It’s fascinating to read the news these days. As someone who has been in the payment industry for nearly a decade, I’ve noticed a marked shift in how companies are marketing their services lately. Though I came into this field a bit late—missing the early 2000s transformation when Cielo was still called Visanet Brasil—I had a front-row seat to the revolution in online shopping that followed.
Remember the days in Brazil when you’d step into a convenience store and see four or five different POS terminals cluttering the counter? Clerks would invariably ask which card scheme you were using before swiping your card. It’s almost comical now, thinking about the clutter and confusion!
Back then, there were perhaps five major acquirers for online and POS transactions in Brazil. The focus was nearly purely transactional: more swipes, more cards. Only about 30% of the population had bank accounts, and cash was king. I vividly recall my dad always carrying a wad of cash, as not everywhere accepted credit cards, and some even charged extra for using them.
Fast forward to today, and the landscape is utterly transformed. Now, we tap our cards on POS terminals without needing to enter a password. Better yet, we can leave our wallets at home and use e-wallets to consolidate our debit and credit cards. The focus has shifted dramatically from simply increasing card circulation to enhancing the customer experience with features like subscription management, recurring payments, one-click payment, open banking, and tap to pay.
Today, the mantra has evolved from “we need to give people credit cards” to “we need to make people spend more on their credit cards.” With over ten significant acquirers now in Brazil, the competition is fierce, not just among card schemes but also with instant payment methods like PIX. This rivalry benefits both merchants and customers, as customer retention becomes as crucial as adoption.
I’m genuinely curious and excited to see what the future holds for the payment industry. Being part of this evolving landscape and learning firsthand about the next innovations is exhilarating.
