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Pretty cool - but why is it that so many people in LATAM don't have credit cards? Does the existence of neobanks (I'm thinking Revolut, N26, etc.) change much i

Pretty cool - but why is it that so many people in LATAM don't have credit cards? Does the existence of neobanks (I'm thinking Revolut, N26, etc.) change much in your thinking about the market?

mmacvicarprett 6y ago
It should, in brasil there are around a dozen of them!
- rogereur 6y ago
  There are some. Nubank just got here. Most of neobanks are doing debit or prepaid cards at this points. Rappi also just launched their credit card
rogereur 6y ago
There's a problem of access to credit, but also distrust for financial institutions. When we talk to users many don't even know that neobanks exist yet. A lot of users also don't like or don't understand credit cards because they are complex and they feel more in control with a time-defined installments program where everything is simple and clear.
whoisjuan 6y ago
Lack of financial literacy and no acquisitive power + informal economy. Banks in Latam invest a lot in Credit Card penetration but they only can offer credit to people who are already embeded into the financial system through formalized payroll. Many people in Latam aren't part of a payroll and make their living from the informal economy. Even if those people have the acquisitive power, Banks will never extend them a credit line because they don't have anything to demonstate a steady income besides their word.
- atlasunshrugged 6y ago
  Got it, that's interesting - also interesting to see Rappi, which definitely does have more data (for its users at least) on spending habits and earning, even in the informal economy launching a card. I wonder if there'll be more of that for companies like Uber/Taxify that specialize in informal labor but serve as a jobs market issuing their own local credit lines in partnership with financial institutions
  - rogereur 6y ago
    Theres a company called Heru. They do all kinds of services for gig workers. It is definitely an interesting data-set to underwrite, you can connect to the apps APIs and pull a lot of data of these people and potentially create better financial products for them

Pretty cool - but why is it that so many people in LATAM don't have credit cards? Does the existence of neobanks (I'm thinking Revolut, N26, etc.) change much in your thinking about the market?

mmacvicarprett 6y ago

It should, in brasil there are around a dozen of them!

rogereur 6y ago
There are some. Nubank just got here. Most of neobanks are doing debit or prepaid cards at this points. Rappi also just launched their credit card

rogereur 6y ago

There's a problem of access to credit, but also distrust for financial institutions. When we talk to users many don't even know that neobanks exist yet. A lot of users also don't like or don't understand credit cards because they are complex and they feel more in control with a time-defined installments program where everything is simple and clear.

whoisjuan 6y ago

Lack of financial literacy and no acquisitive power + informal economy. Banks in Latam invest a lot in Credit Card penetration but they only can offer credit to people who are already embeded into the financial system through formalized payroll. Many people in Latam aren't part of a payroll and make their living from the informal economy. Even if those people have the acquisitive power, Banks will never extend them a credit line because they don't have anything to demonstate a steady income besides their word.

atlasunshrugged 6y ago
Got it, that's interesting - also interesting to see Rappi, which definitely does have more data (for its users at least) on spending habits and earning, even in the informal economy launching a card. I wonder if there'll be more of that for companies like Uber/Taxify that specialize in informal labor but serve as a jobs market issuing their own local credit lines in partnership with financial institutions
- rogereur 6y ago
  Theres a company called Heru. They do all kinds of services for gig workers. It is definitely an interesting data-set to underwrite, you can connect to the apps APIs and pull a lot of data of these people and potentially create better financial products for them