Addi bets checkout credit replaces Colombia's vouched layaway; $100M, bank license

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.

That Colombians would take instant installment credit at the checkout instead of vouched layaway, and BNPL could grow from stores to e-commerce and then to a full bank.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.