According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Latin America consistently accounts for 8% to 10% of global cryptocurrency activity. High inflation rates and traditional banking access issues have contributed to the region’s high level of crypto adoption, with many users treating cryptocurrency, especially stablecoins, as a method of savings preservation.
Founded in 2021, DolarApp is a dollar USDc account for Mexico and Argentina. We met with co-founder and COO Álvaro Correa Gallardo to find out more.
Introducing DolarApp
Backed by investors such as Y Combinator and Kaszek, DolarApp was created to help solve the problem Latin American citizens face when trying to access banking in US dollars.
“After living and working across Latin America, from Panama to Mexico to Colombia, my co-founders and I realized the big existing problems people faced when trying to dollarize their finances, with some people ultimately traveling to the USA frequently just to be banked in dollars. People’s motives for wanting to dollarize their finances vary; some want to protect their savings in a more stable currency, some travel often to the US and need to pay in dollars frequently, while others work for companies in the US and receive a salary in USD. Until now, the only solutions for these problems were credit cards that might charge up to 3% foreign transaction fees, or remittance providers who charge around 5% transaction fees when making or receiving USD transfers. Ultimately this leads to a poor financial experience for people in LatAm just because of where they happen to be born”, said Correa.
While working at Revolut, Correa and his co-founders, Fernando Terrés and Zach Garman, began thinking about how to provide people in LatAm the ability to manage their everyday finances in USDc, achieving financial stability while avoiding these high fees.
From Peso to USDc and Back Again
“With DolarApp, users can get account details in Mexico and USA, allowing them to go from peso to USDc and back in a matter of seconds,” explained Correa. “Users can also invest in digital dollars, earning 3% annually, and pay with an international Mastercard with up to 4% cashback.”
Additionally, users can send and receive payments in the US for a flat fee of $3 versus the $3 fee plus a 2% charge that other money transfer companies charge. DolarApp supports this by offering both USA and México account details in the same app, which removes the need for remittances across the US-LatAm corridor.
DolarApp’s Social Impact
“The thing I love most about building DolarApp is that we’re solving a massive problem that drastically improves the lives of millions of people. Since we first launched our beta in June, we’ve seen massive interest in the product, which reinforces the demand is there and people love the initial offerings. I also haven’t seen other products available in the region that offer the kind of rewards and cashback that DolarApp does!”
What’s next for DolarApp?
DolarApp is currently working on improving their account details in the US for people in Latam by offering direct debit payments, expanding their product to more countries such as Argentina and enabling Apple Pay and Google Pay.
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Follow DolarApp:
Website
LinkedIn
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Facebook
Connect with Álvaro Correa Gallardo
Connect with Fernando Terrés
Connect with Zach Garman
Originally published November 11, 2022, updated November 11, 2022
