Fintech News

Interview with Juan Carlos Martinez, the Executive Director & Co-Founder of Bamboo Payment

Bamboo Payment

Bamboo Payment provides companies with easy local and crossborder payment solutions across Latin America. Co-founder Juan Carlos Martinez will be sharing more details with us in this exclusive interview with TechBullion.

Please tell us about yourself?

My name is Juan Carlos Martinez and I am the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Bamboo Payment. I have over 25 years of experience in the payments industry including credit card acquirers, issuers and processors, standardized banking protocol providers, and institutional leadership roles. I am from Uruguay and have seen firsthand Uruguay’s transformation into an epicenter for the fintech industry.

What is Bamboo Payment?

Bamboo Payment is a one-stop-shop for global companies to process payins and payouts across Latin America. With coverage in 17 countries and growing, global companies can collect payment for goods and services across the entire region and also process payout requests to partners, collaborators and content creators all through a single, unified platform.

What unique features and services is  Bamboo Payment bringing to the payments market?

To sum it up, local experience and global reach. We are uniquely positioned in Latin America with last mile connections to local acquirers across 17 countries. This includes local credit cards, alternative payment methods and local banks, maximizing the market potential for our global clients. Our company structure and technological platform enables seamless connection between international companies and local markets, including payins, payouts, and cross border settlements. Our merchants can focus on their core business while we handle all local processing, taxes and regulations. 

As a fintech startup, tell us more about your mission to bring effortless cross-border payin and payout processing to the LATAM region.?

It is true that credit card adoption and eCommerce sales have increased significantly across all of Latin America due to the Pandemic, but most payments are still made with local payment methods, including local credit/debit and other alternative payment methods, that only work within their specific country’s borders. Bamboo bridges the gap and simplifies the connection between global companies and local consumers. The benefits are twofold; democratization of purchasing options which brings products and services previously unavailable to a larger proportion of the population, and expanding market potential for global companies. Remember, Latin America has a population of more than 700 million people and the purchasing power in many of these countries is much higher than other emerging economies in Africa or Asia.

How will Bamboo Payment make it easier for LATAM content creators to get paid?

Bamboo Payment simplifies the payout process to content creators, partners, affiliates and suppliers. Our B2C payout platform is constructed on well-proven connections with local banks and cash networks across Latin America. Our experience in remittance payments enables us to have the widest coverage of local bank transfers and cash pickup across the region and we guarantee payouts in 24 hours or less once the request is made. Simply put, content streaming companies or social networks – for example YouTube or Tik Tok – can easily orchestrate payouts to their content creators via their preferred local solutions.

In terms of online payment options, LATAM consumers are seriously underserved, how will your fintech startup change this?

We are seeing various electronic payment solutions that are quickly changing the entire payment industry – a large portion of this being focused on eWallets – which allows for increased consumer flexibility over traditional payment solutions. This is in a way similar to the effects M-pesa had in Africa during the early 2000s, enabling millions of consumers to conduct electronic payments thereby leapfrogging the adoption of credit/debit cards. For example, Boleto is being supplanted by PIX in Brazil, bringing millions of consumers to a stable electronic payment method which global companies can offer on their eCommerce sites by connecting to Bamboo Payment.

Could you enlighten us more on how money is sent and received across LATAM borders? 

By leveraging our experience in remittance payments, financial institutions, cash networks and bank relationships, we are able to collect funds locally and conduct cross-border settlements in USD anywhere in the world seamlessly. Inversely, the same flow applies in the payout process, where global companies can fund our international accounts in USD or Euros and we conduct payouts in local currencies.

In this age of digital transformation, why should companies think seriously about worldwide payment accessibility?

Payment accessibility for both the consumer and the business allows for more innovation in any local market. By creating an effective payment solution within an otherwise fragmented market, it creates the opportunity for businesses to thrive in traditionally underserved regions while also opening the door for local talent to be able to find employment opportunities through global platforms such as streaming services, consulting services, aggregators, translation services, etc. This in turn creates more economic activity that businesses can then capitalize on. All in all, the age of digital transformation is consolidating the impact of globalization, reducing the impact of national borders, unifying global economies and making economic transactions more efficient for everybody.

Tell us more about your team of experts at Bamboo Payment and your customer support, what makes you special?

Our executive team has combined more than 50 years of experience in the payment and financial services industry, but it goes beyond that. We are a team of doers and innovators, who have a love for Latin America and the opportunities that a company like Bamboo Payment can bring to the region. For example, some members of our executive team are Uruguayan nationals with vast experience working in Europe and the United States who have decided to return to the region and join Bamboo on this journey. We share a common goal and vision, Local Experience and Global Reach, as we endeavor to navigate the traditionally fragmented markets of Latin America.

Do you have more information for our readers today?

Opportunities for global business across Latin America are limitless with more and more consumers joining the digital economy every day. Still, local regulations, complex tax structures, different languages, and consumer preferences for traditional payment methods make the region highly fragmented and daunting for global companies. Bamboo is the ideal partner to maximize opportunities, minimize risk and maintain focus on core business development.

For more information, visit the website: Bamboopayment.com

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