Clip said its valuation is “approaching $2 billion.”

Clip, a Mexican digital payments and commerce platform founded in 2012, announced June 10, its raise of $250 million in a round led by  the SoftBank Latin America Fund and Viking Global Investors LP. The round valued the fintech startup at approximately $2 billion.

Clip offers to businesses its card readers that can accept payments with all debit and credit cards, vouchers, points, contactless and Samsung Pay. These range from a simple Bluetooth reader, a portable terminal with free internet, to a whole Point-of-Sale with free internet and a printer.

Digitalization in Mexico

The products fill a massive gap in Mexico’s card processing infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, there are about 11 million businesses in Mexico of which only about 1 million accept card payments. Because there are so few venues in the country where cards are accepted, Mexicans use their cards on average for just about 40 transactions annually.

It is a cash-only scenario at most establishments until they onboard a Clip terminal.

Clip says its highly convenient engagement model is open to any business seeking to participate in the digital economy with the ability to onboard and accept all available payment methods within a few minutes.

“Clip is using technology and AI to disrupt the financial services industry by providing essential digital solutions to merchants and small business owners in Mexico, an economy that stands to benefit greatly from digital payments,” said Marcelo Claure, CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group Corp.

Martin Escobari, Co-President and Head of Latin America at General Atlantic, said: “Clip has established itself as a disruptor in Mexico’s digital economy, leveraging new technologies to drive financial inclusion.”

Landmark fundraise

According to Clip, the funding round is the largest ever for a payments company in Mexico and establishes it as the first payments unicorn in the 12th largest economy in the world.

“Looking ahead, the resources will enable us to continue to grow aggressively and continue building Mexico’s operating platform for commerce, fulfilling our vision to have Clip in every business in Mexico,” said Adolfo Babatz, CEO and Founder.

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