Latest news with #CentralBankofBrazil
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PPRO integrates Pix Automático for recurring payments in Brazil
Payments platform PPRO has integrated Pix Automático into its services, aligning with the Central Bank of Brazil's official deployment. This enhancement to Brazil's instant payment system, Pix, aims to streamline recurring transactions for consumers. Pix Automático, a development by the Central Bank of Brazil, enables consumers to set up recurring payments for services such as subscriptions, utilities, and memberships with one-time authorisation. The service targets Brazilians lacking access to credit cards, as it provides an alternative means to engage with recurring payment models. For merchants and payment service providers (PSPs), PPRO's platform now includes a sandbox and documentation for Pix Automático, allowing them to offer Brazil's preferred instant payment method with added functionality for recurring payments. The move aims to support improved conversion and retention rates by minimising payment declines and reducing subscriber turnover. PPRO's platform also offers a plug-and-play feature, which is expected to provide expedited access to Brazil's Pix user base. PPRO CEO Motie Bring said: 'Recurring payments are a powerful engine for growth and Pix Automático is set to transform how consumers in Brazil engage with subscriptions and other repeat services. Our mission is to help PSPs and merchants tap into local payment preferences with ease, and Pix Automático is another key step in delivering on that promise.' This development follows PPRO's earlier launch of a Subscriptions for Local Payments solution. In February, PPRO secured principal membership with the European Payments Initiative (EPI) for Wero. PPRO's EPI membership is set to offer clients multiple access points to Wero, including sponsored associate membership, payment facilitator access, or as a technical gateway. "PPRO integrates Pix Automático for recurring payments in Brazil " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Betting ads swamp Brazilian football as addiction spikes
For Karen, it started with an ad and an influencer. Next came a 30 reais (€5, $5.80) bet. Then shame, spiraling debts, using her mum's credit card and a battle against addiction that, though calmed for now, still rages. "If I was at a party, I'd be gambling. If I went to a restaurant or a bar, my cell phone would be in my hand. Even taking a shower, my cell phone would be in my hand. Under the shower, my arm stretched out," the 29-year-old from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, told DW. She struggles to get a real handle on her losses, but she knows it runs to several thousand reais more than she can afford to pay back. "The credit card companies call every day," said Karen, who asked to withhold her last name as most of her family is still not aware of the issue. While gambling addiction is an increasingly serious issue in countries across the globe, from the USA and Germany to China, stories like Karen's are part of a spike in problem gambling in Brazil. The South American country legalized online gambling in late-2018 but made no effort to legislate against its harms or its advertising until January 2025. Researchers and mental health professionals have reported an increase in cases of online betting addiction, especially among lower-income Brazilians. An indicator of gambling's grip on the country is that beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia, the basic income offered by the Federal Government to poor citizens, spent approximately R$3 billion on online gambling last year, according to data from the Central Bank of Brazil. The amount equates to 20% of all the benefits paid by the program. A 2023 study by the Federal University of Sao Paulo found that 6% of the Brazilian population say they bet on online sports betting websites (equivalent to about 9 million people) and 67% of those are 'risky gamblers' – not people who necessarily have an addiction, but that display reckless behaviors such as betting more than they can afford to lose. Gambling has also embedded itself in the country's national pastime and obsession — football — with the same study showing that online sports betting, driven by football, is the second most popular way to gamble in Brazil, just behind the state-run lotteries. Analysis from the DW data team further shows that six out of every ten advertising boards that surrounded the pitch during the 2024 season of the Brazilian football league showed ads for sports betting or other types of gambling – a figure that rose to 7 in 10 during the final match day. Five years ago, a wide range of economic sectors appeared in Brazilian league advertising boards: banks, gas stations, airlines, pharmaceutical companies, retail stores and media networks were almost always visible around the pitch. Now it's all about Superbet, Betano, PixBet, or BetNacional. In comparison to 2019, the first season after gambling was legalized, the share of pitchside ads featuring gambling companies has now doubled. Those figures come from an analysis carried out by the DW data team, which used an artificial intelligence model to detect, classify, and count advertising