A recent research study by “Instituto Locomotiva” has shown that there are over 45 million unbanked people in Brazil, in other words, Brazilians who haven’t used their bank accounts for over six months, or that have opted to not have a bank account. This means that one in three Brazilians don’t have a bank account; and this group of people, according to the research, has a purchasing power of 800 billion REAIS per year, or in today’s currency, 195 billion USD.
Woman Power
Held in May of this year, including 2,150 Brazilians aged 16 and older from 71 cities across the country, the survey showed that unbanked people represent 29% of the adult population in Brazil. Six out of ten unbanked people are women, meaning that the female share represents 59% compared to 41% men.
Cash Money
In general, the unbanked population are found in the lower-middle class and the near-poor classes. Out of the total, 62% live in the countryside, and 39% in the northeast region. Even though the southeast part of Brazil is the most densely populated, it does not represent the biggest portion of the unbanked population.
Half of the unbanked population is aged between 16-34 years, and the average age is 37 years old; 75% of whom avoid any contact with the banking system.
Why does it matter?
Unbanked does not mean that they have no access to the internet, and cash transactions means either BOLETOS or pre-paid cards. In Brazil, a whopping 92% of the population have cell phones. In a sad comparison, there are more people with cell phones connected to the internet than people connected to the sewage system.
The lack of big retailers in the countryside forces 62% of its unbanked population to purchase goods and services that are not available in their cities online, and pay via BOLETO; and the numbers are big, 120 billion REAIS per year.
The advantages of BOLETOS for you as a merchant? No chargebacks, no discount rate, quicker settlement terms, and for some PSPs, 1-hour payment confirmation instead of “up to 48 hours”.
When selling in Brazil, BOLETO is a must have option. Some merchants have up to 80% of their revenue stream coming from BOLETOS. If for any reason your PSP can’t offer this option, you’re missing 30% of the market from the get-go.
Source: Instituto Locomotiva
