As part of its 10th edition, FINNOSUMMIT launched for the first time awards recognizing those who, over the last decade, built the foundations of Latin America’s Fintech ecosystem upon which the transformation of the real economy is being built today. Today, the three finalists for each industry category are announced. The finalists and winner of the sixth category, the Special Award for Editorial Trajectory in Financial Innovation, will be revealed alongside the rest of the winners on The Beacon stage at FINNOSUMMIT 2026.
After more than 150 nominations from the community, the Official Jury proceeded with the deliberation. Formed by the two co-founders of FINNOSUMMIT—Fermín Bueno and Andrés Fontao—and three specialized industry journalists: Jeannette Leyva (columnist for El Financiero and host of the ____ program on W Radio), Iván Ramírez (Business Editor at El Heraldo), and Roberto Noguez (Editor of El CEO magazine), the members chose those who built the Fintech foundations upon which the next decade of the real economy will be built.
The Lifetime Ecosystem Pioneer Award This category rewards the historical pioneers, the first architects who, 10 years ago, began building the foundations when financial disruption was barely a brave bet. The three finalists are:
- Adolfo Babatz (Founder, Chairman & CEO of Clip): Founded Clip in 2012 after opening PayPal’s operations in Mexico. In 2021, Clip became Mexico’s first payments unicorn, with a valuation of $2 billion, and today is the second-largest card payment processor in the country.
- Gabriela Estrada Nieto (Co-Founder & CEO of Vexi): After 15 years in traditional banking at American Express and Citi, she co-founded Vexi in 2018, a neobank that has issued over a million credit cards, 80% of which were the user’s first card ever.
- Iñigo Rumayor Belausteguigoitia (Founder & CEO of Monato): Co-founded Regalii in 2013, which evolved into Arcus, the second non-bank entity with a direct connection to SPEI in Mexico, acquired by Mastercard in 2021. Today he leads Monato, approved by Banxico as a direct SPEI participant.
The Financial Inclusion Champion Honors those who ensured these foundations were broad enough to support the whole of society, achieving better financial inclusion in Latin America. The three finalists are:
- Gabriela Zapata Álvarez (Strategic Consultant in Financial Inclusion · BFA Global / CGAP / UNSGSA): With over 15 years of experience, she led the PATMIR program that financially included one million people in rural Mexico and measured the financial health of over 52,000 people in BFA Global’s FinnSalud project.
- Pedro Rivas (General Manager of Mercado Pago Mexico): Since 2022, he has led the transformation of Mercado Pago into the number one digital bank in Mexico: over 15 million open credit lines and more than 2 million loans granted to small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Vicente Fenoll (Founder & CEO of Kubo Financiero): Founded FinComún in 1994 and Kubo Financiero in 2012, one of the first regulated P2P lending platforms in Mexico. He has presided over the Mexican Association of Popular Financial Societies (AMSOFIPO) since 2023.
The Regulatory Pioneer Award Recognizes regulators and government actors who designed the rules of the game and gave solidity to financial innovation so the system could grow safely. The three finalists are:
- Rocío Robles (Financial Regulatory Affairs en Banco Plata): Led the design and development of the Fintech Law within the CNBV and later its implementation. In private practice, she has advised 16 of the 58 institutions definitively authorized by the CNBV.
- Carlos Orta (Former Vice President of Regulatory Policy, CNBV; Partner at Deloitte): As Vice President of Regulatory Policy at the CNBV, he was one of the officials in charge of designing and lobbying for the approval of the Fintech Law. Today, he is the leading regulatory risk partner at Deloitte.
- Narciso Campos (Partner of Financial Services and Regulatory Compliance at Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, S.C.): Head of the Banking, Securities and Savings Unit at the SHCP from 2013 to 2016. Responsible for designing and regulating the policies of Mexico’s banking sector and stock market. He led the regulatory development and execution of the 2014 Financial Reform, and designed the draft law that first regulated the Fintech sector in Mexico in 2018. He was General Coordinator of Advisors at the SRE (2017 – 2018) and served as chief technical advisor to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs throughout the renegotiation of NAFTA (USMCA).
The Open Innovation & Collaboration Vanguard Recognizes traditional financial institutions, banks, and corporates that led direct collaboration with Fintech startups, demonstrating that competing was not the way to transform finance in Latin America and that financial innovation was best done collaboratively. The three finalists are:
- BBVA: BBVA Mexico was named by the Finnovista Fintech Radar Mexico 2026 as the most collaborative bank with fintechs in the country. In a market where 80% of fintechs seek alliances with traditional banking, BBVA boosts this synergy through initiatives like BBVA Spark and its Open Banking platform.
- Visa: Through global programs like Visa Everywhere Initiative, Visa Ready, and Fintech Fast Track, it connects Fintechs with its network of over 2,000 institutions and its VisaNet infrastructure.
- Mastercard: Through Mastercard Start Path and local alliances with Fintechs like Jeeves and Geopagos, it connects late-stage startups with its global network. In 2021, it acquired Arcus, its first acquisition in Latin America.
The Visionary Capital Recognizes Venture Capital funds, Corporate Venture Capitals (CVC), or Angel Investors who believed in the Fintech ecosystem when transforming the region’s finances was just a dream. The three finalists are:
- Kalonia: Spanish fund founded in 2017, focused exclusively on B2B Fintech in Latin America and Spain. Success story: early investor in Belvo, which in 2022 closed a $43 million Series A round.
- QED Investors: US fund investing in Latin American Fintech since 2014. Success story: entered Nubank in its Series A in 2014, which went public on the NYSE in 2021.
- Ignia Partners: Mexican fund founded in 2007, a pioneer in raising capital from Mexican Afores for venture capital. Success stories: its portfolio includes Konfío and Rapyd (both unicorns today), plus 7 finalized exits.
¡Congratulations to all the finalists! Next September 24 at 4:00 PM, The Beacon stage will host the grand presentation of these awards. They belong to the entire ecosystem: born from open nominations and evaluated based on real impact, demonstrable execution, and track record, far from superficial metrics like social media popularity.
If you don’t have your ticket for FINNOSUMMIT 2026 yet, don’t wait until they sell out. Few spots remain! Buy yours here: https://finnosummit-2026.boletia.com/