Chilean BitNexo Selected as Winner of BBVA Fintech Competition

Chilean financial technology startup BitNexo has been named the winner of BBVA’s Open Talent 2015 content for Latin America.

BitNexo’s founders come from a diverse background, but are mainly based in Chile and China with plans to expand to Mexico and the Philippines in the near future.

The young startup offers an alternative bitcoin payment platform for cross-border payments between Latin America and Asia. BBVA, Spain’s second largest bank, organized the contest in Mexico City earlier in the month and invited fintech company’s from all over Latin America to participate in the competition.

The competition held in Mexico “is based on open innovation, interaction and joint contribution” for fintech startups. Competitions were held in New York, Barcelona and Mexico City, with the last being open solely to startups in emerging economies in Latin America.

Like many other traditional banks, BBVA said explicitly that fintech startups are “disruptors” to financial institutional power. Rather than fighting the trend, BBVA and other major banks have decided to join forces with the emerging fintech sector and try to find a middle ground.

BitNexo’s bitcoin services provide a platform for consumers to pay for goods and services between Asia and Latin America. One advantage of the company’s platform is that it offers unique security features offered through blockchain technology and provides transparent exchange rates to protect consumers from currency fluctuations.

Another advantage of the platform is the ease of use. Users of BitNexo’s services don’t need to understand blockchain technology in order to utilize it and do not have to purchase, store or manage bitcoins in order to use the service. In July, the company won another award named the “best seed stage company” by Seedstars World in Shanghai.