{"id":83682,"title":"Kontigo - A USDC-smart neobank for Latinos","tagline":"Connecting all Latinos across the U.S. and LatAm through a single banking app.","body":"**TL;DR**; We're connecting all Latinos across the U.S. and Latin America through a single banking app that is global, instant, and stable.\n\nHi everyone, we are Jesus \u0026 Gino, and we’re building [Kontigo](https://www.kontigo.lat/) —**A USDC-smart neobank for Latinos.** (With a Bitcoin piggy bank).\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=83682\u0026key=user_uploads/1585542/a17fe45d-9aa1-4648-bc25-8550859b7208)\n\n**The real problem:**\n\n* The fundamental problem behind high fees, underbanked users, and failed currencies, both in Latam and the US, is precisely the same: the lack of a stable currency with global access and minimum government interference.\n\n**The consequence of the problem:**\n\n* The U.S. is home to 65 million Latinos, representing the fastest-growing population in the country; despite this, 35% of them are underbanked.\n* Each year, Latinos in the U.S. send over $170 billion to Latin America, often incurring fees as high as 20%.\n* Once the money reaches Latam, recipients may incur additional fees of up to 10% to convert and cash out.\n* In contrast, Latin America has a population of 700 million, with 20% of households relying on remittances for income and 75% of the population being underbanked.\n* Latin America's financial fragmentation worsens the problem, with 33 countries using 39 different currencies. Over time, all of these currencies have failed due to devaluation, inflation, and poor monetary policies.\n\n**Kontigo offers a USDC global wallet with a BTC savings account.**\n\n* Like Venmo, but on USDC.\n* Like Zelle, but for cross-border payments. No limits.\n* Like Nubank \u0026 Revolut, but without inflationary currencies. Bitcoin-backed.\n\nMade for real-life use cases—no crypto BS.\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=83682\u0026key=user_uploads/1585542/1a5b8826-04d6-425d-b220-7f0c0b9d59c1)\n\nUser wallets are connected to an **AI-private banker on WhatsApp** for their daily needs.\n\n* Execute international USDC transactions.\n* Build-Credit. Build Wealth.\n* Plan your BTC retirement.\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=83682\u0026key=user_uploads/1585542/8e5709b6-267d-4206-939c-c5c810cd2ac9)\n\n**We have brought together a “founder mode” dream team!**\n\n* \\+10 years building in fintech.\n* CEO prev built the largest micro-lending app in Venezuela.\n* CTO prev built and scaled 2 fintech companies in Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador.\n* CPO prev built A WhatsApp co-pilot for business owners. Ex-Platzi and HolaCasa. (YC companies).\n* COO prev built an LLM marketplace for Latam using micro-payments instead of subscriptions.\n* Head of design prev was founding team at Rappi, Grability, Imaginamos and Yuno.\n* Head of branding prev built an ultra-premium hand-crafted agave spirit brand.\n* Head of Web3 prev built an on-chain grocery delivery app for Colombia.\n* Head of engineering prev was tech lead at Venmo app development. (+Built a B2B payment startup in Mex).\n* Head of Content prev developed Ualá and Mercado Libre marketing strategy.\n\nKontigo is:\n\n* Already backed by DST Global, Soma Capital, Pioneer Fund, Transpose, HF0, Founders, Inc. Orange DAO, Optimism. +10 YC Alum.\n* Profitable.\n* \\+2 year runway.\n\nWe are gonna make it because we have done it before.\n\nBut this time, we're aiming for the moonshot.\n\nHelp us unlock universal wealth :)\n\nAsk:\n\n* Have a Latino friend? Share the [app](https://www.kontigo.lat/) with friends who need it.\n* Do you know any business, startup, or company that makes cross-border payments or needs a product like ours? Connect us! Contact at [founders@kontigo.lat](mailto:founders@kontigo.lat)\n\n**Stable Currency, Global Access.**","slug":"Lli-kontigo-a-usdc-smart-neobank-for-latinos","created_at":"2024-09-02T18:38:23.510Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T12:21:57.247Z","total_vote_count":40,"url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/Lli-kontigo-a-usdc-smart-neobank-for-latinos","share_image_url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/media/?type=post\u0026id=83682\u0026key=user_uploads/1585542/a17fe45d-9aa1-4648-bc25-8550859b7208","company":{"id":29820,"name":"Kontigo","slug":"kontigo","url":"https://kontigo.lat/","logo":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/29ea469fed3c60e9950eccadce6c5b7f8fcd6569.png","batch":"Summer 2024","industry":"Fintech","tags":[],"search_path":"https://bookface.ycombinator.com/company/29820"}}