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Smartphone financing company PayJoy is acquiring select assets from Mexican fintech Finia AI, signalling an increased appetite for new micro and business lending in emerging markets.
The purchase includes technology that uses behavioural data to score credit risks for informal and unbanked small businesses. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Finia AI claims to have reached "tens of thousands of micro-businesses across Mexico" since being created by CEO Uri Pomerantz in 2022. The company, backed by Precursor Ventures, Clocktower Technology Ventures, and Deciens Capital, uses AI to help clients manage repayments and also offers a credit card.
The acquisition of these assets indicates that PayJoy is actively moving beyond its initial remit of providing consumer loans for smartphone purchases to a wider scope of business lending.
Comments from Jose Luis Gonzalez, head of growth for PayJoy Mexico, confirm that Finia AI will be used to enhance risk assessment and "broaden our product offerings".
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To date, PayJoy has already financed over $3.5 billion in loans to 20 million consumers across its existing markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
PayJoy prepared for expanded lending capabilities by closing a $140 million debt facility with funds managed by Neuberger Berman at the end of last year.
The company said at the time that the facility would be used to support "ongoing investments in point-of-sale financing and credit cards". The PayJoy Card offering has been live since 2024.
About the Author
Senior Reporter, FinTech Futures
Tyler Pathe is a financial reporter, moderator and investigator with a specific interest in financial technology, banking and the financial industry's latest innovations.