Bradesco became the sole owner of digital bank Digio after buying Banco do Brasil’s 49.99% stake in the fintech for about R$625 million (US$112 million). The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is in line with Bradesco’s strategy to increase its presence in an increasingly competitive digital market, where it already operates Next bank and Bitz e-wallet.
Bradesco has been focused on both the creation of its own initiatives, such as Next, as well as the acquisition of other players, such as DinDin, which was integrated into Bitz, and now Digio, where it shared management with Banco do Brasil.
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“Bradesco is looking to diversify its operations in the fintech market with multiple initiatives. We should see a move towards greater specialization in the segment from now on, so Digio, Bitz and Next may continue to focus on different audiences, which implies handling different languages, communication and a mix of solutions,” both financial and non-financial, Bruno Diniz, a partner at consultancy Spiralem, told iupana.
For the moment, although they are both digital players, Digio and Next complement each other more than they compete. “Going forward, we may see a greater effort to develop truly different value propositions and identities, building ecosystems of solutions that serve different audiences. We haven’t seen this kind of strategy here from a large bank, but it could be an interesting path if they manage to execute. Otherwise, an eventual merger of the initiatives could be an alternative,” Diniz said.