60 million Brazilians can't get a credit card. For years, that meant subscription businesses simply couldn't bill them. And the moment a new payment rail shows up, everyone assumes it just steals volume from cards. This week I speak with Sebastian Fantini, Product Director of EBANX, and he makes the commercial case that a local recurring rail grows the market instead of shifting it.

EBANX connects global merchants to local payment methods across more than 20 emerging markets. It now processes transactions for 26% of Pix users in Brazil and 38% of all Pix Automático transactions. In Pix Automático's first year, 64% of the people paying with it were brand new customers, not cardholders who switched. Hotmart saw a 32% lift in customer retention after turning it on.

We get into why card subscriptions lose 20 to 30% of recurring revenue to involuntary churn and how a QR rail recovers it, why mandated adoption is what made Pix stick where other countries' schemes stalled, the go-to-market that took EBANX to 38% market share, and EBANX's plans to replicate success in SEA.

What you'll learn

• Who the 60 million credit cardless Brazilians actually are
• Why adding a local payment method can grow your addressable market instead of cannibalizing card revenue
• How mandated adoption made Pix stick where other countries' instant payment schemes stalled
• Who actually funds the 3 to 5% discount merchants give you for paying with Pix, and why they choose to
• The go-to-market that took EBANX to 38% of Pix Automático transactions
• Why card subscriptions lose 20 to 30% of recurring revenue to churn, and how a recurring QR rail claws it back
• How B2B and SaaS billing is quietly moving onto a rail built for consumers
• Why you can win a customer with marketing and still lose them at the payment checkout

Timestamps

00:00 — 60 million people, no credit card

02:26 — Who actually can't get a credit card in Brazil

04:37 — How EBANX connects global merchants to local payers

06:14 — Pix versus Pix Automático, and why recurring QR matters

09:17 — Is Pix Automático cannibalizing cards, or growing the market?

13:05 — Why Pix succeeded where other countries' schemes stalled

21:33 — Who funds the Pix discounts

23:50 — The go-to-market behind 38% market share

29:36 — Why the checkout screen decides conversion

35:01 — B2B and SaaS are paying by QR

39:24 — Reducing involuntary churn with Pix Automático

43:46 — Expanding into Southeast Asia and handling the FX

👉Connect with Sebastian:

EBANX: https://www.ebanx.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-fantini-a0a1b970/

👉Connect with Monica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

Purpose Driven FinTech. English: https://www.youtube.com/@monica_millares/videos

Purpose Driven FinTech. Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/@MonicaMillares_Español/videos

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past, or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion on social media.