Purchases made with credit, debit and prepaid cards grew 20% in the third quarter, totaling R$ 827 billion in the period, according to data released this Thursday (10) by the Brazilian Association of Credit Card Companies and Services (Abecs).
According to data from the entity, from the beginning of the year to September, Brazilians made R$ 2.42 trillion in payments, which represents a growth of 30% compared to the same period in 2021.
In the comparison between the modalities, the highlight was the use of credit cards, which grew 25.6%, registering R$ 527.6 billion in payments in the third quarter. The second largest volume in the period was the debit card, which handled R$ 240.5 billion and grew 1.2%. The prepaid card totaled R$ 59 billion, with growth of 84.7%.
“One of the points that lead to the increase in the use of credit cards is that many consumers are in the banking process, having access to credit, with advantages such as interest-free installments and benefits, such as cash back, insurance, loyalty programs, which makes people end up prioritizing the credit card”, explained the president of Abecs, Rogério Panca.
The Abecs projection for this year is a turnover of R$ 3.2 trillion. “The commercial dates of the fourth quarter such as Children’s Day, Black Friday and Christmas help to move the volumes transacted with cards”, said the executive.
Number of transactions
In terms of number of transactions, Brazilians recorded an average of 110 million card payments per day during the third quarter. In all, there were 10 billion transactions, which represented a growth of 21% compared to the same period last year.
The credit card was the most used modality, with 4.6 billion, up 19.5%, followed by the debit card, with 3.8 billion, up 7.4%, and by the prepaid card, with 1.5 billion, up 91.8%.
From January to September, there were 28.6 billion payments with credit, debit and prepaid cards, which represents a growth of 31.3% compared to the same period last year.
use abroad
In the months of July, August and September, spending by Brazilians abroad continued to grow significantly, with an increase of 120% compared to the third quarter of 2021, and moved US$ 2.5 billion (R$ 13.32 billion). billion).
The places where Brazilians made the most payments with cards were Europe, with BRL 6.1 billion (158%), and the United States, with BRL 5.2 billion (103%), which together accounted for 85% of all card spending abroad.
Next are the countries of the Americas, without considering the USA, with R$ 1.4 billion (96.7%), Asia, with R$ 461.4 million (46%), Oceania, with R$ 96.7 million (156%), and Africa, with R$ 60.5 million (85.3%).
Payment by approach
Payment by approximation, using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, is today the fastest growing innovation among payment methods, with an increase of 162% in the third quarter, moving BRL 150.6 billion, said the entity.
In the period, there were more than 3 billion payments by approximation. In September, almost 40% of all face-to-face card purchases were made via contact.
The most used in this function was the credit card, with R$83.5 billion (160.5%), followed by the debit card, with R$40.2 billion (138.2%), and the prepaid card. paid, with R$ 26.8 billion (214%).
Another highlight was the growth in the use of cards on the internet, in applications and other types of non-face-to-face purchases, which kept pace in the third quarter. This type of transaction moved R$ 175.8 billion in the period, up 20%, according to Abecs, a reflection of the change in consumption habits of Brazilians.
