Handy and Itaú Unibanco took the final step of the agreement under which the bank integrates as a shareholder with a 40% stake in the payment media company. The process began in October 2023 and was completed on July 29 of this year, following approval from regulators in Uruguay and Brazil.
“The integration is part of the digital inclusion strategy that Itaú is promoting in Uruguay. The incorporation of Handy allows us to add the best technological solution for micro and small businesses, thus completing an offer for the entire payment ecosystem across the country,” said Diego Lanza, director of SME Banking and New Businesses at Itaú Uruguay.
Martín Guerra, founding partner of Handy and InCapital, stated that, according to a study, the company is a leader with 40% market share and that customer satisfaction levels exceed 90%.
“We created this venture in 2021 with Ana Inés Zerbino and Fernando Vallone from InCapital, upon seeing the enormous difficulty that SMEs face in growing in Uruguay. And today it is a great satisfaction for us to see how merchants value it because it is truly helping them to be more efficient and boost their growth,” said Guerra.
In 2023, Handy reached 20,000 merchants and projects closing 2024 with 30,000, which would involve processing over 1 billion dollars.
“These projections are possible thanks to the accelerated growth that this alliance with Itaú entails, allowing us to add knowledge in acquisition topics, embedded applications, and digital banking that, in addition to offering payment methods, enables us to provide comprehensive financial solutions to merchants such as payment advances and credits to enhance their businesses,” added Guerra.