Prex bets its wallet can reach 5M Latin Americans with Chile and Paraguay launches

A virtual wallet with dual-currency accounts, currency exchange, prepaid Mastercard cards and micro consumer loans.

A wallet born in Uruguay can become Latin America's comprehensive financial platform, going from 2.2M to 5M users in two years

The company first launched its virtual wallet in Uruguay and expanded to Argentina in 2019 and Peru in 2021, where first-two-year growth ratios beat what Argentina and Uruguay managed.

In 2022 Brazilian bank Itaú acquired 30% of Prex; Prex in turn bought Itaú's Argentine wallet Ank and also acquired the firm Tap. Chile's launch was planned for the end of 2023 and Paraguay for 2024.

Home-market maturity in Uruguay and paid-account traction in Argentina gave Prex a base to fund expansion rather than defend it.

Chile is banked but under-served, so the opportunity is product range rather than basic access — a fit for a comprehensive financial platform.

Paraguay has no dominant wallet yet, echoing Peru where early growth ratios outperformed Argentina and Uruguay.

Enter banked markets that lack product range, not just unbanked ones — and expansion funded by a strategic shareholder beats fighting a rival's home turf.

Chile launch planned for the end of 2023, Paraguay in 2024, targeting 5 million users by around 2025. Consolidation remains an option: "We're not actively looking but we're seeing different things to do," Gallo said.