Living in an emerging economy where traditional banking still feels stuck in the past. Neobanks exist, but their product suite pales in comparison to what you find in the US or Europe. Yield-bearing savings accounts? Not available. Intuitive apps that let you invest with a few taps? Nowhere to be seen.
The first to make a real difference in LatAm was Nubank a couple of years ago, and their stock and growth has skyrocketed: By offering a yield savings account and a clean, mobile-first experience, they attracted over 100 million users. They proved there's demand, but also revealed the ceiling of current fintechs in emerging markets.
Access to basic banking services has improved, but deeper financial access is still broke, especially when it comes to investments. In most emerging markets, individuals don’t have easy access to diversified financial products. Retirement plans are often inaccessible, inflexible, or nonexistent. Investment platforms are limited, hard to use, or not trusted.
So what do people invest in?
The answer is twofold: real estate and informal savings. According to the IMF, informal savings and cash-based transactions account for over 50% of financial activity in parts of Africa and Latin America. Real estate remains the preferred investment, even when it's illiquid and overleveraged.
Inflation and risk premiums make this even worse. In major LatAm countries like Argentina and Brazil, 10-year bond yields sit between 9-12%, while the US equivalent hovers below 5%. Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya show even steeper premiums, often 10-15% over US rates. The cost of capital is brutally high, and access to safe yield is rare.
A new financial stack is emerging. It’s permissionless, programmable, and global. It’s unlocking a generational opportunity to build neobanks that operate on stablecoin rails.
New Financial Products
Onchain stocks: Platforms like xstocks and Robinhood are bridging equity exposure into tokenized, 24/7 tradable assets.
Onchain private lending: Syrup and others lets users earn yield by participating in credit markets previously closed off to retail.
Onchain treasuries: Ondo and others are tokenizing access to short-duration US Treasuries.
DeFi-native yield: Platforms like Morpho and Aave enable non-custodial lending, often integrated directly into apps.
Structured products: Users can now access options, futures, and long/short strategies, abstracted through UI.
New Infrastructure
Wallet infra: Smart wallets via Privy, Rhinestone, Web3Auth, and others let builders create self-custodial wallets with session management and social recovery.
Gasless UX: L2s like Base, Optimism, and Starknet enable sponsored transactions. Users don’t worry about gas.
Liquidity movement: Cross-chain bridges move assets between chains frictionlessly.
Bank primitives: Bridge and Rain offer embedded bank accounts and Visa/Mastercard cards.
Local ramps: Moonpay, Transak, and regional partners bring fiat access online.
We’ve spoken to more than 10 founders building stablecoin neobanks. We haven’t invested yet. Here’s what needs to be true:
Complete stack: Must offer a US/EU virtual account, cards, native DeFi yield, access to stocks and alt yield (e.g., private credit), and robust on/off-ramps.
Regulatory edge: A team that deeply understands compliance and licensing requirements.
Fintech DNA: Founders who’ve shipped real B2C fintech at scale.
Sharp GTM: Focused on emerging economies, great distribution via social, creators, and partnerships.
Ramp depth: Best-in-class coverage of local on/off-ramps.
Retention curves: Clear signs of product-market fit on small early user cohorts, even with a limited feature set.
World-class UX: The product should me mobile first, feel like Revolut, not like a hackathon demo.
Full table with 20+ players (here):
Today’s neobanks give you access. Tomorrow’s will give you leverage. Platforms like Morpho are experimenting with undercollateralized credit onchain. Others will follow.
Your onchain behavior will soon become your credit score. Repaying loans, staking assets, interacting with DeFi protocols—these will all count. Stablecoin neobanks are the tip of the spear.
We’re watching. We’re curious. And we’re ready to back the teams that build the future of borderless, programmable finance.
The foregoing material is provided to professionals of Social Graph Ventures LLC and solely for the purpose of such individuals’ evaluation of the investment opportunity described herein. This material is not intended to provide any person with investment advice or any recommendation regarding the appropriateness or merit of any investment for such person on an individual basis. These materials are not intended to create any investment advisory relationship.
Social Graph Ventures
