Unico buys Valida and enters Argentina

Unico announced its entry into Argentina through the acquisition of Valida, a local biometric verification platform. The deal adds a digital identity offering, with facial biometrics tools for onboarding and authentication, according to the company and the law firm involved in the transaction.

What did Unico buy in Argentina?

Unico acquired Valida, an Argentine biometrics company focused on digital identity. Bruchou & Funes de Rioja, which said it advised Valida's shareholders on the sale, described the company as a platform offering facial biometric solutions for user onboarding and authentication.

The law firm also said Valida had completed more than 25 million verifications and held a 50% share of the Argentine banking sector, although that information was not corroborated by an additional independent source. Those figures should therefore be read as claims attributed to the firm, not as independently verified data.

What did Unico say about its regional expansion?

According to Bruchou & Funes de Rioja, the acquisition marks Unico's entry into the Argentine market and adds to the large-scale operations the company already has in Brazil and Mexico. The same statement placed Unico at an estimated valuation of about $2.6 billion.

iProUP, meanwhile, reported that Unico blocked $3.5 billion in fraud across Latin America and landed in Argentina. That figure should be treated as data attributed to the company in the coverage available, since the material provided does not include additional independent verification.

Why does this deal matter in the local context?

The transaction comes at a time when digital fraud and identity authentication remain central to the technology and financial agenda. Among the sources provided, Infobae reported that Argentina ranks sixth in the Americas for the impact of cyber activity, while TN explained the variants of mishing attacks, a tactic aimed at draining online banking accounts and digital wallets.

Against that backdrop, the purchase of Valida gives Unico a foothold in the Argentine market with a biometric verification offering, in a space where onboarding and authentication have become sensitive points for banks and other digital platforms.