hoardings displayed in league matches between 2019 and 2024. The investigation was carried out using footage from highlight reels available on YouTube. More details on the methodology are available in this public repository. The data also reveals that about 70% of the ads shown pitchside in the final round of the 2024 Brazilian Championship were from betting or gambling companies. It outstripped the next highest, Colombia's top flight, by 16%, and is more than double of top European leagues such as Italy's Serie A and the Premier League, in England. Some countries with longer-established sports betting markets have started to implement curbs on advertising. In 2021, Spain, for example, banned betting and gambling companies from displaying advertising during prime-time broadcasts of sporting events, as well as preventing clubs from signing sponsorship contracts. English top flight clubs will no longer be permitted to have gambling logos on their shirt fronts from the 2026-27 season, though pitchside ads will remain. In Brazil, all 20 first-division clubs currently display at least one gambling sponsor on their kits, and 90% have them front and center, according to Brazilian outlet GloboEsporte. The extent to which Brazilian clubs now rely on the gambling industry became clear when a bill was proposed to drastically reduce such advertising in May 2025. A joint statement signed by more than 50 clubs, including those currently playing at the FIFA Club World Cup (Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo), said the bill would see a combined loss of R$1.6bn (approximately $310m). "Such limitations, if not adjusted, will result in the financial collapse of the entire sports ecosystem — especially Brazilian football," it warned, while also acknowledging the need for some further regulation. The impacts of advertising on both gamblers and non-gamblers is clear to Dr Jamie Torrance, a lecturer and researcher in psychology at Swansea University, in the UK. He told DW that the fact that bookmakers spend billions worldwide on advertising, both in sports and other areas, proves how effective they believe it to be. "Embedding these brands into a game that people care about, that they're emotionally invested in, there's a classical conditioning paradigm at play. People have these emotional ties to the sport and the gambling companies also want them to have these emotional ties to their gambling brand as well," he says. The same, he added, is true of influencers and celebrities — a marketing tactic that is not limited to the sporting realm. Karen said it certainly worked on her. Her betting was focused on 'Fortune Tiger', a virtual slot machine game that was promoted by social media personalities she followed. Though she didn't come across it through football, the major companies that appear on hoardings and kits also offer the same game. "An influencer posted a simple game, and I clicked on it out of curiosity. The first time I bet R$30 , without success, and I thought that was stupid", she said. "But a few months went by, and a friend told me she was playing, so I searched for it again. After that, Instagram became hell. I was always seeing posts, always seeing people promoting it. That's when I started digging myself a hole." Once the addiction took hold, she couldn't escape prompts to gamble. "As somebody with this addiction, when you see a video or someone posting a win, it's like something is poking inside your head: 'What if I put in some money? What if I try again?'" Karen says she started realizing the scale of her gambling problem when she came across an online support group run by psychologist Rafael Avila and his Associacao de Protecao e Apoio ao Jogador (Association for the Protection and Support of Gamblers). Avila runs a free service for hundreds of addicted gamblers. He told DW that outside of the major cities, there is almost no help for people in Karen's position. He feels the lack of any serious legislation when gambling was legalized has led to a crisis. 'The government is not investing the amount they need to solve the problem. They are now trying to solve it, but it needed to happen six years ago," he said. The situation only changed in early 2025, when new legislation came into effect. The regulation currently in place, however, focuses mostly on taxation and in the proper registration of gambling companies with the Brazilian authorities. Ads remained largely unchanged but for the fact that companies now had to display warnings about responsible gambling, much like alcohol products, and couldn't promote gambling as a source of income. The IBJR, the industry body which represents 75% of the gambling operators in Brazil told DW that the recent changes were already having an effect. "The regulation, in force since January 2025, marked a new beginning for the sector, with clear rules that offer adequate mechanisms for the promotion of responsible gaming," they said in a statement. The Brazilian Congress, however, is currently discussing the tougher regulation on ads opposed by the clubs, including a ban on gambling advertisement during event broadcasts. Appearances from famous people, such as professional athletes and artists, would also be prohibited. The proposed law has already passed through the Senate. To come into effect, it must now be approved by the lower house and signed off by the president. Its contents can still change in the process – and the text that was approved on the Senate floor was already a watered-down version of the original proposal, which called for a full ban on any kind of gambling advertisement. For Karen, and countless others like her, this will be too little too late. Through her work with Avila and other addicts, and her strategy of not keeping any money online, she has avoided gambling for about a month. But she's been here before and relapsed. Something that started as a bit of fun with little at stake has taken over her life. Edited by: Kalika Mehta
