Panama-based Efy Finance, a cross-border payments firm catering to Latin America, has secured $5 million in a seed funding round led by Tether, with participation from Astor Management AG and angel investors.
In a statement on Thursday, Efy Finance said the funds will be deployed to expand its banking infrastructure, payment corridors and stablecoin-powered settlement services across the region.
Founded in 2019 in Barranquilla, Colombia, Efy initially provided receivables financing to mid-market importers and exporters. The company changed its focus to cross-border payments and settlement in 2024, a segment that reflects demand for quicker and more affordable international transactions.
According to Efy, it has processed over $2.5 billion in cumulative transaction volume and caters to more than 25,000 active individual and business accounts. Its offerings include multi-currency accounts, Visa cards, over-the-counter services, USDT on- and off-ramps, as well as cross-border payment and settlement solutions.
The company operates primarily across five markets: Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, El Salvador and Panama. It has a wider regional presence through its own entities, regulated partners and regional payment networks, while its settlement network spans 17 countries.
Efy co-founder and CEO Andrés Tobón said that most companies view Latin America’s stablecoin opportunity primarily through the remittance market. However, he noted that Efy also facilitates the movement of treasury funds by finance teams at companies operating across borders. According to Tobón, payments that take three days and pass through four intermediaries require a different settlement infrastructure rather than another app.
The fresh capital will support the expansion of Efy’s banking connections, the development of payment and foreign-exchange corridors across Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia and Central America, and improvements to its compliance, treasury and liquidity operations. Its roadmap also includes developing a unified application programming interface for fintechs, offering USD accounts and Visa cards, and enhancing custody and transaction monitoring.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Latin America is among the world’s leading markets for blockchain innovation, adding that Tether is supporting the infrastructure connecting stablecoins with institutions in the region.
Oscar Ramos Moreno, managing general partner at Orbit Ventures, which participated in Efy’s pre-seed round, said the founders had established the compliance and operational groundwork required to support stablecoin-based services.
