Although cross-border payments management and business payments company Jeeves is an American unicorn, it has a Latin American soul. Dileep Thazhmon spoke exclusively to Contxto about its positioning in the region and about the opportunity that cross-border payments with stablecoins (stable cryptocurrencies anchored to the value of the dollar) represent for companies in Latin America.
Speaking at the Stablecoin Conference, organized by Mexican exchange Bitso, Thazhmon told Contxto that Jeeves grew 300% between July last year and the end of July this year. “And this is both in terms of number of customers and revenue and margin linked to revenue.” In 2023 Thazhmon had stated that its annual growth was at 250%.
The entrepreneur, whose technology company was valued at $2.1 billion, explains that this growth is because his business has expanded beyond corporate cards and expense management into cross-border transfers and, soon, into stablecoins.
One of Jeeves’ goals is to significantly increase sales by the end of 2025. To achieve this, Thazhmon shared that they are hiring staff in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil (where they also aim to obtain a full banking license).
One of the most important hires for Jeeves is the company’s chief revenue officer, a former Brex contributor in the United States, a financial services and technology company that offers business credit cards and cash management accounts to technology companies. Jeeves’ new hire will play an important role in leading the company in Mexico.
“Mexico is the first market we started in. All the new products we launch usually start in Mexico, which is still our largest market in terms of volume. If we compare it to Colombia, Brazil and other countries outside Latin America, it is still the biggest country we have today, there are about 50 people here in Mexico alone,” the entrepreneur shared.
“In Mexico we have a solid customer base in different sectors, companies like MacroPay, PCH, Burger King, etc., that use our services. We provide them with a full range of financial services,” Thazhmon explained.
The Jeeves CEO also noted that the firms that work with his company generate a revenue of $100,000.
Betting on stablecoins
Jeeves is riding the wave of stablecoins, aiming to use the currency to make international payments almost immediately through the launch of a new solution.
“The idea is that if you have a business in Mexico and you send money to the U.S. or need to receive money from the U.S. and Mexico, today it takes too long and the price is quite expensive because Mexico tends to be a market with slightly higher currency exchange costs,” explained Thazhmon.
With Jeeves’ new product, it will take less than an hour for business transfers to be executed and the price will be less than 80 to 90% of what you would pay in a foreign exchange transaction at a traditional bank, the entrepreneur said.
Thazhmon asserted that, by 2027, there will be $900 billion dollars in transactions between the U.S. and Mexico through nearshoring and e-commerce alone.
And, although he acknowledged that there is still a challenge in the adoption of cryptocurrencies, the confidence that comes with the backing of companies like Jeeves will help companies begin to adopt these cross-border transactions with stablecoins.
“I would say that Mexico and Latin America are pioneers in the adoption of stablecoins, because you see firsthand how currency fluctuates, how much volatility there is from one day to the next (especially in local currencies in Venezuela and Argentina). So the faster you can move money, the faster it can appear at a low cost, the better it will be for your business and for your bottom line,” he explained.
IPO in the door or acquisition?
The next step for a unicorn is either to become a public company or be acquired by another company.
“I think there is now a market opening up for IPOs, but there is no need to go public,” Thazhmon said, explaining that “you can see now that there are companies like Stripe that have been private and, as you know, have grown very substantially, with multibillion-dollar revenues,.
“For us it’s always in the long-term plans, but not in the immediate future,” the CEO added.
Crunchbase forecasts that Jeeves is more likely to be acquired than to go public. The firm’s plans are geared more toward being the buyer.
“We have a pretty solid cash position. We have spending under control. So we are looking at buying smaller companies in the region and adding them to our offering to have an even better and more attractive offering to the market,” Thazhmon explained.
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