Debit card for kids: Mozper raises $3.55 million seed to expand in Mexico, Brazil

The Mexican fintech will use proceeds to scale the team, penetrate Mexico and launch in Brazil

Mozper spotted an opportunity to offer a debit card and an app for tech-savvy kids in Latin America. Photo: Courtesy/Mozper

14.Dec.2020 15:31 BRT
UPDATED 15:34 BRT

The recently Y Combinator graduated fintech Mozper spotted an opportunity to offer a debit card and an app for tech-savvy kids;
This latest round brings the company’s total funding to $5.1 million.

Mexico‘s fintech Mozper, a debit card and app designed for kids and parents in Latin America, announces the closing of a $3.55 million Seed round, led by Hetz Ventures with participation from F-Prime Capital, Foundation Capital, Secocha Ventures and previous investors Dux Capital and John Farrell.

The recently Y Combinator graduated fintech Mozper spotted an opportunity to offer a debit card and an app for tech-savvy kids in Latin America, following UK digital bank Starling and Atlanta-based Greenlight, fintechs that are betting on the Gen Z spending power.

The new investment round will enable Mozper to further solidify its position as first mover for youth banking in Latin America by penetrating the Mexican market, where they launched three months ago, and expanding into Brazil in 2021 as well as enriching the product and scaling the organization, said the firm in a press statement.

This latest round brings the company’s total funding to $5.1 million and comes just months after the announcement of a Pre-Seed round of $1.6 million led by DUX Capital and angel investor John Farrell.

“We think that the Latin American market is a blue ocean for fintech innovation,” said Pavel Livshiz, Partner at Hetz Ventures, in a press release. “We were extremely impressed by Gabriel, Yael and Pablo’s ability to execute fast and bring the company’s vision of banking LATAM’s digital-first youth to an early and impressive traction.”

Founders Pablo Klestorny, Yael Israeli and Gabriel Roizner started building Mozper in January 2020 and announced, in a joint press conference with Visa, their launch in Mexico in August 2020 with a closed beta involving 500 families, through which Mozper quickly showed signs of product-market fit, said the firm. After the beta, of which over 90% of the families continue using the app, Mozper launched to the general public on November 2nd and have seen consistent growth of 20% week over week.

Mozper is bringing the weekly allowance into the digital era in Latin America, where about 70% of the population in the region has never received formal financial education, and do not have the right tools to teach their children. In Brazil and Mexico alone, parents give more than $10 billion each year in pocket money to kids, according to Mozper.

The startup claims that with a surge in digital adoption in the region and a shift of kids’ spending habits from cash to online, parents now need an easier way to give their kids digital money and be able monitor their spending while also instilling healthy money habits in their children.

“We are excited to bring youth banking and financial education into the Latin America market,” said Gabriel Roizner, CEO of Mozper. “Through using our Visa debit cards and app, children get a hands-on, real-world financial education appropriate for the digital era. We truly believe there is no financial inclusion without education.”