Marketplaces, restaurants, retailers, and delivery drivers: Who can benefit from digital financing?
How different business models in LATAM—like marketplaces, restaurants, and delivery platforms—benefit from embedded lending and flexible digital financing.
Spoiler alert: All of them.
In a region where nearly 50% of small businesses cite limited access to capital as their biggest growth barrier, digital financing is no longer a trend—it’s a necessity. As Latin America's economy continues its rapid digitalization, companies of all sizes are reevaluating how they access and deliver financial tools. One group stands out: the ecosystem of platforms, merchants, and independent workers that power commerce daily across the region.
From bustling online marketplaces and restaurant chains to independent shop owners and gig economy delivery drivers, the demand for bank-free financing solutions is surging. Why? Because traditional credit simply doesn’t work for them. It's too slow, too rigid, and too exclusionary.
This article explores how digital financing models, like those powered by R2, are unlocking tailored capital access for diverse partner segments—and why platforms that embed these solutions gain a competitive edge.
The case for digital financing in Latin America
Traditional banking systems are designed for businesses with predictable income, collateral, and long credit histories. That leaves out millions of businesses and workers across LatAm, who may be formal, semi-formal, or entirely informal but still generate strong, consistent revenue.
Digital financing uses real-time data, platform behavior, and advanced underwriting models to evaluate creditworthiness. This allows platforms to provide loans for marketplaces, working capital for restaurants, inventory credit for retailers, or microloans for drivers—all embedded directly into their digital experience.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all loan, financing is tailored to the user: how they earn, how often they transact, and how they grow.
R2's model is built to serve a wide spectrum of businesses—from independent gig workers needing $200 USD to stay operational, to mid-sized companies seeking $10,000 to $50,000 USD for expansion. In some cases, we’ve supported larger loans depending on platform performance and user behavior.
1. Marketplaces: capital that drives seller growth
Use case. A regional online marketplace with thousands of small sellers faces a recurring issue: vendors can’t meet demand during seasonal peaks because they can’t afford to stock up inventory.
Challenge. Sellers are often micro-entrepreneurs, lacking traditional documentation or collateral.
Digital financing solution. By embedding seller financing into the platform, the marketplace can offer short-term working capital advances based on sales volume, order fulfillment rates, and customer ratings. Sellers receive offers in-app and repay via future sales.
Benefits:
Increases seller inventory capacity
Reduces cart abandonment due to stockouts
Boosts seller loyalty and retention
Platforms that offer loans for marketplaces increase GMV and vendor performance—all while monetizing credit.
2. Restaurants: working capital when timing is critical
Use case. A growing restaurant chain in Mexico City wants to open a new location but struggles with up-front costs: equipment, staffing, initial inventory.
Rodrigo runs a successful mid-sized restaurant group with a strong presence on food delivery apps. He’s ready to open a fifth location but can’t afford the lag time of a bank loan. He’s already negotiating a lease and hiring staff—but the money simply isn’t flowing fast enough.
Digital financing solution. Through the delivery platform, Rodrigo receives an offer for working capital for restaurants based on his monthly order volume and customer rating. The repayment plan adjusts based on his performance and is automatically deducted from his weekly revenue.
Benefits:
Enables faster expansion
Smooths cash flow during low-demand periods
Helps restaurants invest in tech, logistics, or renovations
With this support, Rodrigo launches on time, manages to meet demand from day one, and maintains liquidity. This capital doesn’t just support survival—it accelerates growth, especially when timed to strategic launches or seasonal demand.
3. Retailers: flexible inventory financing for dynamic sellers
Use case. A fashion boutique with both physical and online presence needs to prepare for a flash sale campaign.
Lucía runs a hybrid fashion business in Lima. Her online shop sees spikes in traffic during influencer collaborations, but to capitalize on the demand, she needs to pre-order styles in advance. Paying for inventory upfront would deplete her cash reserve.
Digital financing solution. Through her e-commerce provider, Lucía receives a revenue-based cash advance tailored to her store’s historical sales and forecasted traffic. Repayment is tied to daily revenue—no sales, no payment.
Benefits:
Aligns repayments with business cycles
Increases marketing power without diluting cash flow
Avoids traditional loan risks and fees
Lucía doubles her inventory, boosts her ad spend, and sees her biggest campaign of the year. With bank-free financing solutions, retailers like her operate with agility, not anxiety.
4. Delivery drivers: empowering the gig economy
Use case. A driver on a food delivery app needs to replace a phone and pay for a bike repair to stay active on the platform.
Carlos is a full-time delivery driver in Santiago. One weekend, his phone breaks. Without it, he can’t work. He looks for help but finds nothing available at his bank. He’s frustrated—and losing income.
Digital financing solution. The delivery app offers Carlos a microloan based on his delivery history. He accepts the offer, receives the funds in his digital wallet, and repairs his phone within hours. Repayment is deducted gradually from his future deliveries.
Benefits:
Keeps drivers operational
Increases delivery volume and reliability
Builds informal credit history over time
For delivery apps, this isn’t just support—it’s infrastructure. Active drivers mean faster service, more orders, and better customer satisfaction.
Why segmentation matters
Each user group—marketplaces, restaurants, retailers, and drivers—faces unique financing barriers. The power of digital lending lies in its ability to segment users and personalize credit based on their data, behavior, and rhythm of work.
Key factors used in digital financing models:
Sales velocity
Transaction volume
Account age and consistency
Platform engagement
Ratings and delivery quality (in gig economy)
This creates a model where capital is:
Faster: No need for weeks of paperwork
Smarter: Aligned with how the user actually earns
Fairer: Based on actual performance, not exclusionary scores
What platforms gain from embedding digital financing
Beyond empowering users, embedded financing delivers tangible value for platforms:
Revenue streams. Monetize credit through fees, interest spreads, or partnerships
Loyalty. Financial support builds long-term user commitment
Growth. Empowered partners grow faster, transact more, and stay longer
In LATAM’s competitive landscape, financial tools are no longer a nice-to-have. They’re a key differentiator.
Why R2?
At R2, we partner with leading platforms to design and deliver embedded financial products that align with each user’s behavior and business model. We:
Integrate seamlessly with digital experiences
Provide underwriting based on real performance
Offer flexible terms that match industry realities
Whether your users are restaurant owners, marketplace sellers, couriers, or store operators, R2 helps unlock growth without relying on outdated financial systems.
Ready to power your ecosystem?
Learn how digital financing can strengthen your platform and accelerate partner success. Contact us or explore our partner solutions one-pager.