Founded in 2012, Brazilian Fintech Creditas is today’s leading online credit platform in that region. Presently the company is acting as the main source of online credits in Brazil and has four essential products that are slowly revolutionizing Brazil and its emerging markets.;
In this article we’re going to explore the humble beginnings of Creditas, what products and services the company offers, and a bit about what it has planned for the future. It’s time to get to know Creditas.
What is Creditas?
Creditas helps Brazilians fulfill lifelong goals and helps them out in their continuous financial journey. Whether it is a loan for a car, a new apartment, or a business, Creditas is there to lend a hand. Founded in 2012, Creditas provides state-of-the-art fintech solutions to not only small businesses but individuals.
From digital insurance, all the way to credit lending services — and, since its deployment, the intentional Creditas giant has been testing foreign markets and dipping its toes into potential new investments abroad.
Today, the fintech is expanding its reach into Mexico and developing dynamic deployment hubs in Valencia, Spain which will enable them to expand their reach.
As of 2022, Creditas offers four main products:
- Loans with property guarantees.
- Loans with vehicle guarantees.
- Payroll deductible private loans.
- Vehicle financing.
As the fintech pokes new markets and tests those wild new waters, it also prepares new products and pursues radical strategic M&A opportunities.
The Story of Creditas
The story is Creditas is a story of why many fintechs are called both disruptive as well as unicorns. The leading credit fintech in Brazil was created in 2012, and 8 years later was valued at $1.75 billion.;
In Latin America, there is a huge disparity between the have and have nots — and part of that gap has to do with the huge interest most banks and financial institutions give out when it comes to credit. Creditas was created to not only help bridge this gulf but take advantage of growing demands by consumers; those that wanted to become homeowners.
In the beginning, Creditas focused on real-estate loans, but as the startup grew it evolved and started to implement new services and products, including vehicle loans, business loans, and personal loans.
Creditas was birth by Sergio Furio, a Spanish bank investor born and raised in Valencia. Sergio graduated in the early 2000s from Business Administration, and cut his teeth working at Deutsche Bank. In 2005, he moved his business focus into consulting and was rapidly snatched up by the Boston Consulting Group.
It was during this period, while working in New York for that powerhouse, that Sergio became enamored of tech — he started to think about software development and how to not only produce it cheaper but how to make it more user-friendly. That same year, he was also dating his now current wife, Silvia.
Silvia was really the one that gave Sergio the idea of Creditas. One day, over dinner, she casually mentioned that people in Brazil - her home country - were paying up to 200% in interest rates. Sergio bought a ticket to Sao Paulo and later moved into the region.
Why? 5 banks owned 95% of total loans. Not only that, but it turns out that stats not only showed that Brazilians liked to own stuff - not rent - including cars, and real estate properties. 10% more than Americans. Those same stats’ showed that Brazilians, in general, were extremely responsive when it came to paying out their debt — most have no debt.
There was a market, not only that, there was a growing number of people that simply wanted better interest rates. On top of that, given that Brazilians owned so much stuff, they also had a lot of collateral. Creditas started to focus on home equity types of credits. The type that is all too common in other countries but seems out-of-this-world in places like Brazil.
Over time, Sergio also installed other products and loans — a very popular type is rapid loans through payroll deduction over a short period. This sort of loan offers employees the lowest interest rate in the market.
Creditas today
Today, Creditas offers Brazilians the lowest internet rate in the market for most of its products. It has also integrated digital services that make filling out a loan application and getting approved online incredibly easy. It is one of the region's 6 best startups and has been continually featured on various lists as one of the 250 most promising fintechs in the world. I
ts marketplaces include Creditas Auto - a car marketplace, that not only helps consumers finance and buy a vehicle, but assist them if they need to refinance one; Creditas Store - an e-commerce platform with a payroll-deductible model where consumers can buy smartphones, Apple products, home appliances, and other products; and Voltz - the largest manufacturer of electric motorcycles in Brazil.
