Card payments in Brazil climb 20% to BRL 827 bi in Q3

Brazilians make some 110 mi transactions everyday

Published on 13/11/2022 - 14:13 By Ludmilla Souza - São Paulo

Purchases made with credit, debit, and prepaid cards in Brazil grew 20 percent and added up to BRL 827 billion in the third quarter, the Brazilian Association of Credit Cards and Services (ABECS) reported Thursday (Nov. 10).

From the beginning of the year until September, Brazilians are said to have made payments amounting to BRL 2.42 trillion—up 30 percent from the same time span in 2021.

Atop the list of methods stood credit cards, which climbed 25.6 percent, registering BRL 527.6 billion in payments in Q3. Second place went to debit cards, which stood at BRL 240.5 billion, up 1.2 percent. Prepaid cards totaled BRL 59 billion—a surge of 84.7 percent.

“Among the drivers increasing credit card use is the large number of consumers joining the banking system, gaining access to credit with advantages such as interest-free installments and benefits like cashback deals, insurance, and loyalty programs, which makes people prioritize credit cards,” ABECS head Rogério Panca noted.

The association’s forecast for the year is BRL 3.2 trillion. “The commercial dates in the fourth quarter—Children’s Day, Black Friday, Christmas—help boost the volumes transacted with cards,” the executive said.

The amount of transactions

In terms of quantity of transfers, Brazilians registered an average a daily 110 million card payments over the course of Q3. In all, operations numbered 10 billion—up 21 percent from the same period last year.

Credit cards were the preferred method, with 4.6 billion, up 19.5 percent, followed by debit cards, with 3.8 billion, up 7.4 percent, and by prepaid cards, with 1.5 billion, up 91.8 percent.

From January to September payments added up to 28.6 billion with credit, debit, and prepaid cards, a surge of 31.3 percent against the same time range last year.

Contactless

Today, contactless payment, using Near-Field Communication technology, is the fastest growing innovation among methods in Brazil, with a 162 surge increase in the third quarter and a total BRL 150.6 billion, the association stated. In the period, contactless transfers exceeded 3 billion.

The most widely used method under this feature was credit cards, with BRL 83.5 billion, followed by debit cards, with BRL 40.2 billion, and prepaid cards, with BRL 26.8 billion.

Also remarkable was the expansion in card use online, which maintained its pace in the third quarter. This type accounted for BRL 175.8 billion in the time span, a 20 percent leap from the previous quarter, and is believed to reflect a change in Brazilians’ consumption habits.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Fernando Fraga

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