RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The competition between digital accounts is getting fiercer: Ebanx Go offers zero monthly fee, higher profitability than savings and free transfers to other accounts, as well as NuConta (from Nubank), PagBank and Mercado Pago.
The greatest difference is in the cashback: customers will receive five percent back of the amount spent on AliExpress, Gearbest, Spotify, Udacity, among others.
Ebanx Go was distributed in the beta phase to 10,000 customers; if you weren’t invited, you can join the waiting list at ebanxgo.com. The goal is to launch the digital account for everyone “at the beginning of the second half of 2020”, according to the company.
To access Ebanx Go, you will need to use an iPhone or Android App. The registration requires an identity document (only RG, driver’s license and passport are accepted) and a proof of residence, both sent digitally.
If the account is approved, the customer can make a deposit by bill, transfer money and make payments; purchases are made through a virtual card. There is no maintenance fee or monthly fee; transfers are also free. The service is done by chat only.
In the future, Ebanx Go will have a prepaid Visa card: the customer will be able to charge it with the account balance and make purchases at any physical establishment. The company still does not mention the possibility to withdraw money.
For now, you can only shop online. That’s where the Ebanx Go differential comes in: the customer gets five percent back on the amount spent in 18 stores and services, including Spotify, AliExpress, Gearbest, UseGiraffe, Freelancer, Grabr, Trip.com, and Udacity.
The cashback is deposited into the customer’s account within 15 working days of confirmation of payment; it has no expiration date and can be used for anything, including transfers to another account. The company notes that, in order to render cashback, the purchase must be made at the same CPF registered at Ebanx Go.
As this is a payment account, the money deposited is invested in government bonds. That is, the balance will yield more than the savings even if it is stopped. The same goes for NuConta, Mercado Pago and others.
Ebanx is a Brazilian company worth more than US$1 billion
Ebanx is based in Paraná state and offers payment solutions for services such as AliExpress and Spotify in Brazil and seven other Latin American countries. The company has an area dedicated to innovation and development of new solutions, which created the Ebanx Go account and the Ebanx Track order tracking platform.
The fintech exceeded US$1 (R$4) billion in market value last year, becoming a Brazilian “unicorn” – joining Nubank, 99, PagSeguro, Movile (owner of iFood) and QuintoAndar in that rare category.