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Based in Mexico City, Mexico, Aplazo is a financial technology company that provides buy now, pay later payment solutions for online and offline merchants. The platform enables consumers lacking traditional credit history to split purchases into bi-weekly installments while offering retailers artificial intelligence-powered marketing tools to reach underbanked populations. The enterprise has scaled its operations to serve more than two million consumers and partner with over 10,000 merchants across the country. Aplazo has raised approximately $175 million in total funding, including a recent $70 million equity and debt round backed by prominent venture capital firms such as QED Investors, Volpe Capital, Kaszek, and Oak HC/FT. The company recently reached break-even profitability after tripling its revenue and cutting delinquency rates in half over the past year. The business was founded in 2020 by Angel Peña and Alex Wieland.
Aplazo has raised $102.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Aplazo has raised $102.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Aplazo has raised $102.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Aplazo's investors include QED Investors, Canary Ventures, Connolley, Graph Ventures, Kaszek Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Picus Capital, Andre Maciel, Cometa, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Paul Rios.
Aplazo has raised $102.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $70.0M Series B in May 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2024 | $70M Series B | QED Investors | Canary Ventures, Connolley, Graph Ventures, Kaszek Ventures, OAK HC/FT, Picus Capital, Andre Maciel | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2021 | $27M Series A | OAK HC/FT | Cometa, Kaszek Ventures, Picus Capital, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Paul Rios | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2021 | $5M Seed | — | Cometa, Picus Capital | Announced |
Aplazo is a Mexican fintech company that provides a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment platform designed to serve both physical and digital retailers. Its product enables merchants to offer installment payment plans to customers, particularly targeting the 88% of the Mexican population without access to credit cards. This solution helps merchants increase sales and customer loyalty by allowing consumers to pay in installments, while also reducing processing fees by over 60%. Aplazo integrates AI-driven underwriting to minimize credit risk and offers merchants marketing and commerce tools to optimize customer acquisition and retention. The company has demonstrated strong growth, with revenue tripling in the past year and nearing cash-flow breakeven, supported by significant funding rounds including a $45 million Series B led by QED Investors in 2024[1][2][3][4][5].
Founded in 2020 in Mexico City by Angel Peña (CEO) and Alex Wieland (COO), Aplazo emerged to address the large financial inclusion gap in Mexico, where a majority of consumers lack access to traditional credit. The founders identified the opportunity to provide accessible consumer credit alternatives through a seamless BNPL platform that works both online and offline. Early traction came from successfully enabling merchants to offer installment payments to underserved consumers, which helped build trust and scale the business rapidly. The company’s focus on embedding AI in underwriting and operations has been pivotal in managing credit risk while scaling[1][2][3][4].
Aplazo rides the global trend of BNPL services but adapts it to the unique context of Mexico’s underbanked population, where BNPL acts as an alternative to cash rather than just a credit extension. The timing is critical as Mexico’s financial inclusion remains low, and digital payment adoption is growing. Market forces such as increasing smartphone penetration, merchant demand for flexible payment options, and consumer preference for installment payments favor Aplazo’s growth. By enabling merchants to increase average order value and consumer recurrence without credit risk, Aplazo influences the broader ecosystem by expanding financial access and modernizing payment infrastructure in Latin America’s second-largest economy[1][3][4][7].
Aplazo is positioned to become Mexico’s preferred payment method by continuing to expand its merchant network and deepen consumer relationships. Future growth will likely be shaped by trends in financial inclusion, digital payments adoption, and AI-driven credit risk management. As the company approaches cash-flow breakeven, it may focus on profitability while scaling its product offerings and geographic reach. Its influence could extend beyond BNPL to broader financial services, leveraging its data and technology to offer more inclusive credit and payment solutions, thus playing a key role in Mexico’s fintech evolution[4][5].
In summary, Aplazo leverages technology and AI to democratize access to credit in Mexico through a BNPL platform that benefits both merchants and consumers, addressing a critical gap in the financial ecosystem with strong growth momentum and strategic investor backing.
