Aplazo
Aplazo is a Mexican omnichannel BNPL platform using Open Banking underwriting to extend card-free installment credit to unbanked consumers via 15,000+ merchants across retail, travel, entertainment, health, and wellness.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersMexico City, Mexico
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Aplazo does
Aplazo is a Mexico City-headquartered buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform founded in 2020 that enables consumers to pay for purchases in installments without a credit card, targeting the roughly 85% of Mexicans who lack one and the 49% with no formal credit access. The company differentiates through an Open Banking underwriting engine that assesses creditworthiness using bank-account data rather than traditional credit bureau files, supported by AI-driven risk management and a recently acquired analytics capability from Sensai Metrics.
Aplazo operates an omnichannel B2B2C model: it does not market directly to consumers but acquires them through merchant partnerships across retail, travel, entertainment, health, and wellness, with 15,000+ active merchant partners and 10M+ end users reached across Mexico. Distribution includes a direct merchant sales motion, OEM embedding inside Walmart de México's Cashi app (providing pre-approved credit lines to 1.5M users), and a cross-border channel through EBANX that opens international merchants to 72M Mexican consumers.
Aplazo monetizes via merchant transaction fees on installment plans while absorbing all credit and fraud risk on behalf of merchants, who in turn report up to 30% higher conversion, 60% larger average ticket size, and 66% annual repurchase rates. The company has raised $102.25M in equity (seed $5.25M from Kaszek in 2021, Series A $27M led by Oak HC/FT in 2021, Series B $70M led by QED Investors in 2024) plus a $50M credit facility from BBVA Spark, and has scaled headcount to 101-250 employees while achieving threefold revenue growth as of the Series B close.
Aplazo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aplazo
- Legal name
- Aplazo
- Website
- https://aplazo.mx
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Aplazo is a Mexican omnichannel BNPL platform using Open Banking underwriting to extend card-free installment credit to unbanked consumers via 15,000+ merchants across retail, travel, entertainment, health, and wellness.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aplazo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Buy Now Pay Later
- NAICS
- Sales Financing (52222)
- SIC
- Personal Credit Institutions (6141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Checkout POS Financing) (FSAGAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Omnichannel POS Financing (Unified Online + In-Store) (FSAKAFAE), Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) Enablement (BNPL, wallets, local methods) (FSAMACAE)
Keywords
Where Aplazo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mexico City
- HQ country
- Mexico
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Aplazo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Transaction/Merchant Fees: Aplazo charges merchants a fee for processing installment payments. The company absorbs all credit and fraud risk for merchants while providing increased conversion rates, higher average ticket sizes, and repurchase rates.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels2 records
Aplazo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aplazo operates an omnichannel Buy Now, Pay Later platform that lets Mexican consumers pay for purchases in installments without a credit card, while merchants integrate the service online and in-store to drive higher conversion, ticket size, and repurchase rates. The company underwrites credit using Open Banking data and AI-driven risk models, absorbs credit and fraud risk on behalf of merchants, and distributes through direct merchant integrations plus OEM embedding in apps such as Walmart's Cashi.
Product overview
Aplazo operates as a unified BNPL platform in Mexico, combining its core Aplazo BNPL Platform with integrated add-on modules. The core platform handles omnichannel buy now, pay later services for online and offline merchants, while the Walmart Cashi integration embeds the service directly into Walmart's digital payments ecosystem, and the EBANX cross-border module enables international e-commerce merchants to offer installment payments to Mexican consumers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Aplazo BNPL Platform Omnichannel Buy Now, Pay Later platform that enables Mexican consumers to pay in installments without a credit card and gives online and offline merchants a turnkey installment payment option with Aplazo absorbing credit and fraud risk. The platform serves retailers, travel companies, entertainment venues, and health/wellness providers across Mexico.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30% higher conversion rates for merchants
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Aplazo
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Aplazo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability2 records
Feature2 records
Aplazo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.
- KustomersecondaryAplazo deployed Kustomer's AI-powered customer support platform to handle increased demand while maintaining service quality, resulting in a 40% rise in customer satisfaction and 36% increase in automation share.
- Walmart de MéxicocoreWalmart de México integrated Aplazo's BNPL service into its Cashi digital payments app, providing pre-approved credit lines for 1.5 million users for flexible, card-free installment payments. This partnership significantly expands Aplazo's reach to Walmart's customer base.
- EBANXcoreEBANX and Aplazo partnered to enable Aplazo's BNPL payment solutions for cross-border e-commerce in Mexico. The integration allows international online merchants to access 72 million Mexican consumers through EBANX's platform. EBANX connects global companies to local payment methods across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Aplazo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Affirm: Public US BNPL incumbent that has been expanding internationally; offers merchant-integrated POS financing with overlapping functionality to Aplazo's platform.
- Sezzle: Public BNPL provider expanding in Latin America; comparable merchant-integrated installment model and target demographic of credit-constrained consumers.
- Mercado Pago: MercadoLibre's payments and credit arm in Mexico; broad incumbent offering installment financing and consumer credit alongside its core marketplace payments business.
- Klarna: Global BNPL leader with growing presence in Latin America; competes in the same merchant-integrated BNPL category and brings substantial capital and brand strength.
Direct peers
- Kueski: Mexico's leading BNPL and online consumer lender; competes head-to-head with Aplazo in offering installment credit to underbanked Mexican consumers across online and offline merchants.
- Addi: Colombia-based BNPL provider with strong LatAm footprint expanding into Mexico; offers merchant-integrated installment financing for both online and offline merchants targeting similar thin-file consumers.
- Nelo: Mexico-focused BNPL fintech that provides card-free installment payments to consumers and merchant integration at checkout, directly overlapping Aplazo's core offering.
- Stori: Mexican credit card fintech serving underbanked consumers; competes for the same unbanked Mexican segment with installment-style credit products.
Emerging players
- Airtm: Latin American digital wallet and payments platform with BNPL-adjacent offerings; overlaps with Aplazo in serving cross-border e-commerce and underbanked Mexican consumers.
- Albo: Mexican neobank offering consumer credit and installment products; overlaps with Aplazo in serving underbanked Mexican consumers through digital channels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aplazo social profiles
Digital presenceAplazo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aplazo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Aplazo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aplazo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aplazo
What does Aplazo do?
Aplazo operates an omnichannel Buy Now, Pay Later platform that lets Mexican consumers pay for purchases in installments without a credit card, while merchants integrate the service online and in-store to drive higher conversion, ticket size, and repurchase rates. The company underwrites credit using Open Banking data and AI-driven risk models, absorbs credit and fraud risk on behalf of merchants, and distributes through direct merchant integrations plus OEM embedding in apps such as Walmart's Cashi.
Is Aplazo a public or private company?
Aplazo is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Aplazo founded?
Aplazo was founded in 2020. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Aplazo based?
Aplazo is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico, in the Latin America region.
How does Aplazo make money?
One revenue line is on record: transaction/Merchant Fees.
Who are Aplazo's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Affirm, Sezzle, Mercado Pago and Klarna. Direct peers are Kueski, Addi, Nelo and Stori. Emerging players are Airtm and Albo.
Does Aplazo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aplazo.
What industry is Aplazo in?
Aplazo's product category is Buy Now Pay Later. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAIAA, Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Checkout POS Financing), with a secondary code of FSAKAFAE, Omnichannel POS Financing (Unified Online + In-Store). Its NAICS code is 52222 and its SIC code is 6141.