This overview was first published in ‘eCommerce Insights and Trends Snapshot: Brazil’, an eBook produced in association with our partner ACI Worldwide – and based on data from ACI Worldwide. Download your free copy of the eBook below to gain access to a comprehensive analysis of the insights that matter most when measuring the size and type of opportunities in the ecommerce market in Brazil.
One of the most relevant developments in Brazil’s payments landscape is represented by the introduction of Pix, a multi-purpose open instant-payment scheme developed by the Central Bank of Brazil with the aim of making banking and consumer interactions more inclusive.
Pix became fully operational on 16 November 2020, and it was adopted quickly and massively by both users, for whom it is free of charge, and merchants. Today, Pix is already among the top 3 preferred payment options in Brazil – ahead of e-wallets, debit cards, and bank transfers.
Due to the increasing popularity of Pix, among other factors, in 2021, Brazil recorded 8.7 billion real-time transactions, and the widespread adoption of this payment method led to estimated cost savings of USD 5.7 billion for businesses and consumers. Moreover, with the upcoming functionalities of Pix – such as international or recurring payments – we expect to see further growth and an increase in ATV.
The Brazilian market saw a decrease in the volume of transactions for credit and debit cards. However, as shoppers tend to reduce their purchase frequency and increase their basket sizes, this has resulted in an increased ATV by 57% (USD 127). Although the rise of ATV could be seen as a result of inflated prices, this could also be explained by shoppers increasing their discretionary spending over mandatory spending.
On the other hand, payment methods such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and e-wallets have risen in popularity in the Brazilian market. One of the reasons behind the increased use of e-wallets is Brazilians’ concern over fraud targeting credit and debit cards – which led them to opt for a payment method that provides only tokenized details of their financial identity.
Credit/charge cards: 37.6%
Debit cards: 19.2%
Bank transfers/A2A: 17.6%
E-wallets: 9.8%
BNPL/invoice payments: 5.1%
Cash/cheque: 8.7%
Prepaid: 1.1%
Other (Masterpass, Visa checkout, other): 0.9%