Latest news with #Febraban
Forbes
19-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Agentic AI Is Slowly Reshaping Financial Services At Febarban Tech
Last week, I had the extraordinary honor of keynoting at Febraban Tech 2025, the largest financial services innovation conference in Latin America. Held in São Paulo's Transamerica Expo Center, the event attracted over 58,000 attendees under the theme "The Acceleration of the Financial Sector in the Age of Intelligence." The energy in the room was electric—charged with ambition, urgency, and optimism about how AI, blockchain, and governance are reshaping financial services. Before delivering my keynote, AI First, Human Always, I attended one of the most powerful sessions of the event: the opening CEO panel, featuring the leaders of Brazil's largest banks. This discussion, moderated by Febarban president Isaac Sidney, set the tone for everything that followed. These weren't cautious executives—they were bold architects of a new era for financial services. The panel featured CEOs from Brazil's largest banks: Milton Maluhy Filho (Itaú Unibanco), Tarciana Medeiros (Banco do Brasil), Marcelo Noronha (Bradesco), Mario Leão (Santander), Carlos Vieira (Caixa Econômica Federal), and Roberto Sallouti (BTG Pactual). What united their voices was a shared focus on how banks are becoming increasingly intelligent platforms that are highly connected, predictive, and sustainable. AI strategy was central to their discussions, with the CEOs addressing how the strategic use of data and algorithms is shaping new customer experiences and optimizing operations. They discussed new business models and disruptive solutions that expand access to credit and investments. The executives also emphasized their commitment to ESG goals, detailing how banks are exercising leadership in the transition to a green economy, financing sustainable projects, implementing ESG criteria, and promoting initiatives that accelerate Brazil's economic decarbonization, especially in the context of COP 30. According to the president of Febraban, Isaac Sidney, "Artificial Intelligence is profoundly reshaping the banking sector across the entire value chain — from back-office to customer experience. This convergence allows for credit decisions with greater precision and speed, raises real-time fraud detection standards, drives hyper-personalization of products and services, and optimizes critical operational processes, freeing up human capital for strategic initiatives. At the same time, AI strengthens data governance and regulatory compliance, ensuring that innovation and security go hand in hand. Therefore, it is a structural transformation that repositions banks as intelligent digital platforms, capable of anticipating needs, generating sustainable value, and fostering financial inclusion at scale." Brazil's banks plan to invest R$ 47.8 billion in technology in 2025 alone, a 13% increase from the previous year. This isn't incremental—it's systemic transformation of the financial sector. As I took the stage to deliver the keynote that followed, I was deeply aware of the moment. My talk focused on what it truly means to lead an AI-first organization—and how to do so responsibly. AI is not just a set of tools or models. It's a mindset. And in financial services, it requires precision, ethics, and bold leadership. Banco do Brasil exemplifies this approach. Their 2021 AI Ethics Guidelines (that's right from 2021!) prioritize fairness, transparency, and privacy across the entire AI lifecycle. Most impressively, this isn't confined to compliance—it's embedded across business units with quarterly ethics reviews, mandatory bias testing, and real-time monitoring dashboards. Blockchain-based audit trails ensure every AI decision can be traced and validated. Itaú Unibanco has established AI governance committees at board and operational levels, implementing "AI impact assessments" that evaluate societal effects before production deployment. Their framework requires human oversight for high-stakes decisions like loan approvals above certain thresholds. This kind of approach stood in contrast to what I've seen in other regions, where AI governance is often bolted on after-the-fact. In Latin America, responsible AI is increasingly seen as a strategic differentiator. Governance must move from the margins to the center of every AI-first initiative. What makes Latin America so uniquely positioned to lead the next wave of innovation? Four reasons stood out in every session I attended. First, Latin America is skipping the transformation phase. While banks elsewhere struggle to retrofit AI into decades-old systems, the region's institutions are building AI-native from a clean slate—fewer legacy constraints, more openness to disruption. Second, blockchain isn't an afterthought—it's foundational. While Brazilian bank CEOs focused their main panel on AI and sustainability, blockchain commanded dedicated sessions. MIT Technology Review's CEO positioned it alongside AI as today's most impactful trend. FEBRABAN featured live tokenization demos and an entire track on "on-chain and the next step of digital assets." Third, the human element is central. Latin America's emphasis on community, trust, and relationship-building makes the region a natural fit for human-centered AI. The phrase "AI First, Human Always" isn't just a strategy here—it's a reflection of cultural values. Finally, the region is mobile-first, and by extension, agent-first. With some of the highest smartphone adoption rates globally, Latin American users are already