Belvo

Belvo to offer payment initiation services in Brazil

LatAm fintech Belvo launched an Open Finance payment initiation solution in Brazil seven months after gaining approval from the Brazilian Central Bank. 

According to the company, the new product will function as a gate for users to initiate payments directly inside third-party apps and through the popular payments system Pix without the need to access specific bank apps to complete the transaction.  

Belvo claims that, in this process, fewer steps for the user, bank authentication, and automatic redirects can ensure higher conversion, an optimized customer experience, and reduced opportunities for fraud.

Taking Brazil’s Pix to another level with Open Finance

“We are very excited to launch our payments solution in Brazil and offer our customers a product that allows them to leverage the potential of Pix in terms of conversion and convenience,” said Albert Morales, Belvo’s General Manager in Brazil. 

Albert Morales, Belvo's General Manager in Brazil.
Albert Morales, Belvo’s General Manager in Brazil.

“In addition to these benefits, the Open Finance payment solution has an additional layer of security due to the A2A model and automatic redirects, all in an optimized experience for both recipient and payer, and with fewer operating costs involved,” explains the executive in a statement.

In February this year, the LatAm company announced the launch of an Open Finance-powered product in Colombia. Belvo’s solution was meant to expand the access of small and medium businesses in the South American country to the so-called “Pagos Seguros en Línea” (PSE), a bank-to-bank payment method that has grown popular for Colombian entrepreneurs.

Growing demand in LatAm

As the demand for Open Finance solutions grew in LatAm for the last couple of years, Belvo has tried to step in as one of the most prominent players in the sector. In June of 2022, the fintech founded in 2019 was licensed by the Mexican government to offer payment services nationwide and now can provide similar services as in Brazil.

Brazil has been on the front line of these services in  LatAm. The list of companies authorized by the Central Bank to work as payment initiators have been growing since 2022, with the participation of not only fintechs as Belvo and Celcoin but also significant, traditional Brazilian banks such as Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú, and BTG.

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Due to this Open Finance boom, the competition in this sector isn’t getting any easier for Belvo in Brazil. For example, the banking startup Quanto started operating with payment initiation last year, while other fintechs, such as Klavi, are increasingly investing in this business approach.

  • Jorge C. Carrasco

    Jorge C. Carrasco is a Contributing Reporter at Fintech Nexus. He reports on fintech, economy, banking, startups, and technology, covering the most impactful stories from a Latin American perspective.

    He has contributed to several international publications, such as Foreign Policy, The Spectator Australia, Estadão, Época, Washington Examiner, and Quillette. Originally from Havana, Cuba, he is now based in Brazil.