Online banking is growing in Brazil as more customers open bank accounts online than in person

In Brazil last year, more bank accounts were opened through digital channels than at physical branches for the first time.

That’s according to an annual banking technology study released July 21 by the Brazilian Banking Federation and conducted by Deloitte. The researchers found that digital bank account openings reached 10.8 million last year, up 66% from the previous year. For the first time, electronic account openings were higher than in physical channels, which totaled 9.9 million, a 16% increase from 2020.

In addition, seven out of 10 banking transactions carried out in Brazil in 2021, out of a total of 119.5 billion transactions, were carried out on smartphones or on the web, the study notes. Smartphone transactions increased by 28% and totaled 67.1 billion, or 56% of all transactions made last year. Internet banking transactions increased by 6%.

Brazil is among countries considered to be early adopters of technology in the financial sector, according to a separate study on consumer attitudes towards banking innovation released last year by Accenture.

The global survey found that Brazilian consumers are more open to new ways of managing their money and are defined as “tech savvy risk takers”. About 7% of respondents in Japan said they use new digital services, compared to 43% of Brazilian consumers who said they do. Brazil is only surpassed in its openness by Mexico, where 57% of respondents say they are using financial services innovations, and China, where 61% have adopted the new ones.

According to the Deloitte study, financial transactions via smartphones increased by 75% last year, from 9.3 billion transactions to 16.3 billion operations. Also according to the Febraban study, transactions related to payments in Brazil increased by 72% in mobile banking.

“There has been an unequivocal change in the behavior of consumers in the activities of various sectors of the economy, which no longer go to the bank branch, since they are able to carry out almost all transactions electronically “, said the president of the Febraban, Isaac. Sidney.

Brazilian consumers accessed banking apps 40 times per month on average last year, almost double the 24 times recorded in 2020. On the other hand, the average total logins among heavy users (who make more than 80 % of their financial and non-financial activity by smartphone over a 3-month period) reached 59 times per month last year, compared to 57 in 2020.