engaging in digital ecosystems. As AI agents begin coordinating across financial products—handling transactions, customer support, and advisory—consumers here are ready for it. In many ways, they're already living in the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) economy. I saw this readiness in discussions with CIOs from Itaú, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, BTG Pactual, and Caixa. They spoke not only of deploying GenAI tools, but of operationalizing AI agents across internal teams and customer-facing services, all supported by blockchain-verified identity and transaction systems. JP Morgan stood out as a global reference point. Their AI models detect fraud in real-time, reducing false positives by 50%. Katana Lens integrates over 800 data sources and uses 50+ machine learning models, resulting in 42% improvement in early detection. Latin America is setting its own examples. Itaú Unibanco launched its "Inteligência de Investimentos Itaú", using generative AI to provide personalized investment recommendations to clients, initially available to 10,000 customers with plans to expand to 500,000 by year-end. The bank operates over 1,000 AI models and employs more than 430 data scientists and 60 machine learning engineers. BTG Pactual partnered with Feedzai to implement AI-powered financial crime monitoring, including advanced machine learning for transaction monitoring and Pix payment system oversight. In speaking to João Marcello Dantas Leite, an Executive Officer at BTG Pactual. He told me that 'FebrabanTech 2025 hosted a series of provocative debates about the role AI will play in the financial space. With 58,000 visitors, 500 speakers and 200 panels, this was the event's 35th edition, and this time it focused on how AI will be an accelerator of the financial sector development." The bank has also moved into digital assets, launching its own dollar-backed stablecoin "BTG Dol" and operating a crypto platform for direct cryptocurrency investments. BTG leverages blockchain technology through initiatives like ReitBZ, which uses digital asset tokens to provide global investors access to Brazilian real estate opportunities. As I closed my session and spent time walking the exhibition floor, meeting entrepreneurs, data scientists, and bank executives, one message kept echoing: Latin America isn't following global trends—it's helping define them. Febraban Tech 2025 confirmed for me that we're entering a new chapter of financial services, one led by institutions that are bold enough to act, transparent enough to earn trust, and visionary enough to build AI for people—not just for performance. The journey from São Paulo has just begun. Latin America isn't following global trends—it's defining them. Financial services leaders: The question isn't whether to embrace AI-first thinking, but how quickly you can implement governance frameworks that build trust. Start with ethics, build on blockchain infrastructure, never lose sight of human impact. Technology executives: Study how blockchain and AI integration creates competitive advantage. Leading institutions aren't just adopting these technologies—they're architecting them together from the ground up. The question is: Will you be watching from the sidelines, or building the future? Did you enjoy this story Agentic AI In Financial Services? Don't miss my next one: Use the blue follow button at the top of the article near my byline to follow more of my work.
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil's central bank chief signals imminent bridge solution for real estate financing
June 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank governor Gabriel Galipolo said on Tuesday he expects to soon present a solution to finance the real estate sector, which is struggling due to a drop in deposits in savings accounts, historically its largest funding source. Speaking at an event hosted by banking group Febraban in Sao Paulo, Galipolo said a "bridge process" would be introduced to transition from the previous financing model to a new one. The move comes amid discussions with key players in the sector, including state-run lender Caixa Economica Federal ( the market leader in housing credit in Brazil, Galipolo said. During his remarks, Galipolo displayed a chart illustrating declines both in nominal and inflation-adjusted balances held in savings accounts, attributing the trend to the wide offer of more competitive yields through other investment options. "The more people have access to alternatives, and the more financial education they receive, the more natural it is to see, over time, this reduction in savings accounts balances," he said. "This compels the central bank and the financial system to seek alternative funding sources to enable a migration toward a new system, a new model." During periods of high interest rates, including currently in Latin America's largest economy, other fixed-income investments become more attractive than savings accounts, prompting withdrawals. Brazil's benchmark Selic rate stands at 14.75%, the highest level in nearly 20 years, following a tightening cycle that began last September to rein in inflation. Galipolo also called a proposed constitutional amendment before Congress providing for financial autonomy for the institution an "essential" agenda. Galipolo said the proposal, which the left-wing government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opposes, is not intended to give the central bank a blank check, but rather to provide tools for more effective supervision and regulation.
