- Miami-based Félix Pago closed a $200 million round on September 1, pushing its valuation to roughly $1.4 billion, one day before blockchain payments firm Kravata switched on zero-gas-fee transfers for 5 million users across Latin America.
- A federal tax that took effect January 1, 2026 charges 1% on cash and money-order transfers while leaving bank- and card-funded digital transfers untouched — a built-in advantage for app-based senders.
- Mexico's remittances fell 4.6% in 2025 to $61.79 billion, ending an 11-year growth streak, even as Honduras, Guatemala and Colombia posted double-digit gains.
- Global watchdog FATF found that stablecoins made up 84% of illicit crypto-asset transfers in 2025 — the same technology underpinning most of these "zero fee" apps.
Two rival bets on the future of sending money home landed 24 hours apart this week, and both leaned on the same pitch: fees are basically gone. Félix Pago, whose WhatsApp-based transfer service has become a fixture for Latino households sending dollars south, locked in fresh investor backing that roughly tripled its valuation. The very next day, Sui-based payments firm Kravata flipped on a network upgrade it says removes transaction costs for millions of existing users.
