The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2018–2024
Addi bets checkout credit replaces Colombia's vouched layaway; $100M, bank license
Colombian BNPL fintech: instant installment credit at checkout replaces vouched layaway; profitable in 2024, $100M credit facility, bank approval
Addi
What the business is
Colombian BNPL fintech: instant installment credit at the checkout of physical stores and e-commerce — typically no-interest, three-month plans — later adding a marketplace and moving toward a banking license.
Starting capital：US$2.3M seed from Monashees, a16z and Village Global (2018), US$1.5M internal, US$12.5M led by a16z (April 2019); US$140M Series B (2021); US$86M in March 2024 (US$36M equity from Union Square Ventures, a16z and GIC, plus US$50M debt from Goldman Sachs); US$100M credit facility from Victory Park Capital (November 2024).
How it started
Founded in Bogotá in September 2018 by Santiago Suarez, an ex-Lending Club and J.P. Morgan executive, and his childhood friend Elmer Ortega. Suarez grew up around his parents' stores and knew how onerous store credit was in Colombia; the two incorporated the company the same month they raised US$2.3M from Monashees, a16z and Village Global, and launched on February 22, 2019.
What happened
Within months Addi had originated 10,000 borrowers at an average of about US$500, and a16z led a US$12.5M round in April 2019. BNPL went global in 2021 and Addi's Series B reached US$140M by September. In March 2024 it raised US$86M (US$36M equity from Union Square Ventures, a16z and GIC; US$50M debt from Goldman Sachs) to keep focusing on Colombia, claiming just 1% of loans more than three months past due, 13,500+ merchants (up from 1,000 in 2021), 60% client growth in 2023 and US$413M in merchant sales. By November 2024 Addi had reached profitability, won regulatory approval to become a bank and launched a marketplace that passed 500 merchants and 20,000 monthly transactions.
How it ended up
Still running and scaling: as of November 2024 Addi was profitable, bank-licensed, and had secured a US$100M credit facility from Victory Park Capital to fund Colombian credit originations, pivoting from pure BNPL toward a broader payments, shopping and banking platform.
Background
Addi is a Colombian BNPL fintech founded in Bogotá in September 2018 by Santiago Suarez, an ex-Lending Club and J.P. Morgan executive, and his childhood friend Elmer Ortega. Its bet: Colombians would take instant installment credit at the checkout instead of layaway plans that required three people to vouch for the borrower.
The wedge was the moment of purchase. With 90% of Colombian retail still offline in 2018, Addi launched in brick-and-mortar stores — letting shoppers apply at the register in seconds — before expanding to e-commerce. Within months it had originated 10,000 borrowers with an average loan of about US$500.
The model attracted global capital: a16z led a US$12.5M round in 2019, the Series B reached US$140M by September 2021, and a US$86M round in March 2024 (Union Square Ventures, a16z, GIC and Goldman Sachs) funded continued focus on Colombia. By then Addi served 13,500+ merchants (up from 1,000 in 2021), reported 60% client growth in 2023, US$413M in merchant sales and just 1% of loans over three months past due.
In November 2024 Addi secured a US$100M credit facility from Victory Park Capital after a year in which it reached profitability, obtained regulatory approval to become a bank and launched a marketplace that passed 500 merchants and 20,000 monthly transactions.
What has to be true
- The pain was vivid: Colombian store credit required three people to vouch for a borrower, so replacing that process with a seconds-long checkout decision was a clear product wedge.
- Distribution followed the merchant: starting where 90% of retail happened — offline stores — made retailers the channel instead of paid consumer acquisition.
- Credit quality held: advanced creditworthiness modeling kept loans more than three months past due at just 1%, making the portfolio fundable by private credit.
- The endgame broadened: profitability and a bank license turned a checkout product into a platform, funding its next stage without more equity dilution.
What can be applied
Compete on the moment of purchase, not the product category: replacing a slow, humiliating credit process at the checkout made BNPL the wedge and merchants the distribution channel.
Aftermath
As of September 2026 Addi is live and scaling in Colombia: profitable since 2024, with regulatory approval to operate as a bank, a US$100M credit facility from Victory Park Capital (November 2024) to fund consumer credit originations, and a marketplace generating more than 20,000 monthly transactions. The company has evolved from pure buy-now-pay-later into a broader payments, shopping and banking platform while keeping BNPL as its core checkout product.
Sources
- Colombian point-of-sale lender ADDI nabs $12.5 million from Andreessen Horowitz
- Colombian Fintech Addi raises $86M round
- Colombian fintech Addi secures $100m credit facility from Victory Park Capital
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