Qash announces alliance with Augustus Bank in Venezuela

Fintechs are gaining ground in Venezuela as the financial system's limitations persist. In this context, financial infrastructure platform Qash announced an alliance with Augustus Bank to offer U.S. dollar banking services in the country, according to information published by the outlet.

The announcement comes amid a scenario in which traditional banks' capacity to intermediate remains reduced. According to data presented by economist Asdrúbal Oliveros in the same publication, the bank loan portfolio stood at about $15 billion in 2014, compared with roughly $4 billion today. Separately, El Nacional reported that Venezuelan banks will grow credit by only 40% this year due to the effect of the legal reserve requirement (encaje legal).

The economic contraction accumulated in previous years also forms the backdrop to these operations. Between 2014 and 2025, financial and insurance activities accumulated a decline of 89.4%, construction fell 81.4%, and transportation and storage contracted 75.7%, according to figures cited by Bloomberg Línea.

Meanwhile, iupana reported on the relaunch of Peruvian fintech Máximo with a financial management proposal focused on improving the user experience. On the official exchange rate front, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) set the dollar rate at 886.23 bolívares and the euro rate at 993.09 bolívares for October 23, 2026.