Brazil sprints ahead in mobile payments innovation
Brazil will see its leadership in technological innovation for mobile payments strenghtened as a predicted increase in smartphone adoption is set to create more opportunities in the sector, a study says.
Home to a burgeoning financial services technology industry, Brazil is the most advanced in the Latin America and the Caribbean when it comes to mobile payments, according to the "The state of innovation in Latin America" report published by the Visa Innovation Center.
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The future for mobile payments is promising, the study adds, as the number of smartphone users in Brazil will increase by 30 percent, leading to a 7.2 percent increase in mobile transactions.
Brazil represents 3 percent of the m-commerce market and that is set to increase significantly, according to Visa. Half of all e-commerce transactions in Latin America some from Brazil and consumers in the region who use apps for purchases spend 48 times more than the international average.
"In comparison to other markets in the region, Brazilian firms are leaders in high-tech innovation. Their businesses have incorporated advanced technologies like machine learning, AI and big data into their DNA at a much faster rate than in neighboring countries," the study points out.
Brazilian fintechs and financial institutions are also beginning to adopt blockchain, something that is "nearly unknown" elsewhere in Latin America, the research adds.
The country's banks and retailers are making progress when it comes to technologies relevant for the sector such as biometrics with an emphasis on facial recognition, the report notes, as well as tokenization, chatbots and other advanced tools.
"For all these reasons, Brazil is positioned to continue to lead the region in innovation, forging a path for the rest of Latin America to follow."
The country is also the fourth largest consumer of apps in the world: Brazilian users accessing about 10 everyday and mostly for shopping, according to separate research by Qualibest, which also indicates that 81 percent of Internet users in Brazil have ordered or contracted some a product or services via apps.