He did not want to detail current figures, but did predict he would quadruple revenues in the next eight months. His sales manager and business development manager promptly burst out laughing.

Zonafinanciera's Colombian operation has 50,000 unique users per month. The number compares favourably with the 60,000 online customers of Banc Colombia, the leader in a country with slow internet take-up. But there are differences between the two.

Banc Colombia manages the assests of its customers. It holds deposits and has the power to invest and grow its holdings. Zonafinanciera operates as a financial supermarket and relies on advertising and incremental fees for generating sales for third party institutions through its site. Its link with users is more precarious. Its revenue model is still unproven.

Financial supermarkets were first created by Latin American entrepreneurs to provide independent information and advice to consumers. But low transaction volumes and scarce revenues have forced them to sacrifice neutrality for an accommodation with established banks.

The first victim of the revenue crunch was LatinStocks, a financial supermarket founded in Argentina. It cut 35 per cent of its staff and began closing offices in October. "Consumers in Latin America are not really making the number of online transactions we expected," said Frederico Eisner, the company's chief executive.

The company's future was in doubt after Exxel, a Latin American venture capital group with a controlling interest, said it was pulling out. "We are trying to sell our stock, but have not found a buyer yet," said a source at Exxel. LatinStocks was forced to make the cuts after Banco Itau, the Brazilian bank, backed away from takeover talks.

"LatinStocks needs a financial institution backing this company if we are going to survive," said Mr Eisner.

Employees in regional offices were left in limbo when the company began chopping country managers. "I was the first person hired in the Brazil office. Now I don't know what's going to happen. The boss is gone. He went on a business trip and didn't come back," said Aline Fabron, an office administrator in Sao Paulo.

"The difference between them and us is that we have a customer base to start with," says Gabriel Jaime Agudelo, head of Banc Colombia's internet strategy. "We see the possibility of winning new customers through the internet, but the most important thing for us is to give existing customers new products through a new channel," he says. Bradesco, Brazil's largest private bank, has signed up 1.5m online customers. It is the region's undisputed leader. "Bradesco is proof that a bank can migrate its customers successfully," says Marcelo Barboza, chief operating officer for Investshop, a financial supermarket that is trying to compete with Bradesco for customers.

"In Latin America, you need a partner who sees a strategic need to add a strong online presence, who will commit to funding you over the long term, and who is not just concerned with your cash flow," says JP Bailey, founder of WorldCap Internet Solutions, an incubator based in Buenos Aires.

Acquisitions are a marriage of convenience that offers mutual benefits. "If you are late in the development of your internet strategy and you want to kick start it, then an acquisition is a way to do that," explains Bruce Cataa, an investor at Citicorp Venture Capital Latin America.

Banco Santander, the Spanish bank, paid $525m cash in April for a 75 per cent stake in Patagon, a financial supermarket founded in Argentina. "The price ticket may have seemed large, but Santander bought that business for long term strategic reasons, not based on Patagon's current revenues," says Mr Bailey. Santander plans a stock market flotation for Patagon next year.

BBVA, the Spanish rival of Banco Santander, also paid a high price for its sluggish internet strategy in March when it forked out $675m for a majority stake in First-e, the European internet bank. BBVA merged its existing internet operations to create UnoFirst.

The company plans to launch in Latin America in the first quarter of next year. "It's like the MIT lab of BBVA in a way," says Albert Patino, senior vice president at UnoFirst. "They want to explore new ways of doing banking. It keeps them in front of the wave."

The aggressive strategy of Spanish banks has not gone unchallenged by Uncle Sam. Citibank, the US financial services company, moved to shore up its internet strategy in Latin America by signing a five-year strategic partnership with Zonafinanciera in September. Will Landers, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, says it makes sense for Citibank to take the next step and acquire Zonafinanciera outright. "It would give Citibank an instant platform online in countries across Latin America."

Citigroup led the last round of funding for Zonafinanciera and raised $30m. The company was valued at a fraction of the price paid for companies like Patagon, according to Eric Daniels, chief executive of Zonafinanciera. "We closed that round right in the teeth of the market downturn," he said.

"Citi want to be a much larger player in the internet space than they are today," said Mr Daniels, who spent most of his career at Citigroup before he took the helm at Zonafinanciera after its founders stepped down. "Citi will almost undoubtedly commit to a global internet strategy that will include Latin America. I would hope they think of Zonafinanciera as they look to expand."

Mr Balzano thinks small-and medium-sized banks in Colombia might provide the solution to his revenue woes. "Many of the smaller banks have not gone beyond offering customer services online," he says. "Maybe we can work with them to offer transactions and content." LatinStocks is also trying to reposition itself as an applications service provider for smaller institutions while it looks for a buyer.

Mr Eisner hopes the expertise and knowhow of his team can be used to enable them to move online. Both agree financial supermarkets must move away from competing for customers to partnering with banks that have a proven revenue model and solid customer base.