A unicorn born from barriers

Barriers are generally viewed as an obstacle that prevents achieving the objectives, and sometimes they try to avoid them, surrounding them, and if they cannot be overcome, the idea is even abandoned. When there is a barrier, there is also an opportunity, but in order to see it, you need to be a visionary, look over it, understand it and transform it into an opportunity.

Barriers exist not only in personal life but also in the business world. For example, Trade barriers, foreign exchange policies, tax, payment processing, and a thousand other barriers that may exist. Which can limit the operations of companies in certain regions or countries.

Uruguayan Startup, D-Local (NASDAQ: DLO), found a barrier in processing payments for global companies and brands in emerging markets. The payment processors that existed in the market only allowed consumers to pay with international credit cards. This was a barrier that restricted the growth of international companies and their penetration into the market of certain countries and regions, as well as limiting consumer access to the products and services of said companies and brands.

Resident consumers and/or citizens of emerging and underdeveloped countries in the payment processing, in order to make purchases in global companies and brands, had to request the help of relatives or third parties abroad who had access to an international credit card to be able to make the payment of your purchase. In cases where the consumer did not have that third person to help him make the payment for the purchase, he could not purchase the product or service.

D-Local (NASDAQ: DLO) was able to recognize these existing limitations in the emerging markets of Latin America, such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, among others, and transformed these limitations into a positive experience for both parties to the transaction (Supplier and consumer) by becoming an ally in the international electronic commerce payment processing of global companies and brands and allowing consumers to pay with local financing sources, such as Cash (through payment centers), Bank Tickets (in the case of Brazil), local transfers, local bank cards, bank deposits, among others, depending on the country.

This vision of D-Local (NASDAQ: DLO) turned a barrier into an opportunity to help large multinationals process cross-border payments from billions of customers in complex emerging markets, navigating myriad payment systems and local hurdles.

This ability to look beyond barriers transformed D-Local (NASDAQ: DLO) into the first Uruguayan unicorn after reaching a valuation of more than $1 Billion Dollars prior to its listing on the stock market, thus becoming a solution to the existing barrier to payment processing for international companies such as AMAZON (NASDAQ: AMZN), Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX), Nike (NYSE: NKE), Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) and many more. Enabling you to reach consumers in emerging markets with the ability to pay with their local payment methods.

Thanks to this vision of the Uruguayan Startup, consumers from emerging markets, such as citizens and/or residents of Brazil, who were limited by existing restrictions on international purchases with a credit card, added to the low rate of cardholders. Currently, with D-Local (NASDAQ: DLO), you can pay with local means, even pay by bank notes, in your local currency, the Brazilian Real (BRL), which is the most popular payment method in the country.

Just as in Brazil, you can pay with banknotes; it allows you to do so with private payment methods in other countries, such as Argentina, with cash payment in Argentine pesos (ARS) in payment centers such as Pagofácil and Rapipago, and thus continues to provide opportunities adapted to the needs and characteristics of each of the emerging markets where it is present. Unlike other payment processors like Stripe, Pay, and many more that were only limited to credit card payments.

D-Local (NASDAQ: DLO) began operations focused on Latin American emerging markets and currently has a presence in a total of 37 countries, distributed between Latin America, Asia and Africa. The first Uruguayan unicorn turned the existing barriers to entry for others into an opportunity for itself and an opportunity for global companies and brands to reach more consumers in emerging markets, allowing them to pay with local payment methods.

Barriers can become an opportunity if you have the vision to look over them, and from those same barriers, a unicorn can be born.