Retail Banking in Brazil: Exploring Digital and Traditional Offerings
- Kshitija Kaur and Risav Chakraborty
- 9 mins read
- Digital Finance, Partnerships
Table of Contents
How Retail Offerings Are Evolving in Brazil
Brazil’s financial sector is at an inflection point. Traditional banks like Itaú, Banco do Brasil, and Bradesco—long known for their dominance in retail banking—are seeing their market share erode as digital banks introduce all-encompassing financial ecosystems. Players like Nubank, Inter, and C6 Bank have moved far beyond basic banking, integrating payments, lending, investments, insurance, and even e-commerce into a single SuperApp experience.
Beyond ease of access, digital banks are also reshaping the competitive playing field by offering products that traditional banks have historically controlled—often with lower fees, faster processes, and features tailored for a mobile-first generation. Banco Inter, as explored in our Strategy Playbook, has evolved into a one-stop financial and lifestyle hub, seamlessly integrating banking, investments, insurance, payments, and even e-commerce. C6 Bank’s Strategy Playbook, on the other hand, reveals how it has differentiated itself with a strong focus on premium banking, global financial services, and embedded wealth offerings. The result? A shift from single-product banking to multi-product ecosystems, blurring the lines between financial and non-financial services.
C6 Bank’s Strategy Playbook is your lens into how a challenger bank is scaling to offer premium, embedded experiences—from seamless travel perks to data-driven customer retention strategies. If you’re wondering what the future of premium banking looks like, this report has the answers:
Banco C6's Strategy Playbook 📔
Banco C6 has rapidly carved its place as one of Brazil’s formidable digital banks, leveraging its robust superapp framework to integrate banking, credit, insurance, and investment services. Beyond financial services, Banco C6’s ESG commitment shines through its ESG initiatives, cementing the bank’s role in sustainable and socially conscious banking.
Our Banco C6 Strategy Playbook unveils the strategic levers behind its growth—from credit portfolio structuring and risk management to revenue diversification and cost efficiency. Want to understand how Banco C6 is building a resilient, high-margin banking model? This report delivers the answers:
Our Banco C6 Strategy Playbook unveils the strategic levers behind its growth—from credit portfolio structuring and risk management to revenue diversification and cost efficiency. Want to understand how Banco C6 is building a resilient, high-margin banking model? This report delivers the answers:
Report
Banco Inter’s Strategic Playbook reveals how the bank is integrating AI, blockchain, and embedded finance to create a future-ready, globally scalable model. Learn why its diversification strategy is a blueprint for digital banks looking to go beyond borders:
Banco Inter Strategy Playbook 📔
Banco Inter is rewriting the rules of modern banking, seamlessly integrating finance with lifestyle to create a digital super app serving over 34.9M customers. From low-cost secured lending to AI-driven credit decisions, it has built an ecosystem that caters to everyone—from everyday users to high-net-worth individuals and businesses.
Find answers to the most pressing questions: What leadership decisions and ecosystem strategies powered its transition? What makes its secured lending strategy so impactful? And how is it conquering global markets while staying ahead locally? Our report provides actionable lessons that transcend industries and markets:
Find answers to the most pressing questions: What leadership decisions and ecosystem strategies powered its transition? What makes its secured lending strategy so impactful? And how is it conquering global markets while staying ahead locally? Our report provides actionable lessons that transcend industries and markets:
Report
This is particularly evident in the diversification of services across three pillars:
- Retail Banking – Everyday accounts, payments, and credit services tailored for individuals.
- Business Banking – Solutions catering to entrepreneurs, SMEs, and corporations.
- Non-Financial Services – Integrated perks like e-commerce, travel, and subscriptions for ecosystem stickiness.
While the business and non-financial segments are crucial for long-term retention, retail banking remains the core entry point for customer acquisition and engagement. Digital banks are aggressively expanding their account offerings, with features like global accounts, PIX-enabled transactions, and digital wallets now standard.
This blog examines how the retail account offerings of Brazil’s digital banks—Nubank, Inter, and C6—stack up against each other and to Itaú, the leading incumbent. Let’s decode how each player is positioning itself in Brazil’s competitive digital banking market.
A Primer on Retail Banking in Brazil
Think of it as the rate banks charge each other for short-term loans. It’s closely tied to Brazil’s central bank interest rate (Selic) and acts as a benchmark for financial products. Traditional banks rarely offer meaningful interest on current accounts. Digital banks, however, use the CDI rate as a baseline for returns on deposits. If a bank advertises “100% of CDI,” it means your money grows at the same rate as interbank lending—often close to the Selic rate. For instance, If CDI is 10% per year, an account offering 100% of CDI would yield 10% annually—far higher than traditional savings accounts. Some banks, like C6, offer even higher rates (102%-120% of CDI), making deposits more attractive than conventional savings accounts.
