Credit card industry competition charges ahead

Overview

Brazil’s credit card industry will enter a new phase of competition with the end of the exclusivity agreement between local merchant acquirer Cielo and Visa International on 30 June. In the near term the end of the merchant acquirer duopoly will primarily create competition between the two incumbents Cielo and Redecard, which today command a market share of over 90 per cent of all active credit and debit lines. Over the medium term new entrants will erode the incumbents’ market share,...