Cacao

Cacao Paycard Solutions is a Mexican fintech platform that provides the technology and infrastructure for other companies to issue and process prepaid, debit, and credit cards. Founded in 2017 by Gerardo Bonilla, the company established itself as a key player in the Fintech-as-a-Service (FaaS) market in Mexico, enabling neo-banks and other businesses to launch card programs quickly and efficiently through its modular API. Bonilla, an entrepreneur focused on financial inclusion and payment methods since 1996, leveraged his experience from previous ventures, including a remittance company and another fintech, to address the complexities of the card business in Mexico. The platform served notable clients such as Albo, Bnext, Clip, and Oyster.

In late 2021, Cacao Paycard faced a significant challenge when it was denied authorization to operate as an electronic payment funds institution (IFPE) under Mexico's Fintech Law. This regulatory decision prevented it from taking on new digital wallet clients and required it to wind down existing operations in that specific area. Shortly after, in December 2021, the Brazilian financial technology provider Dock acquired Cacao Paycard. The acquisition allowed Cacao to continue its card processing division under the Dock brand, integrating it into Dock's broader Latin American expansion strategy. Before the acquisition, Cacao had issued over four million cards and had formed a strategic five-year partnership with Visa in 2020 to expand its services across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Keywords: payment processing, card issuing platform, Fintech-as-a-Service, FaaS, BIN sponsor, API, digital payments, card management, neo-bank enabler, financial infrastructure, fintech solutions, Latin America fintech, payment technology, prepaid cards, debit cards, credit cards, white-label fintech, acquired, Dock, Mexico fintech