DW
17-06-2025
- Sport
- DW
Betting ads swamp Brazilian football as addiction spikes – DW – 06/17/2025
Exclusive DW data shows how gambling ads at Brazilian football matches are more prevalent than in any other major league. That has huge financial and mental health implications that lawmakers have been slow to deal with. For Karen, it started with an ad and an influencer. Next came a 30 reais (€5, $5.80) bet. Then shame, spiraling debts, using her mum's credit card and a battle against addiction that, though calmed for now, still rages. "If I was at a party, I'd be gambling. If I went to a restaurant or a bar, my cell phone would be in my hand. Even taking a shower, my cell phone would be in my hand. Under the shower, my arm stretched out," the 29-year-old from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, told DW. She struggles to get a real handle on her losses, but she knows it runs to several thousand reais more than she can afford to pay back. "The credit card companies call every day," said Karen, who asked to withhold her last name as most of her family is still not aware of the issue. While gambling addiction is an increasingly serious issue in countries across the globe, from the USA and Germany to China, stories like Karen's are part of a spike in problem gambling in Brazil. The South American country legalized online gambling in late-2018 but made no effort to legislate against its harms or its advertising until January 2025. Researchers and mental health professionals have reported an increase in cases of online betting addiction , especially among lower-income Brazilians. Sports betting - Football in the stronghold of gambling To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An indicator of gambling's grip on the country is that beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia, the basic income offered by the Federal Government to poor citizens, spent approximately R$3 billion on online gambling last year, according to data from the Central Bank of Brazil. The amount equates to 20% of all the benefits paid by the program. A 2023 study by the Federal University of Sao Paulo found that 6% of the Brazilian population say they bet on online sports betting websites (equivalent to about 9 million people) and 67% of those are 'risky gamblers' – not people who necessarily have an addiction, but that display reckless behaviors such as betting more than they can afford to lose. Gambling has also embedded itself in the country's national pastime and obsession — football — with the same study showing that online sports betting, driven by football, is the second most popular way to gamble in Brazil, just behind the state-run lotteries. Analysis from the DW data team further shows that six out of every ten advertising boards that surrounded the pitch during the 2024 season of the Brazilian football league showed ads for sports betting or other types of gambling – a figure that rose to 7 in 10 during the final match day. Gambling ads flood Brazilian football Five years ago, a wide range of economic sectors appeared in Brazilian league advertising boards: banks, gas stations, airlines, pharmaceutical companies, retail stores and media networks were almost always visible around the pitch. Now it's all about Superbet, Betano, PixBet, or BetNacional. In comparison to 2019, the first season after gambling was legalized, the share of pitchside ads featuring gambling companies has now doubled. Those figures come from an analysis carried out by the DW data team, which used an artificial intelligence model to detect, classify, and count advertising hoardings displayed in league matches between 2019 and 2024. The investigation was carried out using footage from highlight reels available on YouTube. More details on the methodology are available in this public repository. The data also reveals that about 70% of the ads shown pitchside in the final round of the 2024 Brazilian Championship were from betting or gambling companies. It outstripped the next highest, Colombia's top flight, by 16%, and is more than double of top European leagues such as Italy's Serie A and the Premier League, in England. Clubs grow dependent on gambling sponsorships Some countries with longer-established sports betting markets have started to implement curbs on advertising. In 2021, Spain, for example, banned betting and gambling companies from displaying advertising during prime-time broadcasts of sporting events, as well as preventing clubs from signing sponsorship contracts. English top flight clubs will no longer be