The Star
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Brazil's Pix set for next leap with launch of recurring payments
A person pays using their cell phone with the instant electronic payment mode known as PIX, at a store in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil April 1, 2024. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo (Reuters) - Brazil's wildly popular instant payment system Pix is poised for another leap with the launch of a new recurring payments feature this month, central bank officials said on Wednesday. Since its launch in late 2020, Pix has rapidly become the leading payment method in Latin America's largest economy, surpassing cash as well as debit and credit cards. Last year it handled more than 26 trillion reais ($4.61 trillion) in transactions. Initially slated for launch last October, the new feature will go live on June 16, allowing users to authorize recurring charges with a single consent, according to the central bank, which developed and operates Pix. That will allow for automatic payments of utilities, phone bills, school tuition, gym memberships, and digital or streaming services via the new "Pix Automatico" tool. "'Boleto' will be overtaken by Pix Automatico when it comes to automatic payments," said Renato Gomes, the central bank's financial system organization director. Boleto is the traditional slip method, which moved 6.2 trillion reais last year, according to banking federation Febraban. Speaking at a central bank event in Sao Paulo to present the feature, Gomes added that existing automatic debit services via banks are also likely to be disrupted by the new tool. Companies must sign bank agreements to offer automatic debit, a process central bank regulation director Gilneu Vivan described as burdensome for small businesses. Pix Automatico will simplify the process, allowing small merchants to receive recurring payments with ease. Vivan also noted that nearly 60 million Brazilians do not own a credit card, a group that will now be able to access subscription-based services previously limited to cardholders. A study by payments platform EBANX estimates that Pix Automatico could handle at least $30 billion in e-commerce transactions within its first two years of operation. ($1 = 5.6418 reais) (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Richard Chang)
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil's Pix set for next leap with launch of recurring payments
(Reuters) - Brazil's wildly popular instant payment system Pix is poised for another leap with the launch of a new recurring payments feature this month, central bank officials said on Wednesday. Since its launch in late 2020, Pix has rapidly become the leading payment method in Latin America's largest economy, surpassing cash as well as debit and credit cards. Last year it handled more than 26 trillion reais ($4.61 trillion) in transactions. Initially slated for launch last October, the new feature will go live on June 16, allowing users to authorize recurring charges with a single consent, according to the central bank, which developed and operates Pix. That will allow for automatic payments of utilities, phone bills, school tuition, gym memberships, and digital or streaming services via the new "Pix Automatico" tool. "'Boleto' will be overtaken by Pix Automatico when it comes to automatic payments," said Renato Gomes, the central bank's financial system organization director. Boleto is the traditional slip method, which moved 6.2 trillion reais last year, according to banking federation Febraban. Speaking at a central bank event in Sao Paulo to present the feature, Gomes added that existing automatic debit services via banks are also likely to be disrupted by the new tool. Companies must sign bank agreements to offer automatic debit, a process central bank regulation director Gilneu Vivan described as burdensome for small businesses. Pix Automatico will simplify the process, allowing small merchants to receive recurring payments with ease. Vivan also noted that nearly 60 million Brazilians do not own a credit card, a group that will now be able to access subscription-based services previously limited to cardholders. A study by payments platform EBANX estimates that Pix Automatico could handle at least $30 billion in e-commerce transactions within its first two years of operation. ($1 = 5.6418 reais)
Reuters
04-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil's Pix set for next leap with launch of recurring payments
June 4 (Reuters) - Brazil's wildly popular instant payment system Pix is poised for another leap with the launch of a new recurring payments feature this month, central bank officials said on Wednesday. Since its launch in late 2020, Pix has rapidly become the leading payment method in Latin America's largest economy, surpassing cash as well as debit and credit cards. Last year it handled more than 26 trillion reais ($4.61 trillion) in transactions. Initially slated for launch last October, the new feature will go live on June 16, allowing users to authorize recurring charges with a single consent, according to the central bank, which developed and operates Pix. That will allow for automatic payments of utilities, phone bills, school tuition, gym memberships, and digital or streaming services via the new "Pix Automatico" tool. "'Boleto' will be overtaken by Pix Automatico when it comes to automatic payments," said Renato Gomes, the central bank's financial system organization director. Boleto is the traditional slip method, which moved 6.2 trillion reais last year, according to banking federation Febraban. Speaking at a central bank event in Sao Paulo to present the feature, Gomes added that existing automatic debit services via banks are also likely to be disrupted by the new tool. Companies must sign bank agreements to offer automatic debit, a process central bank regulation director Gilneu Vivan described as burdensome for small businesses. Pix Automatico will simplify the process, allowing small merchants to receive recurring payments with ease. Vivan also noted that nearly 60 million Brazilians do not own a credit card, a group that will now be able to access subscription-based services previously limited to cardholders. A study by payments platform EBANX estimates that Pix Automatico could handle at least $30 billion in e-commerce transactions within its first two years of operation. ($1 = 5.6418 reais)
