The global banking giant Citi led a funding round for Colombia's fintech firm Supra aimed at enhancing cross-border payments in the country. Supra plans to empower Colombia's Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) engaged in import and export activities by offering customized cross-border payment and treasury solutions.

Emilio Pardo, the CEO and Co-Founder of Supra mentioned: "At Supra, we are developing cutting-edge cross-border payment solutions that provide value-added services to our clients as well as transaction speed and highly competitive rates." Far Out Ventures and H20 Capital joined Citi in this financing round.

According to the company's official statement shared on Businesswire, the Colombian market has more than 40,000 companies that are actively participating in import and export commercial activities. This translates to business-to-business cross-border payments estimated at around $134 billion in 2022, as per the data from Colombia's tax authorities.

Cross-Border Payments Solutions for Colombia's SMBs

Pardo highlighted the company's commitment to delivering pioneering cross-border payment solutions aligned with the Colombian Central Bank's regulations. He said that this alliance signifies a transformative chapter in the Colombian financial technology landscape, promising enhanced capabilities and expanded opportunities for SMBs in the import and export sector.

Supra's core mission revolves around empowering the country's SMBs engaged in import and export activities by offering tailored cross-border payment services. This influx in investments is expected to enhance Supra's role as a payment aggregator in close partnership with the foreign exchange (FX) market intermediaries and licensed payment service providers.

Recently, Citi launched an application based on blockchain technology to streamline bilateral spot FX trades. This project was developed under the "Project Guardian" initiative, a collaboration between Citi and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

This application represents a significant leap forward in FX trading technology. Its core functionality involves integrating real-time price quotes with the secure recording of trade executions on a blockchain. It ensures cryptographic security while aligning with institutional practices and regulatory demands.

Evolving Business Landscape in Colombia

Meanwhile, Equinix, a prominent Nasdaq-listed digital infrastructure firm, committed $45 million last year towards establishing its second data center in Colombia. This significant investment followed the acquisition of data centers in Chile and Peru by the company, marking its expansion across Latin America.

Equinix's strategic investment in Colombia's data center infrastructure reinforced its regional presence, underscoring a commitment to supporting the country's digital evolution while prioritizing sustainability and technological advancements, the company explained.