permitted to have gambling logos on their shirt fronts from the 2026-27 season, though pitchside ads will remain. In Brazil, all 20 first-division clubs currently display at least one gambling sponsor on their kits, and 90% have them front and center, according to Brazilian outlet GloboEsporte. The extent to which Brazilian clubs now rely on the gambling industry became clear when a bill was proposed to drastically reduce such advertising in May 2025. Brazilian clubs like Botafogo are wearing gambling sponsors at the ongoing Club World Cup in the USA Image: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images A joint statement signed by more than 50 clubs, including those currently playing at the FIFA Club World Cup (Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo), said the bill would see a combined loss of R$1.6bn (approximately $310m). "Such limitations, if not adjusted, will result in the financial collapse of the entire sports ecosystem — especially Brazilian football," it warned, while also acknowledging the need for some further regulation. 'It's like something is poking inside your head' The impacts of advertising on both gamblers and non-gamblers is clear to Dr Jamie Torrance, a lecturer and researcher in psychology at Swansea University, in the UK. He told DW that the fact that bookmakers spend billions worldwide on advertising, both in sports and other areas, proves how effective they believe it to be. "Embedding these brands into a game that people care about, that they're emotionally invested in, there's a classical conditioning paradigm at play. People have these emotional ties to the sport and the gambling companies also want them to have these emotional ties to their gambling brand as well," he says. The same, he added, is true of influencers and celebrities — a marketing tactic that is not limited to the sporting realm. Karen said it certainly worked on her. Her betting was focused on 'Fortune Tiger', a virtual slot machine game that was promoted by social media personalities she followed. Though she didn't come across it through football, the major companies that appear on hoardings and kits also offer the same game. "An influencer posted a simple game, and I clicked on it out of curiosity. The first time I bet R$30 , without success, and I thought that was stupid", she said. "But a few months went by, and a friend told me she was playing, so I searched for it again. After that, Instagram became hell. I was always seeing posts, always seeing people promoting it. That's when I started digging myself a hole." Once the addiction took hold, she couldn't escape prompts to gamble. "As somebody with this addiction, when you see a video or someone posting a win, it's like something is poking inside your head: 'What if I put in some money? What if I try again?'" Years without oversight led to public health crisis Karen says she started realizing the scale of her gambling problem when she came across an online support group run by psychologist Rafael Avila and his Associacao de Protecao e Apoio ao Jogador (Association for the Protection and Support of Gamblers). What's behind Kenya's gambling epidemic? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Avila runs a free service for hundreds of addicted gamblers. He told DW that outside of the major cities, there is almost no help for people in Karen's position. He feels the lack of any serious legislation when gambling was legalized has led to a crisis. 'The government is not investing the amount they need to solve the problem. They are now trying to solve it, but it needed to happen six years ago," he said. The situation only changed in early 2025, when new legislation came into effect. The regulation currently in place, however, focuses mostly on taxation and in the proper registration of gambling companies with the Brazilian authorities. Ads remained largely unchanged but for the fact that companies now had to display warnings about responsible gambling, much like alcohol products, and couldn't promote gambling as a source of income. Congress seeks tougher regulation The IBJR, the industry body which represents 75% of the gambling operators in Brazil told DW that the recent changes were already having an effect. "The regulation, in force since January 2025, marked a new beginning for the sector, with clear rules that offer adequate mechanisms for the promotion of responsible gaming," they said in a statement. The Brazilian Congress, however, is currently discussing the tougher regulation on ads opposed by the clubs, including a ban on gambling advertisement during event broadcasts. Appearances from famous people, such as professional athletes and artists, would also be prohibited. The proposed law has already passed through the Senate. To come into effect, it must now be approved by the lower house and signed off by the president. Its contents can still change in the process – and the text that was approved on the Senate floor was already a watered-down version of the original proposal, which called for a full ban on any kind of gambling advertisement. For Karen, and countless others like her, this will be too little too late. Through her work with Avila and other addicts, and her strategy of not keeping any money online, she has avoided gambling for about a month. But she's been here before and relapsed. Something that started as a bit of fun with little at stake has taken over her life. Edited by: Kalika Mehta
