Fintech Leaders: From Zero to $120M—How Cashea Rebuilt Credit And Trust in Venezuela

Host: Miguel Armaza
Guest: Pedro Vallenilla, CEO & Co-founder of Cashea
Release Date: August 6, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Pedro Vallenilla, CEO and co-founder of Cashea, Venezuela’s largest fintech. The discussion centers on Cashea’s remarkable journey of rebuilding consumer credit in a country where the concept had withered, scaling from zero to a $120 million annual run rate in under four years. Pedro shares Cashea’s early struggles, their unique business model, how they restored trust in financial services, and the broader impact on Venezuela’s economy and society.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Genesis of Cashea: Early Struggles and Pivots

• Initial Launch Woes

  • After Cashea’s 2022 launch, the team experienced two weeks of inactivity – no downloads, no transactions—leading them to question their go-to-market strategy.
  • “Our value proposition was not understood ... we were trying to gather or bring clients from online to, to go offline and did not understand that clients were doing their transactions offline and that we needed to meet them where they are.” (Pedro, 02:51)
  • Recognizing that building trust required being present at the point of sale, Cashea deployed in-store ambassadors, boosting adoption and transaction volumes.

• Quick Growth after the Pivot

  • After implementing the new strategy:
    • Month 1: $10,000 in transactions
    • Month 2: $25,000
    • Month 3: $450,000

Personal Motivation and Founder’s Journey

• Pedro’s Entrepreneurial Path
  • Pedro’s experiences with failed and successful startups (including Venezuela’s Groupon copycat Tu Esquanton) prepared him for Cashea.
  • His time struggling with debt during the COVID-19 shutdown in Chile gave him first-hand experience with financial stress, later fueling his passion for consumer credit.
  • “I would never have thought that we would be the ones who rebuilt consumer credit or brought credit back to the masses in our country.” (Pedro, 00:50 & 06:33)

The Vacuum of Credit and Data

• Building Credit Histories from Scratch

  • After years of hyperinflation and economic turmoil, almost no one in Venezuela had an active credit history. Cashea faced a blank slate.
  • The solution: Focus on building a closed-loop network with top merchants, making Cashea loans “the last thing you’d ever want to default on” for Venezuelan consumers.
  • “How can we build a product that is the last thing as Venezuelan that you will ever not pay? ... This will be something that will be considered an asset and Venezuelans will take care of it.” (Pedro, 11:20)

• Credit Risk Performance

  • Cashea’s NPLs (non-performing loans) have dropped from 6–7% in early days to under 2% (world-class by any standard), illustrating improving risk modeling and user behavior.
  • Fraud reduction and careful underwriting have been key to these metrics.

Unique Business Model: Merchant-Backed Credit

• Innovative Funding Structure
  • Rather than seeking massive equity or debt capital to fund loans, Cashea convinced merchants to front the credit—Cashea would only buy back loans that defaulted.
  • “We said to them, are you willing to do the loan yourself? And we will buy back when the first installment goes bad.” (Pedro, 00:08 & 27:07)
  • This reduces capital needs and aligns incentives, making Cashea’s growth highly cash-efficient.
  • Today, over 15,000 merchants wait to be onboarded, compared to early days when “hundreds of merchants said no way.”

Restoring Trust in a “Low Trust” Society

• Overcoming Scepticism
  • Initial naysayers claimed Venezuelans would not repay loans. However, empirical results proved otherwise:
    • Over $20 million in BNPL credits made in less than three years.
    • “Venezuelans are one of the best payers and the most responsible in Latin America ... when value is created, trust is given back.” (Pedro, 17:31)
  • Today, Cashea boasts 35% of the adult population as customers; it processes over one transaction per second.

Team, Company Structure & Culture

• Hypergrowth Organization
  • Cashea employs 700 people across 25 cities, built with a “diaspora advantage”—Venezuelans and international talent with global exposure.
  • Pedro has only six direct reports, emphasizing delegation and trust.
  • “If you bring up top talent and you will micromanage, then there’s no way for us to grow as fast as we’re trying to grow.” (Pedro, 22:40)
  • Focus on bringing talent home—creating social impact alongside business growth.

