Tech

Tech roundup: Open finance gets to WhatsApp

Of the 24 million customers that interact digitally with Banco do Brasil, 10 million do so every single day, showing the need for more digital channels

open finance whatsapp
Photo: Paymaster/Shutterstock

Welcome to our Tech roundup, with the main topics on technology and innovation in Brazil. In this issue: WhatsApp becomes a key tool for Brazil’s big banks.

What open finance opt-in via WhatsApp tells us about digital banking

State-controlled Banco do Brasil (BB), the country’s third-largest bank, now allows customers access to open finance – that is, to share their financial history with the institution to get better offers via WhatsApp. 

Why it matters. BB becomes the first bank in the world to enable such a process through the messaging app, which is revealing about the path that digital banking is taking in Latin America’s largest economy.

Innovation. By typing a phrase or just the term “open finance” when chatting with BB’s WhatsApp assistant, customers can proceed with the entire data-sharing process without any human interaction on the bank’s part.

State of play. Open finance is a regulatory framework designed to gradually enable smart sharing of information between traditional banks, digital banks, and fintech companies aiming at customer empowerment. In Brazil, it was developed under the aegis of the Central Bank and started to be implemented in early 2021, in several phases.

Yes, but … A year and a half later, only 5 million customers have joined open finance from the more than 182 million Brazilians holding some type of relationship with a banking institution . 

  • Most tools that open banking promises are not yet...

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