SA (in-house)); Crypto (Lirium AG); Investing (Lirium AG).
Prex is founded in 2014 and headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Prex and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.