Brazilians Flock to Fintechs, Boosting Accounts by 77%

Giovanna Bellotti Azevedo and Rachel Gamarski, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian fintechs saw the number of accounts from individuals soar 77% last year, according to Zetta — an association founded by giants Nu Holdings Ltd. and MercadoLibre Inc.

A Zetta survey of its members found a total of 251 million active individual accounts — more than Brazil’s population of around 220 million people. The surge comes as individuals open accounts with multiple fintechs to take advantage of different benefits amid a surge of new offerings, from early access to concert tickets to discounts and rebates.

“Brazilian consumers today have a menu of options, and that opens doors for competition,” Rafaela Nogueira, Zetta’s chief economist and a public policy manager at Nubank, said in an interview.

Brazil’s fintech market has undergone a shakeup as consumers fell behind on debt payments amid rising interest rates. The change in mood comes after years of investors pouring money into the region’s startups. Founded in 2021, Zetta has over 20 members, including lender Nubank, delivery app iFood and fintech arms of retailers MercadoLibre Inc. and Magazine Luiza SA.

Read more: Nubank’s 176% Surge Backs CEO Drive to Poach Clients From Rivals

While the numbers shown in Zetta’s survey signal healthy competition among fintechs, Nogueira says growth is expected to slow, which could speed up the process of deciding winners and losers.

“I wouldn’t bet in more prominent growth in the number of individual accounts going forward,” she said. “Now we’re going to see firms stealing clients from each other.”

--With assistance from Leda Alvim and Cristiane Lucchesi.