Before diving into how Itaú, Nubank, Inter, and C6 Bank compare in retail account offerings, it’s important to understand how retail banking works in Brazil. There are two primary account types in focus:
- Current Accounts (Conta Corrente): These are full-service banking accounts offering deposits, withdrawals, payments, and overdraft credit. Incumbents like Itaú often impose high fees and bureaucratic onboarding, while digital banks have eliminated fees, streamlined account openings, and introduced instant digital access.
- Payment Accounts (Conta de Pagamento): Fintech-driven accounts designed for storing funds, making PIX transfers, and paying bills—but without overdrafts or traditional lending features. These accounts, used by digital banks like Nubank and Inter, operate with lower costs while still providing essential banking services.
Unlike in many countries where checking accounts don’t earn interest, Brazilian digital banks offer high-yield deposits, often linked to the CDI rate (Certificado de Depósito Interbancário).
Digital banks have taken advantage of this distinction to provide low-fee, high-yield alternatives to traditional current accounts. Banco Inter, for instance, offers a fee-free checking account with cashback on purchases and integrated investment options. Nubank, which initially popularized no-fee credit cards, has also expanded its NuConta payment account, allowing users to earn interest on deposits that often exceed traditional savings account rates. Here’s a fun deep dive into how NuConta was designed!
With this foundation, let’s now explore how Nubank, Inter, C6, and Itaú structure their retail banking offerings—and what sets them apart.
Retail Banking Strategies Defining Brazil’s Financial Institutions
In analyzing retail banking offerings, 3 key areas emerge: Primary Accounts (current and payment accounts; International Services (global accounts, multi-currency cards, and cross-border payments); and Upmarket Strategy (subscription plans and perks designed for high-net-worth individuals). Each bank takes a distinct approach to these areas, revealing their priorities in serving different customer segments:
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1. Primary Accounts (Current and Payment)
Among the four banks, Nubank and C6 Bank offer payment accounts, while everyone except Nubank provides current accounts.
- Nubank offers a no-fee digital account with free unlimited transfers via Pix (Brazil’s instant payment system). Deposits earn 100% of the Certificado de Depósito Interbancário—making it more profitable than a savings account. However, cash withdrawals cost R$6.50 at Banco24Horas ATMs.
- Banco Inter provides a similar free account with unlimited transfers and free withdrawals, but deposits do not earn automatic interest—users must invest in available options like Certificados de Depósito Bancário (CDBs), LCIs (Letras de Credito Imobiliarias/Real Estate Letter of Credit), and LCAs (Letras de Credito do Agronegocio/Agribusiness Letter of Credit) separately.
- C6 Bank also has free transfers and withdrawals but, like Inter, requires users to invest in CDBs—a fixed-income investment—to earn returns, with some options offering daily liquidity and yields of 101% of the CDI.
- Itaú Unibanco, despite being a traditional bank, offers a 100% digital account but charges fees on certain services—withdrawals beyond four per month cost R$2.30, and deposits don’t earn interest.
While all four banks offer digital accounts with no maintenance fees and free transfers, Nubank prioritizes liquidity and passive earnings with its interest-yielding balance, making it ideal for those who want returns without active investing. However, its withdrawal fees create friction. Banco Inter and C6 Bank focus on fee-free accessibility but require users to actively invest in fixed-income products like CDBs to generate returns. Itaú Unibanco, while offering a digital account, retains legacy fee structures, making it the least competitive for everyday banking compared to its digital-first counterparts.
2. International Services (Global Accounts, Multi-currency Cards, Cross-border Payments)
International banking is becoming a key offering for Brazilian banks, with global accounts, multi-currency cards, and cross-border payments now widely available.
- Through a partnership with Wise, Nubank provides international payment services to its premium Ultravioleta clients. Customers can hold and manage balances in multiple currencies, including USD and EUR, facilitating international transactions.
- Banco Inter offers a Global Account in USD without opening or maintenance fees. Customers can convert Brazilian reais (BRL) to USD at commercial exchange rates and use a Mastercard debit card for purchases and withdrawals worldwide. The account also allows international transfers and investments in foreign markets.
- C6 Bank’s Global Account is available in both USD and EUR. It provides an international debit card for global transactions and supports international transfers. Fees include €30 for sending and €15 for receiving EUR transfers. Currency conversion uses the commercial exchange rate with a spread of 2% for USD and 2.5% for EUR, plus an Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras (IOF) tax of 1.1%.
