Fresh off a $17.5 million funding round that it said would encourage global expansion, Atlanta’s First Performance Global has entered the Chilean market.
The fintech startup, which provides software that enables card holders to manage security and other preferences via a mobile device, has partnered with Nexus S.A., which provides credit-card processing and other services to banks in the South American country.
Chile is a small market of only about 18 million people, but it’s known for its progressive technology sector and innovative mindset.
“They are well respected in Latin America and around the world,” Charles Potts, a spokesman, told Global Atlanta by email from a meeting in Mexico. “Many banks in Latin America look to Chile for ideas. The banks in Chile are looking to demonstrate innovation.”
And the banks and regulators have a strong focus on fraud prevention, a key tenet of First Performance’s value proposition. Its software is embedded in card issuers’ apps and online platforms, allowing them to offer self-service controls to their consumers. As one example, when a card is lost, the cardholder can deactivate it immediately with a press of a button on a mobile phone. Alerts on potentially fraudulent activity can also be sent to the mobile device.
Chilean consumers are very mobile-centric, with an eye toward e-commerce through their mobile devices, and the young population is growing in affluence, Mr. Potts said.
In January, First Performance announced its latest funding round led by MasterCard along with Synchrony Financial, RRE Ventures and Regions Financial. The release showed a strong focus on international markets.
“As we continue to grow sales and expand our presence around the world, this funding and the strategic partnerships with these investors will provide us with the resources to not only increase our momentum in winning new business in key markets, but also grow our global operations and product technology teams to support that expansive growth,” said A. Wayne Johnson, CEO of First Performance Global, in a statement.
First Performance is a member of the Advanced Technology Development Center incubator at Georgia Tech, which has been increasingly focused on financial technology.
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