Uruguay unicorn dLocal deal opens door for global sellers on Amazon.com Brazil marketplace

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguay’s only unicorn, the payment startup dLocal Ltd, said on Tuesday that it had struck a partnership with Amazon.com Inc that clears the way for international vendors to sell products on Amazon’s Brazil online marketplace for the first time.

The agreement, which the two companies announced in a joint statement, should broaden choices on the site, which had been restricted to local vendors.

Some international sellers have already joined the Amazon marketplace and others will join in a gradual rollout plan over the next few days, said Michel Golffed, senior vice-president of dLocal.

“Latin America as a region is one representing the fastest growing pace with retail e-commerce,” Golffed told Reuters in a phone interview.

“If we look at this from a consumer’s point of view, they get access to buy in Brazil with local payment methods… goods from sellers from all over the world.”

Founded in 2016, dLocal integrates local and global payment systems with a focus on emerging markets. At its Nasdaq debut on June 3, the company — whose clients include Tripadvisor and Dropbox — raised over US$600 million with a market capitalization of US$9 billion.

Thirteen of its current 29 markets are in Latin America, said Golffed, including an existing Amazon partnership in Chile. Allowing dollar payments from Brazil to foreign vendors is particularly complex given local regulatory and legal frameworks, he said.

Brazil is the largest e-commerce market in Latin America based on user numbers. The U.S. International Trade Administration reported that close to 30 percent of the country’s population made at least one virtual purchase in 2019.

Golffed did not say whether dLocal was also seeking to collaborate with Amazon’s main competitors in Brazil, including top e-commerce sites Mercadolibre, Cnova and B2W.

Source: Reuters