← State of Embedded Finance 2026

Uala

Can a LATAM neobank built on prepaid wallets become a full-stack chartered bank serving the financially underserved across Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia?

Founded2017
HQBuenos Aires, Argentina
Total raised~$695M+
Latest roundSeries E, March 2026
Valuation$3.2B post-money (2026)
IndustryFintech / Neobank
The story

Founded in 2017 as a prepaid card and digital wallet for unbanked Argentines, Ualá rapidly expanded its product suite to include loans, investments, and savings. The 2022 acquisition of Wilobank transformed Ualá from a PSP into a chartered bank in Argentina, unlocking deposit-taking and SEDESA insurance. In parallel, Ualá pursued full banking licenses in Mexico (obtained as Institución de Banca Múltiple) and scaled to 11M+ users across three LATAM markets, becoming one of the region's largest digital financial conglomerates.

Last 12 months
2026-03
Product timeline
2017
Ualá founded in Buenos Aires as a digital wallet and prepaid card provider targeting unbanked Argentines.· banking
2021
Expanded operations into Mexico and Colombia, scaling to millions of users across Latin America.· pivot
2022
Acquired Wilobank, gaining a full Argentine bank charter (now operated as Ualá Bank S.A.U.), enabling deposit-taking with SEDESA coverage.· acquisition
2022
Implemented Mambu's cloud-native core banking platform to support scaling across Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.· banking
2023
Obtained full banking license in Mexico (Institución de Banca Múltiple), becoming a regulated bank in two countries.· banking
2026
Raised $195M Series E led by Allianz X at a $3.2B valuation with 11M+ users across three countries.· banking
Regulated entities
Proveedor de Servicios de Pago (PSP - PSPCP)
Argentina (BCRA)
Alau Tecnología S.A.U.
Proveedor No Financiero de Crédito
Argentina (BCRA)
Alau Tecnología S.A.U.
Billetera Digital Interoperable
Argentina (BCRA)
Alau Tecnología S.A.U.
National Bank Charter (Institución de Banca Múltiple)
Mexico
Ualá, S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple
Bank (chartered)
Argentina (BCRA)
Ualá Bank S.A.U.
The stack
Payments / PSP
Ualá Payments (self-operated)
Banking / BaaS
Mambu
Card issuing
Galileo
Lending
Personal loans (préstamos personales, Argentina)Ceibo Créditos (point-of-sale consumer credit via merchant network)
Accounting gap: none