Tech Roundup: A bank by the left, for the left

This week’s topics: a Brazilian fintech wants to combine investment with a left-wing ideology; GuiaBolso tests a new business model as open banking arrives in Brazil, and the Federal Revenue Service creates new rules for declaring cryptocurrency transactions.

When polarization becomes a business model

In a world where customers are flooded with options, the idea of the business niche becomes even more important. And that is precisely the plan for one Brazilian fintech, seeking to cater exclusively to left-wing customers. Under the motto “your money, your bank account, no bankers,” LeftBank is seeking to put a leftist twist on investment and money-making.

A fintech by the left, for the left. “We are not just presenting a product, we are presenting a set of values,” says Marco Maia, LeftBank’s general manager, in an interview with The Brazilian Report. Mr. Maia is a former Workers’ Party congressman.

• LeftBank is not the first company to turn political polarization into a Brazilian business model. In 2019, a lawyer launched a project for a leftists-only dating app.

Services. The LeftBank offers banking services to 2,000 individuals and companies without annual fees, as is the norm among young fintechs. With human rights and environmental conservation as its declared core values, the fintech claims it wants to democratize the banking experience.

• “We have a large number of Brazilians with no access to a bank account or credit options,” says Mr. Maia. “Many are unable to open an account with traditional banks because they do not meet their standards.”

LeftFone. LeftBank’s founders went a step further in April, launching the digital phone service LeftFone, available in all 27 Brazilian states. It promises affordable prices to all kinds of consumers — including those with poor credit scores — and no fines for breaking the contract.

Growth and profit. As of now, both ventures have raised BRL 500,000 (USD 95,000) in investment. Mr. Maia says LeftBank has been growing between 5 and 7 percent per day since December — and that further growth will be boosted by the support of left-wing influencers on social media. However, he stresses that profits are not the be-all and end-all for LeftBank.

• “Roughly 70 percent [of profits] will be reinvested in the business and in the development of other companies. We will spend two or three years reinvesting and building...