Korea Herald
17-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
EBANX: Recurring Pix to unlock streaming and SaaS access for up to 60 million new consumers in Brazil
CURITIBA, Brazil, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pix Automático, the new recurring payments feature within Brazil's popular instant payment system, has just launched. Introduced by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2020, Pix is already used by 91% of the country's adult population. With Pix Automático, global digital companies, particularly subscription-based providers, are expected to broaden their reach to new consumers in Brazil. EBANX, a global technology company specializing in payment solutions for emerging markets, is already integrated with Pix Automático and ready to connect its merchants to the new feature starting today. Global streaming platforms and SaaS companies are among the first merchants to integrate the new feature into their checkout pages through EBANX's solution. Over 170 million consumers use Pix, according to the Central Bank of Brazil. At the same time, 60 million Brazilians don't have credit cards. This way, Pix Automático improves accessibility and unlocks new revenue potential. For companies that depend on recurring payments and currently rely solely on credit cards, the launch of Pix Automático opens up a significant growth opportunity in Brazil. According to Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) data in EBANX's study Beyond Borders 2025, Pix Automático could unlock over USD 30 billion in online recurring payments within two years. " The new recurring feature of Pix is the key to democratizing access to subscription services, enabling unprecedented financial control to millions of Brazilians," says Eduardo de Abreu, VP of Product at EBANX. E-commerce growth With the new recurring feature, Pix is projected to surpass credit cards as the most widely used payment method in Brazilian digital commerce by the end of 2025. The system is already the fastest-growing payment method for online purchases, considering emerging markets in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and India, with an annual growth rate of 35% through 2027, per PCMI's projections. This growth is related to today's launch. " Sectors with low Pix participation in transaction volume should experience a change in the coming years," projects Abreu, from EBANX. For SaaS and streaming companies, Pix accounts for 13% and 2% of all online volume transacted, respectively. The average across all verticals is 40%. These two sectors are still dominated by credit cards, with shares of 79% for streaming companies and 86% for SaaS. " Card volume is not expected to decline in sectors where recurring payments are key, but instead to grow alongside the overall market," states the VP of Product at EBANX. According to PCMI, Brazilian e-commerce is expected to grow by 40% over the next two years, representing an additional USD 167 billion in online purchase volume. ABOUT EBANX EBANX is the leading payments platform connecting global businesses to the world's fastest-growing digital markets. Founded in 2012 in Brazil, EBANX was built with a mission to expand access to international digital commerce. Leveraging proprietary technology, deep market expertise, and robust infrastructure, EBANX enables global companies to offer hundreds of local payment methods and streamline cross-border payments across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. More than just payments, EBANX drives growth, enhances sales, and delivers seamless purchase experiences for businesses and end-users alike.
The Star
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Brazil's market lowers 2025 inflation forecast to 5.25 pct
BRASILIA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's financial market lowered its inflation forecast for 2025 from 5.44 percent to 5.25 percent, and maintained its 2026 forecast at 4.50 percent, reflecting the impact of the monetary tightening policy, the Central Bank of Brazil said Monday. According to the bank's weekly Focus survey of the country's leading financial institutions, the inflation forecast for the year is still far from the official target rate of 3 percent with a margin of tolerance of 1.5 percentage points either up or down. Analysts' projections for the benchmark interest rate held steady at 14.75 percent for the end of the year and at 12.50 percent for next year. Regarding Brazil's economic growth, market analysts upgraded their forecast for this year from 2.18 percent to 2.20 percent and for next year, from 1.81 percent to 1.83 percent. Brazil's currency, which currently trades at 5.51 reals to the U.S. dollar, is expected to trade at 5.77 reals to the dollar by the end of 2025 and 5.80 reals by the end of 2026. The trade balance (exports versus imports) is projected to see a surplus of 74 billion U.S. dollars this year and 78 billion U.S. dollars next year. Market analysts maintained their forecast for foreign direct investment at 70 billion U.S. dollars for both 2025 and 2026.
