Majority think tax increase for fintechs will be passed on to customers, survey finds | Finance

Last Tuesday (2), the bill which proposes to increase the CSLL rates for payment institutions (IP) and financial institutions was definitively approved by the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) of the Senate. The text must still be examined by the Chamber of Deputies.

The project increases the rate paid by IPs from 9% currently to 12% in 2026, reaching 15% in 2028. The rate paid by financial institutions, which currently pay 15%, increases to 17.5% in 2026, reaching 20% ​​in 2028 – reaching the same level as that paid by banks. Today, most fintechs operate under IP license. Some larger ones, like Nubank and Mercado Pago, also have a financial license.

The entities commissioned the study to strengthen arguments in the debate over the sector’s tax burden. “In our opinion, research is extremely important for this debate. Firstly, to show parliamentarians how the population perceives fintechs in a very positive way, how people’s lives are transformed by them and also to show that there is a social concern regarding the increase in taxes, because it is a transfer risk”, says Eduardo Lopes, president of Zetta.

If the change is approved and the transfer takes place, 36.8% of respondents said they would remain fintech customers, 32.3% would migrate to traditional banks and 30.9% could not answer. Expected impacts include an increase in fees and annual charges for 77% of respondents, an increase in interest on personal loans also for 77% and an increase in interest on credit cards for 75%.

The study also explored Brazilians’ views on fintech taxation. For 63.5% of those questioned, different rules like the current ones promote growth, competition and innovation. Furthermore, 75.1% say traditional banks do not need any government protection in the face of competition from fintechs. In total, 52.7% consider the tax increase to be unfair, while 40.9% consider the measure to be fair.

Financial inclusion and competition

The survey also assessed perceptions regarding financial inclusion and competition. In total, 84.5% of respondents believe that digital banks and fintechs have made financial services more accessible. For 47.6%, the growth of fintechs in recent years has had a positive impact, and 37.4% assess the impact as very positive.

Respondents attribute advances to digital institutions such as greater financial inclusion of low-income people, highlighted by 77%, improved applications by the same percentage, increased competition for 74%, better access to investments for 71% and greater ease of access to credit for 70%.

However, the perception of traditional banks is more critical. Only 15.4% consider their services accessible. For 49.6%, the costs are high but manageable, while 34.4% describe the fees as prohibitive. Additionally, 63.1% say traditional banks charge more fees and abusive interest, and 49.4% say service is worse and problem resolution is more difficult.

The survey also highlights the limits of access to credit. Among those surveyed, 75.5% have already tried to obtain credit and 62.2% have had their application refused at least once. Among the main reasons are a negative name in 30.6% of cases, lack of information on the reason for refusal in 20.2%, low income in 18%, lack of proof of income in 12.8% and lack of banking history in 10.2%.

Despite advances in fintech and increased competition, Lopes says some challenges remain, particularly in the area of ​​credit. “People now have more access to accounts, which they didn’t have in the past. But there is still a very high concentration (of credit) in the big five banks.”

For him, financial inclusion is not yet complete, and open finance and guaranteed credit can encourage fintechs to expand their offering. “Financial inclusion will be complete not only with entry (into the banking system), but also with effective access to products. »

The survey also shows that 39.5% believe that there is still little competition and that large banks remain dominant. 23.3% say they see a lot of competition, 19.9% ​​see some competition and 13.3% see little competition. The majority, 51.6%, believe that traditional banks continue to have a competitive advantage, while 19.1% say the two compete on equal terms and 17.2% see fintechs as having an advantage.

The survey interviewed more than 2,000 people between October 28 and November 10.