Embedded finance and retail fintech: keeping an eye on trends, industry embarks on financial services and leaves banks behind

The fintech ecosystem is heated in Brazil. According to the study “Fintech in Latin America and the Caribbean 24% of the total.In addition, 21% of them are from the regional financing inclusion” published in June this year by the IDB, Brazil is the country that most gathers such platforms in Latin America, with 24% of the total.In addition, 21% of them are from the payments vertical; 19% of loans; and 13% of financial management. Still, the research “Fintech Dive”3 indicates that the final market, only 203 indicates that they are from the final, which are from the P203, which are from the consumer, which are from the focus on the P2023, which are from the final market, which are from the P203, which are from the final.3.3.

Aware of this trend, some companies have already offered payment solutions to customers, mixing technology with financial services: Vivo, through Vivo Pay, received recent authorization from the Central Bank to act as a credit fintech . PREVIOUSLY the service was called Vivo Money and covered the loan service; natura gains market with Emana Pay, used to meet the needs of financial solutions and payment of the group consultants.

In this scenario where several companies and retail have swallowed banks, many sectors can offer financial solutions directly to customers, facilitating transactions and improving the buying journey with more customization, in a movement called Embedded finance, when non-financial companies originally start to offer services of the type. An estimate by Deloitte, a consulting, auditing and management company, showed that by 2026 embedded services should generate revenue of R$24 billion, especially for the retail, consumer goods and other services sectors, which move more than 35% of GDP. With more and more companies and retail turning into fintechs in this boom of opportunities, payment solution platforms can act as intermediaries between company and customer by offering a complete structure for the payment service Embedded finance.

This is the case of RPE & Retail Payment Ecosystem, which has worked to consolidate financial services embedded in other segments outside traditional retail, covering several customers who would like to diversify their own revenue. Today, some of the customers who already enjoy the RPE service Retail Payment Ecosystem are the Pereira Group, retailer operating in five states and the Federal District; MartMinas, wholesale network; Condor, supermarket chain; Tenda Wholesale, retail segment Cassol; Torra stores, fashion retailer; and Avenida.

Pedro Albuquerque, co-founder and director of New Business at RPE, comments that, in general, some companies have no idea that they can also enjoy this market. “There is a difference between embed finance in companies that are retail and in companies of other segments, but that are also retailers. It is easier for me to tell a supermarket that it can offer a card to its customer than to a cosmetics store, but the two can and benefit from this”, analyzes. According to him, what is missing for other sectors is a little more maturity to understand the benefits of starting in the Embedded finance, know what investment is needed and how much the customer will actually be more faithful from the hiring of an embedded financial service.

“Here in RPE, we focus on payment solutions for retailers of the most varied segments. If the retailer has an e-commerce, he can use our tool to know the customer better. With it, it is possible to offer a more digitalized purchase journey. Whether he is e-commerce or not, the retailer can also offer pre-approved credit for a specific customer profile, which he identifies via his own CRM tools along with the RPE payment journey tools. For example, if the consumer clicks on a blue color model, which costs a specific price, he will have triggered the retail product interest when he enters it. 

The expert cites the credit card as another important tool for customer loyalty, which helps to understand the purchase behavior of the customer and deliver the best possible solution for what he needs. “A purchase with the card is more information that the retailer can use to know how he can give a more targeted offer to what the consumer needs, using a data intelligence behind. If the retailer does not have the card itself, he does not have the information, then having his own financial service ensures more autonomy and is another way to give profitability to the business”, reiterates the expert, ensuring that offering own financial services is a scalable opportunity.

“The first step that the retailer can take is to understand the business model and offer a card of its own. From this, later, it can offer a journey without a physical card, transacting with biometrics, for example, and bringing more security and digitization to the” process, adds Pedro. 

“RPE solutions are hosted on servers cloud, ensuring scalability and security on commemorative dates, such as Black Friday and Christmas, when the volume of transactions grows exponentially and retail can not lose performance and quality, especially in the shopping and payment journeys, so that the retailer can continue serving customers within the expected”, concludes.