Brazil Country Report
- Published Date: February 2021
An expert overview of the cards, payments and consumer banking market in Brazil, with in-depth commentary backed by substantial key market data.
Electronic payments, after a false start in the form of mobile money, have come a long way with total value on course to match that of cash in 2021. The key factor is smartphone penetration, with three-quarters of e-commerce transactions now carried out on the devices. On the cards front, debit-based purchases will exceed 45 percent of total card purchases in 2021, with contactless gaining ground after an initial period of low take-up. Domestic scheme Elo is now the largest debit card network. The authorities have been very active – breaking down the acquiring duopoly over the course of a decade and mandating Open Banking processes – while the new instant payments platform, Pix, has caught the popular imagination.
What you will learn from this Brazil cards market report:
- How the pandemic affected the payments environment
- The role played by the boleto
- Why correspondents remain vital
- Which drivers matter in the cards market
- How acquiring stands after market reforms
BRAZIL CARDS & PAYMENTS REPORT | KEY FACTS
- Brazil's payments market is evolving rapidly with the emergence of digital banks, a new instant payments platform and burgeoning competition in the acquiring sector.
- In October 2020, the central bank launched a new instant payments platform: Pix allows consumers and companies to transfer money via smartphones, online banking and ATMs.
- Through new technologies, attractive products, lower fees and efficient services, digital banks are increasing their number of customers and gaining market acceptance.
- The leading digital bank is Nubank, which has already become the third-largest credit card issuer by number of cards
- With the average cardholder having 3.6 cards and making 157 transactions in 2020, Brazil has a mature and competitive credit cards market. Just over one-third of adults have a credit card.
- Credit cards are primarily used as a purchasing tool, with revolving credit suppressed by exorbitant interest rates and strict regulation.
- Elo, the domestic cards scheme, has emerged as a strong competitor to Visa and Mastercard over the last decade.
- Eighty-five percent of POS terminals and 17 percent of payment cards are now contactless-enabled.
- Competition has increased in merchant acquiring, historically dominated by Cielo and Rede. Between 2017 and 2020, the pair lost one-quarter of acquired card transactions market share to Getnet, Pagseguro, Stone, Adiq and Vero.
Brazil Payments Research | Report Contents
Key Topics
Demographics and the economy
Payments environment
Cards market
Mobile payments
Profit pool
The networks
Key retail banks and issuers
Acquiring and processing
Online acquiring
Regulatory and other cards market information
Appendices: Brazil Card Payments Data
Appendix I: Demographics and the economy
- Demographic and economic indicators
- Ownership of key consumer devices
- Internet usage by population
Appendix II: Payments environment
- Access points
- Account penetration
- Consumer payment trends
- B2C e-commerce payment methods
Appendix III: Brazil Cards market
- Total cards payment metrics
- Contactless cards metrics
- Credit card data numbers
- Total credit cards metrics
- Credit cards profitability indicators
- Debit cards numbers
- Debit cards metrics
Appendix IV: Profit pool
- Profit pool in Brazil
Appendix V: The card networks
- Networks' credit card market shares
- Networks' credit card numbers
- Networks' credit card billed volume
- Networks' number of credit card transactions
- Networks' average credit card transaction value
- Credit card interchange fees by network
- Networks' debit card market shares
- Networks' debit card numbers
- Networks' debit card billed volume
- Networks' number of debit card transactions
- Networks' average debit card transaction value
- Debit card interchange fees by network
Appendix VI: Key retail banks and issuers
- Key credit card issuers market shares by credit card numbers
- Key issuers market shares in credit card outstandings
- Key debit card issuers market shares by debit card numbers
Appendix VII: Acquiring and processing
- Merchant acquirer credit card market share
- Credit card merchant service charges
- Merchant acquirer debit card market share
- Debit card merchant service charges
- Credit card issuer/issuing processor relationships
- Credit card acquirer/acquiring processor relationships
- Credit card issuing processor market shares by card numbers
- Credit card acquiring processor market shares by the number of POS transactions
Appendix VIII: Online acquiring
- Online merchant acquirer market share
Brazil Country Report | Selected Extracts
Demographics and Economy:
According to official statistics, the percentage of the Brazilian population living in urban areas went from 81% in 2000 to 86% in 2020, creating a substantial housing demand.
Payments Environment:
Technology has transformed the Brazilian market, especially in the retail payments environment. For example, VFR estimates that electronic payments value will match cash transactions value in 2021.
Cards market:
According to the central bank, there are almost 584 million payment cards in issue at the end of 2020, of which 218 million are credit cards and 366 million debit cards.
Mobile Payments:
Mobile banking is increasingly becoming a key channel for contracting financial products and making transactions, with a sharp growth in accounts and insurance products.
Profit Pool:
Despite high interest rates that discourage borrowing via card, Brazil remains a very profitable market with room for further development. Profit before tax was estimated to be around $6.6 billion for 2020.
