SKY Brasil parent launches fintech targeting suppliers with $178 million investment

By Kylie Madry

(Reuters) - SKY Brasil's parent company will launch a fintech in the South American nation initially targeting small businesses that work with the telecommunications firm, with a 1 billion real ($177.83 million) investment over the next two years, the groups said on Thursday.

SKY Brasil is controlled by Grupo Werthein, a powerful Argentine holding company that also runs DirecTV in Latin America and has subsidiaries that raise cattle, bottle wine and produce Argentina's ubiquitous yerba mate drink.

Grupo Werthein will make the 1 billion real investment into the fintech, named skx, and will control the firm, the groups said. SKY Brasil President Gustavo Fonseca will also lead skx.

"The idea is to start with the classic payment services such as credit cards and debit cards," Fonseca said in an interview. "Then at some point, roll out credits or microcredits which could allow (clients) to finance a car, buy security equipment or update their storefront."

Skx already has 50 SKY partners on board, said Dario Werthein, a Grupo Werthein shareholder and chair of Vrio Corp, which controls SKY Brasil and DirecTV in Latin America.

Fonseca added the fintech was initially targeting about 1,500 of the small businesses that worked with SKY in Brazil.

The partners could be door-to-door salespeople, call centers or technician dispatchers, Fonseca said.

By the beginning of next year, skx hopes to expand to SKY's residential clients as well, he added.

"We're thinking about potential advantages to offer these clients," Fonseca said. "The average client has been with (SKY) for 66 months. So we know a lot about their behavior, which will allow us to offer services that will interest them."

In June, Vrio agreed a deal with Amazon to bring satellite internet to seven South American countries, which Werthein said was a potential boon for skx.

"Our partners are going to help us sell and bring (satellite internet) service to these areas. And now that (clients) will be able to get online, they'll be able to get access to bank accounts, payment methods and more," he said.

($1 = 5.6234 reais)

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Jamie Freed)