Vivo advances in its operations as a fintech, announces new credit services

By Telefônica Brasil (Vivo)

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Portuguese.

São Paulo, July 2024 – Vivo advances in its operations as a fintech and announces two new credit products: PIX installment and anticipation of the FGTS anniversary withdrawal, which contribute to expanding the credit supply and financial inclusion of Brazilians. The strategy is part of the company's business positioning, which wants to be recognized as a technology company that operates beyond connectivity.

“Within this vision, the financial services area was one of the first in which we began to operate and, therefore, it is one of the most mature both from the point of view of business and service evolution, which makes us confident to move forward with new offers in the credit area”, says Leandro Coelho, director of Vivo Fintech.

The two new features announced today join the personal loan service that has been operating since 2020 and allows the contracting of R$500 to R$50 thousand, in addition to being an alternative to financing smartphones and other devices purchased in company stores. With an increasing performance, Vivo's personal loans totaled R$420 million in the portfolio in the 1st quarter of 2024, almost double compared to the same period of the previous year. The service records more than 55 thousand credit agreements and revenue exceeding R$100 million in 2023.

Considering the 12 months between March 2024 and March 2023, Vivo's revenues from financial services grew 29.4%, totaling R$425 million. In addition to personal loans, Vivo's fintech portfolio includes insurance - for cell phones and other devices, such as tablets and notebooks - the company registers around 500,000 insured smartphones. There is also the “planned purchase”, a smartphone consortium launched in partnership with the startup Klubi, which allows the purchase of a device in up to 36 fixed installments, in a planned manner.

Vivo Pay: unique brand

The two new credit services are pillars of Vivo's strategy for this vertical in 2024. The company requested a license from the Central Bank of Brazil to act as a Direct Credit Society (SCD), aiming to have more flexibility to offer new services and reduce costs. Vivo currently adopts the bank as a service model, with partners that provide complete solutions so that the brand can operate in the fintech segment. The idea is that the two models coexist.

Vivo's plans to advance in the fintech market also include bringing together its services under the Vivo Pay brand - the company's financial solutions platform - and unifying access to services through the Vivo app, which is already underway. The objective is to take advantage of the potential of the application, which has over 22 million unique users and is the main channel for customer interaction with the company.

The first service to be created in this way is the Pix installment, presented on the Vivo app for eligible customers. This is a payment method through which it is possible to divide purchases made with pix over up to 12 months, therefore, it is an alternative for those who do not have a credit card, do not want to compromise their limit or need credit to purchase in establishments. or service providers that do not offer installments. The customer pays the loan installments in an exclusive invoice generated in the Vivo app.

The anticipation of the FGTS anniversary withdrawal is a modality widely tested in the market and which Vivo is also starting to offer to eligible customers. It is a loan that uses the resources from the anniversary withdrawal from the Severance Indemnity Fund in active or inactive accounts with a positive balance. In the case of Vivo, it is possible to withdraw from R$500 and advance the amount of up to 10 years of the available balance. All Vivo Pay products are available on the website: www.vivopay.com.br/fgts and also on the Vivo Pay tab, in the Vivo app.