Robbin raises $8M seed to bring BNPL to Brazil's B2B retail
What's the deal? Robbin, a Brazilian fintech founded by two former Itaú BBA and XP bankers, has raised $8M in its first institutional round to scale a B2B buy now, pay later platform that lets small retailers pay for wholesale purchases in instalments.
The seed round was co-led by Canary, Atlântico, and Caravela, with participation from AB Seed, Norte Ventures, and US-based investors Clocktower and Tomorrow Capital.
Robbin was founded two and a half years ago by Leonardo Moura, who spent six years each at XP and Itaú BBA in international debt capital markets. Co-founders Henrique Meyer (ex-Itaú, Citi, HSBC) and chief technology officer Tomás Corrêa — who previously co-founded SoftBank-backed lending startup OpenCo — round out the leadership team.
The startup offers retailers a virtual credit card built on Brazil's PIX instant-payment rails, which keeps transaction costs far below those of Visa or Mastercard. Retailers can split payments into instalments and earn loyalty points, while the manufacturer gets paid upfront by Robbin, which then assumes the credit risk.
Why now? Consumer payments in Brazil have undergone a revolution over the past two decades — credit cards, instalments, and BNPL are now standard. But payment solutions for small retailers buying from manufacturers have barely changed, according to Moura.
"The small retailer has the same credit and experience demands as consumers, but the solutions available to them are stuck in time," Moura told Brazil Journal. "That's the gap we're trying to close."
New retail clients typically can only buy from large manufacturers on a cash basis, straining working capital since much of their own revenue comes from credit sales. Even those with existing trade credit often face short repayment windows — 30, 60, or 90 days — and poorly calibrated limits.
What could go wrong? Robbin's model hinges on underwriting credit risk for small and medium-sized enterprises, a notoriously tricky segment. Brazil's central bank pegs average SME default rates at 5.5%.
Robbin says it keeps defaults below that threshold by combining data from manufacturers' ERP systems — which show each retailer's payment history — with central bank records, credit bureau data, and open finance. But as the platform scales to more industries and retailers, maintaining that credit quality will be the key test.
The signal: Robbin currently partners with eight manufacturers, including Chilli Beans, Votorantim, and Tigre. Moura says retailers who start using the platform spend on average 21% more with that manufacturer — a powerful incentive for suppliers to sign on.
The round reflects growing investor appetite for fintechs that apply consumer-grade financial tools to B2B commerce, particularly in emerging markets where trade credit infrastructure remains underdeveloped. With PIX adoption surging and open finance expanding in Brazil, the conditions for a B2B BNPL platform have never been more favourable.