Card Networks:
As domestic scheme Elo gains momentum, issuing new cards and migrating a portion of the sizeable private-label store cards market, the Brazilian credit cards landscape is likely to continue changing ... As of 2020, Elo was the largest debit card network in terms of cards in issue and the second-largest in billed volume.
Key Retail Banks and Issuers:
Over the past five years, digital bank Nubank's sustained growth has changed the credit card market landscape by becoming the third-largest issuer ... other digital banks in the market are: Banco Pan, C6 Bank, Banco Inter, Agibank, Next and Banco Original.
Acquiring and Processing:
The combined market share held by € Cielo and Rede has decreased by a significant margin over the last decade; however, the pair continue to lead this merchant-acquiring market with a combined 60% market share of total acquired billed volume.
Online Acquiring:
Total card not present (CNP) billed volume in 2020 reached an estimated $87.39 billion, with credit card billed volume accounting for 88% of the total ... The adoption rate of information technology by Brazilian consumers has been a key driver for this extraordinary growth.
Regulatory and Markets Information:
Banks operating in Brazil belong to an industry group, the Federacao Brasileira de Bancos (Febraban). Uniting public, privately owned and foreign-owned financial institutions, Febraban lobbies the government, works with regulators on current issues, sets industry standards and provides sectoral information.
Brazil Country Report | Entities referenced
Abecs
Adiq
Advent International
Aeon Bank
Afinz
Agibank
Alelo
Ali Express
Amazon
American Airlines
American Express
Android Pay
Angeloni
Apple Pay
Atacadao
Atacadao
Aura
Azul
Bacen
Balaroti
Banco BCV
Banco BMG
Banco Carrefour
Banco Central do Brasil
Banco CSF
Banco del Buen Ayre
Banco do Brasil
Banco do Nordeste do Brasil
Banco Inter
Banco Itaú
Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social
Banco Next
Banco Nossa Caixa
Banco Original
Banco Pan
Banco Patagonia
Banco Postal
Banco Safra
Banco Schahin
Banco Votorantim
Banestes
Banggood.
BankBoston
Banpará e Banco Fibra
Banrisul
BGN Bank
BIG
BIG Bompreço
BNDES
BNP Paribas
Boa Vista Serviços
Boleto bancário
Bolsa familia
Bompreço
Bovespa
Bradesco
Bradesco.
Brasil Pré-Pagos
Braspag
Brastemp
C&A
C6 Bank
Cabal
CADE
Caixa
Caixa Econômica Federal
Caixa Tem
Carrefour Soluções Financeiras
Casas Bahia
CBSS
Certegy
Cetelem
Check Forte Processamento de Dados
Cielo
Citi
Citibank
Claro
CMN
CNDL/SPC
Comiss£o de Valores Mobiliários
Companhia Brasileira de Soluções e Serviços
Condor
Conductor
ConectCar
Confederaçao Nacional de Dirigentes Lojistas
Conselho Monetário Nacional
Corpbanca
Credicard
CSU CardSystem
CVM
Decolar
Diners Club
Discover
Discover Financial Services
DM Card
Ebanx
eBay
Edenred
EDS
Elavon
Elopar
Extra
Febraban
Federaçao Brasileira de Bancos
Fiat
Fidelity
Fidelity National Information Services
Fidelity National Systems
Fidelity Processadora e Servicios
Financeira Cifra
First Data
FIS
Fiserv
GE Money
Gearbest
Gestora de Inteligência de Créditos
Giassi
Good Card
Google
Google Pay
Hiper
Hipercard
HSBC
IMF
Itaú Corpbanca
Itaú Unibanco
Itaúcard
iZettle
Japan Post Bank
JCB
Kantar
LATAM Airlines Brasil
Livraria Saraiva
Lojas Americanas
Lojas Marisa
M4U
Magazine Luiza
Makro
Mastercard
maxiPago!
Mercantil do Brasil
Merchant e-Solutions
MeS
Minha Casa Minha Vida
Mitsubishi
Neon Pagamentos
netPDV
Next
Nubank
Oi
Olé Consignado
Orbitall
PagSeguro
Pao de Açúcar
PAT
PayPal
Pernambucanas
Petrobras
Pix
Policard
Ponto Frio
Port Seguro
Porto Seguro
Programa de Alimentaçao do Trabalhador
Quod
Redecard
Renner
Riachuelo
Samsung Pay
Santander
Scotiabank
Sem Parar
Serasa Experian
Seven Bank
Sicredi
Sistema de Pagamentos Brasileiro
Sodexo
Software Express
Sorocred
SPB
SPTrans
Stelo
Stone
Stone Pagamentos
Submarino
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Super
Superdigital
TAM
TecBan
TIM
Tribanco
Trigg
TSYS
Unibanco
UnionPay
Vero
Verocheque
Visa
VisaNet
Vivo
Volkswagen
Walmart
WhatsApp
WhatsApp Pay
Wish
Worldpay
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