The entry into operation of the immediate Payment System BRE-B, promoted by the Bank of the Republic for three yearscould transform the Colombian payment of means of payment at the root.
Brazil’s experience with PX is the best example: five years after its launch, debit card transactions in that country represent less than 5% of what they were before implementation.
“PX practically eliminated the debit card. He did it because the processing rails of these cards are more expensive”, Explained Camilo Zea, CEO of Pronus, specializing in financial and regulatory structuring of financial institutions.
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Zea cited a recent study by Fitch Ratings, which warns of the impact of the new Pix parcel product, a functionality that allows installments and grants credits within the same network of instant payments.
According to The qualifier, this innovation “could intensify competition with credit cards, revolutionize the retail economy and banking and promoting Fintech innovation in a context of greater digitalization of payments ”.
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The Fitch report indicates that the degree of disruption will depend on the ability of banks, fintechs and card networks to adapt, invest in technology and take advantage of data in credit management.
In Colombia, Zea recalls, there is already a history of voltage compared to the costs of acquiring credit cards. “Until relatively recently, the discussions between large shops and franchises were on the financial superintendence agenda”He said.
With Bre-B, that will be a thing of the past, according to Zea. “This system will dramatically drop the use of debit cards, as happened in Brazil,” he said.
Brazil case: lessons for Colombia
PX has been integrated massively in the Brazilian financial ecosystem: more than 90% of the banking population uses it, and its new fees in installments is emerging as the most important improvement since its launch in 2020.
Unlike cards, merchants receive the total amount of the transaction immediately, which eliminates credit risk and reduces cash flow problems. This represents an advantage over traditional sales with credit card, which usually delay full payment and involve high commissions.
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According to Fitch, PX installments will compete directly with credit cards, and have already motivated banks and Fintechs to design hybrid solutions. For consumers, it means dividing their purchases into monthly installments from the same platform, Similar to the “Buy now, pay later” schemes (BNPL) in the United States.
Although installments are not new in Brazil – there have been under modalities such as “creding” or postfeeded checks for decades –digitalization through Pix changes the rules of the game. Fitch estimates that this product could reduce the market share of credit cards, especially in interest -free fees transactions, which in 2024 represented 13% of card operations, but about half of its total value.
Credit cards in Colombia
For Camilo Zea, CEO of Prionus, what is happening in Brazil is a clear sign of what comes for Colombia.
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“With the arrival of automatic pix, which allows you to program recurring payments directly from the client’s account, A key space is being disputed to credit cards, especially in the smaller quota segments. That same dynamic we will see with BRE-B in Colombia”, Warned the specialist.
Holman Rodríguez
Portfolio
