The World Today
A Uruguayan citizen will file a criminal complaint against the loan company Volvé (operated by Floder SA) and the Prex card company after being the victim of a scheme that, in essence, constitutes a scam. According to his account, after taking out a loan with an initial payment of $1,400, he was surprised by multiple debits: duplicate payments and new unauthorized collection attempts totaling almost $1,900 in a matter of hours. The reaction from both platforms was silent.
These types of practices, far from being exceptional, are increasingly common among users who turn to digital financial services . Volvé and Prex present themselves as tools for inclusion, but their operation exposes customers to an opaque system, with extremely high fees, abusive surcharges, and collection mechanisms that border on—or even cross—legal limits.
In this case, after making a payment from their Prex account, the user discovered that the fee had been charged twice. Far from offering solutions, neither the card issuer nor the lending company accepted responsibility. At the same time, new attempts at automatic debits began without justification.
Volvé, which promises "hassle-free" loans, charges annual rates of over 100%. For example, a $1,000 loan ends up costing over $1,450 in just three installments. The slightest delay triggers fees that disproportionately increase the debt. And if you add to that an uncontrolled automatic collection system, the result is a real rip-off.
The number of complaints filed with the Central Bank against Floder SA—Volvé's corporate name—increased from zero in 2020 to nine in 2024. URSEC also sanctioned it for harassing people over the phone who asked not to be contacted. A serious case was even recorded in 2021, in which a loan was granted using a spoofed identity.
Added to this is Prex's poor reputation, whose practices have been repeatedly questioned by consumers who suffered erroneous charges, blockages, and unexplained delays. When both platforms fail at the same time, the result is devastating for the customer.
Today, the victim of this scheme is seeking justice. The criminal complaint she will file alleges repeated fraud, improper charges, and unauthorized withholding of funds. This isn't just an individual complaint: it's a wake-up call about an alternative financial system that's growing without sufficient controls and that particularly affects the country's most vulnerable sectors of the population.
Because when fintech companies are allowed to act like banks without fulfilling their responsibilities, consumer rights are left in the hands of algorithms. And when errors aren't corrected, they cease to be failures: they become a scam.