- Through its partnership with Inswitch, Itaú Unibanco introduced “Pix no Mundo,” a solution for cross-border payments in Latin America, leveraging PIX for international transactions. Additionally, Itaú’s Private Bank clients have access to the Global Wallet, a multi-currency, prepaid spending account with Mastercard prepaid cards for managing funds in different currencies.
The competitive landscape for international banking in Brazil shows distinct strategic priorities: Nubank focuses on premium clients via its Wise partnership, making international offerings exclusive. Banco Inter takes an accessible, fee-free approach, prioritizing USD transactions. C6 Bank differentiates by offering both USD and EUR accounts but applies higher transfer fees and spreads, making it more suited for active international users rather than casual travelers. Itaú Unibanco’s Pix for cross-border transactions ensures a regional payments edge, while reserving multi-currency flexibility for its Private Bank segment.
3. Upmarket Strategy (Subscription Plans and Perks for HNWIs)
In Brazil’s competitive banking landscape, institutions are tailoring exclusive subscription plans and premium services to attract high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
- Nubank offers the Ultravioleta account, featuring a Mastercard Black credit card with 1% cashback on purchases, which can be invested to yield 200% of the CDI rate. The card provides access to VIP airport lounges, travel insurance, and concierge services. The R$49 monthly fee is waived for clients spending over R$5,000 monthly or investing more than R$50,000 with Nubank.
- Banco Inter presents a tiered relationship program – Inter One offers a Mastercard Platinum card with 1.0% cashback, exclusive investment products, and personalized financial advice. Inter Black provides a Mastercard Black card with 1.0% cashback, unlimited VIP lounge access, and higher withdrawal limits. Inter Win caters to clients with over R$1M in investments, offering customized wealth management, a dedicated banker, and a Mastercard Black card with enhanced benefits.
- C6 Bank offers two premium experiences. C6 Carbon features a Mastercard Black card with up to 2.5 points per US dollar spent, access to VIP lounges, and a dedicated relationship manager. The annual fee is R$1,020, waived for clients with R$8,000 in monthly spending or R$150,000 in investments. C6 Graphene is an invitation-only service for clients with over R$5M in investments, offering a metal Mastercard Black card with 4 points per US dollar spent, unlimited VIP lounge access, and exclusive investment opportunities through a partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The annual fee is R$3,960, waived for clients meeting the investment threshold.
- Itaú Unibanco offers three premium segments. Uniclass provides a Visa Signature or Mastercard Platinum card with no annual fee, personalized financial advice, and exclusive benefits like discounts on streaming services. Personnalité offers a Mastercard Black or Visa Infinite card with up to 2 points per US dollar spent, access to VIP lounges, and specialized investment services. The annual fee varies and may be waived based on client profiles. Private Bank is designed for clients with substantial assets, providing comprehensive wealth management, global investment opportunities, and exclusive banking services. Benefits include a dedicated private banker, customized credit solutions, and access to international financial markets.
Brazil’s upmarket banking landscape shows clear segmentation strategies: Nubank focuses on affordable premium perks, while Banco Inter uses a tiered structure to gradually increase benefits as client assets grow. C6 Bank competes with high-reward points programs, scaling up to exclusive wealth services. Itaú Unibanco remains the most traditional player, catering to mass affluent, premium, and ultra-high-net-worth clients through distinct wealth management divisions.
The Changing Face of Brazilian Retail Banking
Brazil’s retail banking landscape shows clear divergence between digital banks and Itaú Unibanco, with specific trade-offs on cost, accessibility, and exclusivity. Digital banks dominate fee-free daily banking, offering unlimited transfers and withdrawals, while Itaú still charges for key transactions, signalling its reliance on traditional revenue streams. In international banking, Nubank, Inter, and C6 lower entry barriers with multi-currency accounts, whereas Itaú retains exclusivity for Private Bank clients, leveraging Pix for regional payments. Upmarket, Itaú maintains a wealth management stronghold, but digital banks are gaining ground with high-reward cards and tiered loyalty programs. This signals a shift in consumer expectations, pushing incumbents to rethink their value propositions as digital banks chip away at premium segments once dominated by traditional players.
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Authors
Kshitija is a senior branding associate at WhiteSight, crafting branding strategies and fintech content. When she's not conjuring up new ideas for the company, you can find her dabbling in new hobbies and documenting her experiences through writing and short films.
Risav is a senior research associate at WhiteSight, where he spends his days navigating the complex fintech landscape and poring over market trends. When he's not decoding the world of fintech, you'll find this sports fanatic decoding the perfect curveball on the football field.
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