The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2025–2026
Kesh bets interest cashback can beat Brazil's 20%-a-month emergency credit trap
Brazilian payroll fintech Kesh returns 100% of loan interest as benefits cashback; R$550M round led by Grupo Leste, 40,000 users in 16 months.
Kesh
What the business is
Brazilian B2B2C fintech running payroll-linked accounts and short-term salary-advance loans, returning 100% of interest and fees as cashback redeemable across a partner merchant network.
Starting capital：R$550M (~US$107M) equity plus FIDC round led by Grupo Leste, announced 2026-08-04; earlier round size not disclosed
How it started
Kesh began operating in April 2025, founded by Marcelo Ramos and Emmanuel Hermann. Ramos had previously founded Vee Benefícios, Brazil's first flexible-benefits wallet, which French company Swile acquired in 2021; Hermann runs alternative-asset firm Grupo Leste and helped structure the company's FIDC from the start. Ramos' premise: emergency credit in Brazil can cost 20% a month, and 'no one helps anyone by lending money at 20% a month' — but since the cost of money could not be cut, the interest could be given back as purchasing power.
What happened
The product connects to the payrolls of companies with 500 to 5,000 employees, gives workers a free payroll account, and approves short-term loans in about a minute, with an average ticket of R$650. Interest and commissions are returned as cashback redeemable at more than 150 partners — Bob's, Vivo, TIM, Claro, Uber, Deezer and Netshoes among them — while Kesh earns merchant commissions and payroll-management fees. About 80% of borrowers earn up to five minimum wages, and more than a third of the 40,000-strong active base uses the product every month. On 4 August 2026 Kesh announced an R$550 million round of equity plus FIDC funding led by Grupo Leste, with BR Angels and strategic partners from Across Capital, calling it an 'institutional stamp' after the company had granted more than R$30 million in credit.
How it ended up
Scaling: targeting 80,000–100,000 users by end-2026 and one million within three years; valuation, revenue and profitability not disclosed.
Background
Kesh is a Brazilian B2B2C fintech, operating since April 2025, that manages payroll and payments for mid-sized employers and gives their workers short-term emergency credit. It was founded by Marcelo Ramos — who previously founded Vee Benefícios, Brazil's first flexible-benefits wallet, acquired by France's Swile in 2021 — with Emmanuel Hermann of alternative-asset firm Grupo Leste, which manages more than R$22.3 billion.
The bet is a product-level answer to a brutal rate environment: emergency credit in Brazil can reach 20% per month, and Ramos concluded the cost of money could not be reduced. So Kesh charges full interest but returns 100% of it, plus fees, as cashback usable at more than 150 partners such as Uber, Vivo, TIM, Claro, Bob's, Deezer and Netshoes. Revenue comes from merchant commissions and payroll-management services rather than loan spread, and repayment is secured by linking credit to the worker's salary account, with approvals taking about a minute.
By August 2026 Kesh had 40,000 active users, had granted more than R$30 million in credit at an average ticket of R$650, and counted roughly 80% of borrowers among workers earning up to five minimum wages. On 4 August 2026 it announced an R$550 million round — equity plus funding for its own FIDC — led by Grupo Leste with BR Angels and strategic partners from Across Capital, aiming for 80,000–100,000 users by the end of 2026 and one million within three years.
What has to be true
- Interest on Brazilian emergency credit can reach 20% a month; rather than fight the rate, Kesh gives the worker back 100% of it as spending power.
- Payroll integration makes repayment reliable — credit is tied to the salary account — keeping delinquency controlled, per the company.
- Merchant commissions, not loan spread, are the revenue engine, so the model aligns with how lower-income borrowers actually spend.
- Founder credibility from Vee Benefícios plus Grupo Leste's scale helped the round close and served as the 'institutional stamp' Ramos wanted.
What can be applied
When you can't cut the price of money, change what the price buys: returning interest as merchant cashback turns a loan into a benefits distribution channel.
Aftermath
As of early August 2026, Kesh is scaling: 40,000 active users, more than R$30 million in credit granted since April 2025, an average ticket of R$650, and a partner network of 150+ merchants. The R$550 million round combines equity with FIDC funding, and the company plans to reach 80,000–100,000 users by the end of 2026 and one million within three years while expanding its payroll platform beyond credit. Valuation, revenue and profitability have not been disclosed.
Sources
- Fintech Kesh capta R$ 550 milhões para escalar tese de 'cashback de juros'
- Kesh raises US$110 million to return 100% of interest to workers in the form of benefits
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