Almost a year ago, NG.Cash - a digital wallet aimed at Gen Z - received a generous seed money of $10 million to, among other goals, expand its product offering. Now, the fintech is moving forward with this strategy by launching a cryptocurrency trading service. It is the first move made towards increasing its portfolio and also the company's inaugural initiative in the investment world.
As of today (12), the service is being released to a smaller group of customers enrolled in a waiting list on the fintech website. The expectation is to make it available to the entire base - more than 1 million - by the end of August. In this initial phase, it will be possible to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum with a minimum ticket of BRL 1. Over time, the intention is to increase the investment options in crypto, as voted by the users themselves. During the beta programme, there will be no fee - then 1.5% will be charged.
"We recently launched the waiting list on the website, and we didn't announce anything on social media. Then, organically, users began to register. We already have twice as many people interested as we wanted at this early stage. It's a good sign," says Petrus Ballhausen Arruda, co-founder and COO of NG.Cash, in an interview with Finsiders.
To get the crypto trading service off the ground, the fintech uses Parfin's institutional infrastructure solution for digital assets, which handles crypto custody and brokerage, in compliance with regulatory requirements and multiple layers of security. "And we do all the customer service, customer relationship, CX [customer experience], in addition to the service interface itself in the app," says Petrus, citing that the product was launched in less than 3 months thanks to the partnership.
As with the account opening process, underage users who want to trade crypto need the approval of their parents or guardians. In addition, the fintech provides gamification and financial education features embedded in the app and limit controls.
"Customers need to understand that crypto is volatile, fluctuates a lot, and that the idea is to put money to invest with a focus on the long term," says the entrepreneur.
This type of investment, in fact, has been increasingly sought after by young investors looking for new alternatives to diversify the basket of applications. So much so that generation Z represents 46.2% of Brazilians who invest in cryptocurrencies, according to data released last year by the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Markets Entities (Anbima).
In the case of NG.Cash, it is no different. In surveys conducted with the customer base to assess interest in investment options, the company noted that a relevant portion of users cited cryptocurrencies, says Petrus. According to him, generation Z is naturally savvier, and sees cryptos as one of the alternatives in this regard.
Portfolio
Currently, in addition to the service that has just been launched, NG.Cash - which operates as a payment institution (IP) - offers the digital wallet with Pix, payment of slips, prepaid card with international credit function Mastercard flag, in addition to features such as mobile phone recharge and games, app customisation with exclusive skins, allowance management and discount marketplace.
"The idea is to evolve with customers. We want to be the bank of this generation," says Petrus. This means, therefore, adding new products and services as customers evolve in their financial journey."
More and more digital banks and fintechs - among them, Nubank, Inter, Mercado Pago and PicPay - have been offering crypto products to their customers. At the same time, the interest of different players in the audience of the new generations is also growing.
All of the above names and others such as Next (from Bradesco), C6 Bank and Z1 are keeping an eye on this segment, which already accounts for almost half of global consumption, according to a study by Credit Suisse with Nielsen.
Almost a year ago, NG.Cash - a digital wallet aimed at Gen Z - received a generous seed money of $10 million to, among other goals, expand its product offering. Now, the fintech is moving forward with this strategy by launching a cryptocurrency trading service. It is the first move made towards increasing its portfolio and also the company's inaugural initiative in the investment world.
As of today (12), the service is being released to a smaller group of customers enrolled in a waiting list on the fintech website. The expectation is to make it available to the entire base - more than 1 million - by the end of August. In this initial phase, it will be possible to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum with a minimum ticket of BRL 1. Over time, the intention is to increase the investment options in crypto, as voted by the users themselves. During the beta programme, there will be no fee - then 1.5% will be charged.
"We recently launched the waiting list on the website, and we didn't announce anything on social media. Then, organically, users began to register. We already have twice as many people interested as we wanted at this early stage. It's a good sign," says Petrus Ballhausen Arruda, co-founder and COO of NG.Cash, in an interview with Finsiders.
To get the crypto trading service off the ground, the fintech uses Parfin's institutional infrastructure solution for digital assets, which handles crypto custody and brokerage, in compliance with regulatory requirements and multiple layers of security. "And we do all the customer service, customer relationship, CX [customer experience], in addition to the service interface itself in the app," says Petrus, citing that the product was launched in less than 3 months thanks to the partnership.
As with the account opening process, underage users who want to trade crypto need the approval of their parents or guardians. In addition, the fintech provides gamification and financial education features embedded in the app and limit controls.
"Customers need to understand that crypto is volatile, fluctuates a lot, and that the idea is to put money to invest with a focus on the long term," says the entrepreneur.
This type of investment, in fact, has been increasingly sought after by young investors looking for new alternatives to diversify the basket of applications. So much so that generation Z represents 46.2% of Brazilians who invest in cryptocurrencies, according to data released last year by the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Markets Entities (Anbima).
In the case of NG.Cash, it is no different. In surveys conducted with the customer base to assess interest in investment options, the company noted that a relevant portion of users cited cryptocurrencies, says Petrus. According to him, generation Z is naturally savvier, and sees cryptos as one of the alternatives in this regard.
Portfolio
Currently, in addition to the service that has just been launched, NG.Cash - which operates as a payment institution (IP) - offers the digital wallet with Pix, payment of slips, prepaid card with international credit function Mastercard flag, in addition to features such as mobile phone recharge and games, app customisation with exclusive skins, allowance management and discount marketplace.
"The idea is to evolve with customers. We want to be the bank of this generation," says Petrus. This means, therefore, adding new products and services as customers evolve in their financial journey."
More and more digital banks and fintechs - among them, Nubank, Inter, Mercado Pago and PicPay - have been offering crypto products to their customers. At the same time, the interest of different players in the audience of the new generations is also growing.
All of the above names and others such as Next (from Bradesco), C6 Bank and Z1 are keeping an eye on this segment, which already accounts for almost half of global consumption, according to a study by Credit Suisse with Nielsen.