Ranked among Brazil's biggest banks, Banco Bradesco will test a blockchain-powered digital wallet and mobile payments app in Paraisopolis, a neighborhood on São Paulo's south side. The bank tapped eW
Ranked among Brazil's biggest banks, Banco Bradesco will test a blockchain-powered digital wallet and mobile payments app in Paraisopolis, a neighborhood on São Paulo's south side.
The bank tapped eWally, a domestic startup, to build the solution. eWally made the cut in InovaBRA, Bradesco's second-round program for fintech startups, with 11 companies competing for spots. The wallet handles mobile payments and money transfers. Users send and receive funds on their phones, whether they're paying bills, making donations, settling loans, distributing salaries, or sending remittances.
Marcelo Frontini, Bradesco's director of research and innovation, told local outlet Valor that eWally will connect to Bradesco Expresso, the bank's correspondent banking network. Bradesco Expresso operates through more than 40,000 retailers including pharmacies, convenience stores, and clothing shops. These outlets let customers pay utilities and taxes, withdraw or deposit cash with Bradesco cards, and apply for loans and credit cards.
Once eWally goes live in the network, customers can make deposits, withdrawals, and payments at any Bradesco Expresso location through the app.
Bradesco is also running tests with Bit.One, another InovaBRA 2016 finalist, for cross-border payments. Bit.One sells bitcoin products and services including a prepaid card, a mini ATM, and a complete cryptocurrency platform with bitcoin wallet and exchange.
The bank is negotiating with Ripple on cross-border payments. The moves follow Bradesco's decision to join R3, the New York fintech firm's blockchain consortium. Bradesco became the second Brazilian financial institution to enter the world's largest bank coalition focused on blockchain technology.
"Innovation plays a crucial role at Bradesco and we are committed to better serve our customers and add value to our shareholders," Maurício Machado de Minas, Executive Vice President at Bradesco, said. "Blockchain technologies can help us to achieve these objectives and we are excited about joining R3, so that we can work together and discover the full potential of this new technology."