Navigating Regulation

• Regulatory Hurdles
  • Venezuela’s fintech regulation was nascent and ambiguous. Cashea’s application for regulatory approval was rejected four times.
  • “We almost ran out of money just trying to explain our concept ... but the only way for us to relaunch consumer credit in Venezuela was to ask for permission.” (Pedro, 24:37)
  • Eventually secured the necessary permissions after persistent engagement and adapting to regulators’ concerns.

Product Expansion and Future Ambitions

• Everyday Usage & Evolution
  • Originally used for infrequent big-ticket purchases (electronics, shoes), Cashea is now integral to daily spending—groceries, pharmacy, monthly essentials.
  • “It’s not only on installment basis ... we strive to become the top of wallet and the way—the default way—how Venezuelans pay for things.” (Pedro, 33:36)
• Expansion Plans
  • Cashea aims to double its GDP share from 3% to 6–6.5% by year-end, further solidifying its local dominance before considering expansion into other LatAm markets.
  • “Our ambition is to become the most impactful and the biggest company that has ever been built in our country ... and impact millions of underserved Latin Americans.” (Pedro, 31:44)

Lessons from the Global Fintech Scene

• Comparisons and Inspirations
  • Pedro notes similarities with companies like Caspi (Kazakhstan), Tabby (Middle East), and references Klarna and Affirm’s struggles in saturated, overextended markets.
  • “Binopilators, I believe, pure plays are in countries where credit is nonexistent ... if you do become that credit card of choice, that top of wallet, that value differs.” (Pedro, 14:53)
  • Admiration for Latin American fintech icons: “It’s difficult to be a Latin American and not shed a tear when we saw Galperin stepping down two days ago. ... There’s much we can learn about [him].” (Pedro, 35:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I would never have thought that we would be the ones who rebuilt consumer credit or brought credit back to the masses. In our country.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (00:50)

• “Our value proposition was not understood ... we needed to meet them where they are. That, for us to build trust, we needed to understand how consumers were buying.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (02:51)

• “If you bring up top talent and you will micromanage, then there’s no way for us to grow as fast as we’re trying to grow.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (22:40)

• “We said to them, are you willing to do the loan yourself? And we will buy back when the first installment goes bad.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (00:08 & 27:07)

• “Venezuelans are one of the best payers and the most responsible in Latin America... when value is created, trust is given back.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (17:31)

• “Our non performings were above 6, 7%. ... Now, non-performing loans below 2% ... world class.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (13:39)

• “We almost ran out of money just trying to explain our concept. ... The only way for us to relaunch consumer credit in Venezuela was to ask for permission.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (24:37)

• “As of today, 3% of GDP. Venezuela’s GDP goes through Cashea. We expect that to be north of 6 to 6.5% before year’s end.”
  – Pedro Vallenilla (22:40)

Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:00 — Record-setting growth: $120M run rate
• 02:51 — Early launch failures and pivotal go-to-market changes
• 06:33 — Founder’s motivation and entrepreneurial background
• 11:20 — Underwriting loans in a no-credit-data environment
• 13:39 — Drop in NPLs, credit quality improvement
• 17:31 — Shifting perceptions of trustworthiness among Venezuelan consumers
• 19:37 — Team building, leveraging diaspora and global talent
• 24:37 — Regulatory hurdles and approval journey
• 27:07 — Merchant-centric credit structure: flipping the BNPL funding model
• 31:44 — Ambitions for national and eventual regional dominance
• 33:36 — Evolution from big-ticket to everyday transactions
• 35:27 — Leadership inspirations in the LatAm fintech ecosystem

Final Thoughts

Pedro’s journey embodies resilience, adaptability, and relentless focus on user needs and trust. Cashea’s rise is a masterclass in navigating adverse market conditions, pioneering business models, regulatory persistence, and leveraging local insights for macroeconomic impact. This episode is highly recommended for anyone exploring fintech innovation in emerging markets, company-building against the odds, or the future of inclusive finance in Latin America.