To deal with inflation, Venezuelans combine the use of Cashea with payments in USDT.
Venezuelans demand that the company’s contribution be recognized in an economy in crisis.
The recent modifications in the Cashea financing system, the application that allows you to purchase products in interest-free installments in allied stores, have generated an avalanche of reactions on social networks. While some see the measure as a necessary step to guarantee the stability of the platform, others interpret it as a symptom of the tensions generated by the currency crisis in Venezuela.
In its most recent update, Cashea informed its decision to standardize its credit systemestablishing an initial fee of 40% on all purchases regardless of the user’s level. The change was notified to affiliated businesses and came into effect immediately, eliminating payment plans with 9 and 12 installments, and retaining only three for amounts less than $700 and six for larger amounts.
Prior to the update, the highest levels – 4, 5 and 6 – could finance their purchases with an initial payment of only 20%, as part of a reward system for good payment history. The new scheme, as CriptoNoticias reported, eliminates the differentiated benefits that had contributed to the growth of the platform.
The decision did not go unnoticed and provoked numerous reactions on social networks, where several Internet users responded with severe criticism of the platform.
Cashea in the eye of the hurricane
The businessman Oliver Laufer defended the measure by stating: «Cashea is not in crisis, it is adjusting risk. “Sometimes taking care of liquidity also means taking care of the user.” He further noted that The application was there when no one else gave credit to Venezuelan usershighlighting the company’s role in a context of economic contraction and limited access to financing.
Along the same lines, Juan Blanco Bracamonte, founder and CEO of BitDataVzla, asked stop what he described as unfounded attacks, adding that Cashea “is not a money launderer [en referencia a la práctica ilegal de procesar fondos obtenidos de actividades ilícitas] nor is your current situation a mystery; is the thermometer of economic reality in Venezuela”, highlighting its role as reflection of the local economy.
According to Bracamonte, the application prospers “because Venezuelans have little cash purchasing power,” and by offering credit “it energizes a stagnant market.” He also highlighted the value of the data that the company manages on consumer habits, which, in his opinion, allows for improving the offer both for businesses and for the platform itself.
It is important to remember that Venezuela has been going through one of the most severe economic crises in its history for several years. Between persistent inflation, a shortage of cash dollars and difficulties in accessing financing, many Venezuelans have turned to USDTthe stablecoin issued by Tether Limited, as well as the service provided by Cashea.
Users choose combine the virtues of service and payments with the famous stablecoin in order to beat inflation.
For his part, journalist Andrés Cañizález agreed that the problem goes much further from the firm: «It is not Cashea that is in crisis, what is in crisis is an exchange model, under which the prices of products and services rise every day, since they are anchored to the BCV dollar (Central Bank of Venezuela). Crisis of a model in which a university professor earns less than 3 USD per month. “That is what is in crisis,” pointed out.
In the South American country, the BCV establishes the value it promotes as the “official dollar.” At the time of writing this article, that quote stands at 201.46 bolivars per dollar.
Other users highlighted the platform as an example of local innovation: «Cashea is a healthy enterprise and will continue to be so. It is a success story not only for Venezuela, but for all of Latin America. While in many countries they study their case to imitate it, in Venezuela a few discredit it while the vast majority of the country has benefited,” can be read in another publication.
Criticism points to an “exhausted model”
But not all opinions were so favorable. some people they pointed out that Cashea could be showing signs of an exhausted modelmaintaining that “deals that seem too good to be true, especially in a destroyed economy, usually are.”
«When an operation that is suspected of being used for money laundering begins to run out of the flow that feeds it, these are the first consequences. “The bubble cannot continue to inflate.” warned a commentator.
In the face of criticism, the company responded by ensuring that the benefit of the 20% initial payment will be restored “as long as there are allies and campaigns available.” Cashea acknowledged recent changes and said it is working to maintain benefits responsibly and safely. However, he clarified that, for now, discounts and extended modalities cannot be combined in the same purchase.