SHENZHEN-BASED Tencent Holdings Ltd. paid US$180 million for an undisclosed minority stake in Brazilian financial technology company Nu Pagamentos SA, both companies said late Monday.

The move marks Tencent’s debut in Latin America’s largest economy at a time when Nubank, as the company is known, is preparing to make consumer loans by year-end, going beyond its current mainstays of fee-free credit cards and digital payment accounts.

In January, Nubank got clearance from the Brazilian central bank to offer loans to consumers.

Tencent is investing in Nubank through a US$90 million capital increase, Nubank chief executive David Velez said. The Chinese giant is also paying US$90 million to acquire partial stakes from current Nubank shareholders.

Tencent president Martin Lau said in a statement that the investment is aimed at helping Nubank “build a full-service personal finance platform.”

China’s largest social media and gaming company is already a major shareholder of online-only bank WeBank, and of online-only insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co., and has invested in other fintech startups in markets from the Philippines to Germany.

Nubank has issued 5 million credit cards and has signed up 2.5 million customers to digital payment accounts — which allow users to make transfers, pay bills and earn interest on deposits — since its foundation in 2013.

Velez said that while Nubank did not need another capital injection this year. Tencent will help the company develop further in areas such as payments.

(SD-Agencies)