Business

Card usage to grow up to 20% this year in Brazil, says Abecs

Abecs, the association of credit card and service companies in Brazil, projects the volume of purchases paid with credit, debit and prepaid cards to exceed BRL 2.3 trillion in 2021

Reuters and LABS

11.Jan.2021 15:40 BRT
UPDATED 15:41 BRT

Abecs expects the usage of credit cards to increase from 19% to 21%;
For debit cards, the projected growth is 13% and 15%;
The entity also expects an expansion of 90% to 110% of prepaid.

The volume of purchases paid with credit, debit and prepaid cards in Brazil is likely to exceed BRL 2.3 trillion in 2021, predicted on Monday the entity representing the sector, Abecs, an increase of 18% to 20% over last year’s volume.

Abecs expects the usage of credit cards to increase from 19% to 21%, while for debit cards the projected growth is 13% and 15%. The entity also expects an expansion of 90% to 110% of prepaid.

The forecast comes in the wake of PIX, an instant payment system launched in November by the Central Bank and which is seen by professionals in the banking sector as a possible rival to the card market, since it is free, automatic and works 24/7.

For 2020, despite the economic impacts of the pandemic, Abecs estimates that the card sector’s growth was around 8% over 2019, for a total of BRL 2 trillion. As for 2020’s Q4 alone, the association projects a 14.8% growth, or revenues of BRL 607.3 billion in this period, which includes important business dates, such as Black Friday and Christmas shopping.