Founder of the company, Felipe Felix says that 7 in 10 Brazilians do not describe their relationship with money in a positive way
In Brazil, there are 45 million unbanked people, that is, people who do not have a bank account or access to financial services. But this public moves
around R$800 billion annually on the market.
The Financial Dysmorphia survey, carried out by will Bank, a fintech founded six years ago by naval engineer Felipe Felix, shows that 7 in 10 Brazilians do not describe their relationship with money in a positive way.
The name of the study alludes to body dysmorphia, an image dysfunction disorder in which the person cannot see themselves as they are.
Financial Dysmorphia
The name of the study alludes to body dysmorphia, an image dysfunction disorder in which the person cannot see themselves as they are. In relation to finance, the term refers to the difficulty of seeing and relating to money in a healthy way. The unprecedented survey, launched by us this year, interviewed 2 thousand people across the country and presents a portrait of this scenario from an emotional perspective: 7 in 10 Brazilians do not describe their relationship with money in a positive way. But the study is not about lack of money, it goes beyond the obvious, which is the country’s financial and economic inequality, and gives us a real dimension of the feelings that Brazilians have on this topic. For us, as a bank, it was transformative and urgent to understand these behaviors and understand that the data reveals that financial services perpetuate a logic that favors standards established by those in better conditions, without offering alternatives for those who face daily challenges in this area. The full research is on our website.
Technology
Through our own technology we were able to grant credit to millions of people who were, until then, on the margins of the financial system. The credit card is the gateway for our 6 million customers, 30% of them are what we call the first ones, to whom Will said the first yes, giving them the first credit card of their lives. The entire experience is designed to be simple, through an easy-to-use application and accessible language. Will sees the plurality we have in our country as a potential and not just a challenge. To serve with excellence and personalization, for example, we developed our own artificial intelligence that understands Brazilian regional expressions used throughout the country, aiming for a more diverse and effective service. The technology was developed by analyzing more than 6 million messages sent by more than 1 million customers and, based on this learning, allowed the virtual assistant’s response time to be cut in half, without customers having to modify the way they communicate on a daily basis to be understood.
invisible client
It is very important that we talk about who this invisible customer is. We believe in credit as a human right. It is fair and imperative that everyone has access to it to live and achieve their life goals. Our role is to include people on the margins of the financial system, who are not welcomed by traditional institutions. We understand that, through the inclusion of these people, there is a social and belonging boost – we are giving light to those who are not seen. As our client matures and evolves in their relationship with money, we offer and include new products and services that contribute to this rise and financial protagonism. Our proposal to give credit to the unbanked has generated positive results. According to the CardMonitor monitoring report, focused on the Market Share of credit card issuers, will rose one position in the ranking, becoming the 14th largest financial institution in terms of credit card transaction volume. If we only consider neobanks, we remain the 4 largest in terms of transaction volume.
Read the full interview in the November 6, 2023 edition
