Rewards as Deposit Capture in LatAm
Fernando Sandoval, co-founder of Kapital, on tropicalizing Brex for LatAm
Kapital is using rewards less as a profit center than as a deposit capture tool. The points are tied to everyday operating flows like rent in and rent out, then redeemed for practical SME services like telecom and internet discounts, which gives customers another reason to keep their operating account active inside Kapital. More usage means more balances parked on the platform, which strengthens funding, cross sell, and lending economics.
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This works differently from the U.S. corporate card playbook. Brex used free cards and startup perks to drive card volume and earn interchange. Kapital says LatAm interchange is much lower, around 0.8% to 0.9% for credit, so rewards need to pull deposits and product usage, not just card swipe volume.
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Kapital has already shown that deeper product use leads to more deposits. Deposits on the platform grew from $241M in Q1 2024 to $569M in Q4 2024 as it bundled banking with lending, treasury, cards, and workflow software. Rewards add one more habit loop on top of that operating account.
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The underlying logic is that the operating account is where an SME actually lives day to day. Kapital has long argued that owners check cash balances, receivables, and payables constantly, and that owning this screen drives stickiness, low churn, and more transaction volume. Rewards reinforce that core behavior instead of sitting off to the side as a marketing perk.
The next step is to extend this loop from the business into its employees and supplier network. If rewards keep pulling more payments, deposits, and vendor activity into one account, Kapital gets closer to becoming the default operating system for SME cash flow in LatAm, with rewards acting as a low cost wedge for even broader product attachment.