According to Statista, fintech in Latin America (LatAm) suffered in 2023, with less than $2billion invested in fintech ventures – a drastic drop from 2021’s value of $6billion. Nonetheless, in the face of this hardship, fintechs have still continued to emerge and find success in the region, and across 2024, investment levels surged back up over $2billion again. With the future of fintech looking optimistic in 2025, Em Conversa looks to explore how the LatAm region can prosper once more.
Mexico has seen a huge surge in crypto adoption in the last few years. According to a report from Chainalysis, it ranks fourteenth in the world, second only to Brazil (ranked ninth) when looking at countries in LatAm. One big reason for this is the large unbanked population in the country, who have turned to crypto as a more accessible means of finance.
Exploring how crypto, but more specifically stablecoins, can be used to accelerate financial inclusion in Mexico, we sat down with Carlos Castillo, CEO and co-founder of the Mexican-based prefunded stablecoin wallet, Chipi Pay.
Can you tell me more about the company and your role within it?
I’m Carlos Castillo, CEO and co-founder of Chipi Pay, and we’re building the last-mile stablecoin wallets infrastructure on Starknet. Our goal is to bring crypto utility to the people who need it most — the 126 million unbanked and underbanked across LatAm.
With just an email, anyone can access a self-custodial stablecoin wallet to send money, pay bills, top up data, and save — all without a bank account, KYC, or seed phrases. Chipi Pay turns stablecoins into a product that works offline, in stores, and in people’s real financial lives.
What are some stablecoin trends we’re seeing in Mexico?
Stablecoins are quietly becoming the digital dollar of Mexico, but not in the way most crypto projects imagine. While trading and DeFi still dominate global use, here in Mexico, people use stablecoins to protect their savings, receive cross-border remittances, and avoid fees from banks and intermediaries.
And the potential is huge:
- Fifty-two per cent of the population is unbanked
- Mexico is the second-largest remittance receiver in the world
- Eighty per cent of payments under $25 are still made in cash
- But nine out of 11 Mexicans have smartphones with internet access
That last point is key: the infrastructure is there — just not being used for financial services. Stablecoins are the perfect fit to close that gap.
What is Chipi Pay doing to improve the stablecoin sector in Mexico and LatAm?
We make stablecoins usable and accessible — turning them from speculative assets into daily money. Chipi Pay lets people buy gift cards in pesos and instantly receive USDC in a self-custodial wallet on Starknet. With that balance, they can pay bills, send money, automate rent, or top up their phone.
We’re also building the rails for others: our SDK lets any fintech or retailer integrate wallets, swaps, and gift card APIs — and onboard new users without ever mentioning crypto. It’s stablecoins for the 90 per cent, not just the one per cent.
How does the Mexican stablecoin sector compare to that of the rest of the world?
In much of the world, stablecoins are still used mainly by traders or institutions. In Mexico, they’re being used to solve everyday financial problems:
- How do I avoid losing money to inflation?
- How do I save in dollars if I’m paid in cash?
- How do I receive money from the US without giving 10% to middlemen?
The problem is that stablecoins are still stuck behind exchanges and technical barriers. Chipi Pay removes that friction. We sell prepaid gift cards that convert pesos to stablecoins, deliver them to a user’s wallet on Starknet, and enable direct utility.
As a16z put it, stablecoins are having their “WhatsApp moment” — open, instant, and programmable money for everyone. We’re making that real in Mexico and beyond.
What are some unique challenges associated with the region in the stablecoin space?
Three stand out:
- Cash dependence: Most users don’t have a bank account or card
- Trust: People prefer physical, human-to-human interactions
- Complex crypto UX: Long onboarding, seed phrases, KYC — it doesn’t work here
That’s why we made Chipi Pay feel familiar. Users get a wallet with just their email. They top up using gift cards in pesos, they see their balance in dollars, and then they can pay for what matters — light, water, gas — without worrying about crypto terms. We also partner with local businesses.
Plans for the future
We’re scaling fast. Our roadmap includes:
- Offline payments, so we can reach rural and low-connectivity areas
- AI financial agents, help users budget, save, and avoid late fees
- MPC-based recovery, to remove the fear of losing access to funds
- Payroll and credit tools, so users can break free from payday lenders
- Gift card APIs and SDK, enabling fintechs and retailers to plug in
- Nationwide expansion via 270K stores through CPG’s partnerships
- DevRel + Hacker Houses across LatAm to onboard more builders into Starknet and Chipi SDK
We’re building infrastructure for the next 100 million crypto users.
Final thoughts
Chipi Pay is making stablecoins invisible — and powerful. We believe the future of financial inclusion won’t look like another bank. It will look like someone paying rent, topping up their phone, or buying gas from their phone — with no bank account, no fees, and no debt traps.
We’re focused on reaching the places others don’t: rural towns, informal workers, small shopkeepers. With offline payments, we can serve communities with spotty internet. With AI tools, we can help people get out of debt, not deeper into it.
And we’re doing all of this on Starknet — where we can build fast, secure, low-cost infrastructure that’s open to everyone.
The real opportunity isn’t just stablecoins. It’s rebuilding the financial system from the ground up — one that actually works for the people who’ve been left behind. That’s what Chipi Pay is here to do.
