The more adverse market for startups does not mean there is no room for newcomers. This is the case of Marcos Pileggi Filho, CEO of Broad, a fintech for international payments that was accelerated by Y Combinator and launches its products in Brazil this Monday.
The goal: “to solve the problem of traveling with a fanny pack,” Pileggi, a lawyer specializing in business law with a master's degree in management from London Business School, told Bloomberg Linea.
"Brazilians still resort a lot to conventional means like the exchange house to take money out and travel with that fanny pack, which is a horrible experience. Sometimes you don't know how to count the change [in foreign currency], you're afraid of losing the fanny pack and the savings you've put together to fulfill the dream of going somewhere else," he said.
The entrepreneur joined Juliano Alves (CTO, or Chief Technology Officer) to found the digital player, which aims to reach all of Latin America, starting with Brazil. Alves has worked in international financial companies such as CapitalOne and Wise.
Besides the traditional exchange houses and services offered by digital banks - such as C6 Bank and Nubank - and incumbents such as Itaú Unibanco (ITUB4), Wise (ex-Transferwise) is precisely one of the players Broad will compete with in Brazil.
Other competitors are Nomad and Avenue Securities, startups that bring more competition and seek to offer cheaper spread rates to the foreign exchange market.
Broad's debit card, which can be virtual or physical, has the Mastercard flag and works "like a local" in the three currencies, but also allows purchases in any currency - doing the conversion at the time of purchase. Pileggi says that the startup is also seeking integration with Google and Apple Pay.
As of this Monday, customers can download the app for iOS or Android and create the account, which, like other digital banks, charges no administration or maintenance fees.
Remittances can be made to Broad's account through Pix. The fintech charges IOF (Tax on Financial Transactions) of 1.1%. Broad is remunerated by an exchange spread of up to 2% over the commercial exchange rate of the currencies, in addition to the interchange fee charged by the establishments that accept the card.
The startup's focus is on people who travel for tourism, who spend money on international sites, and who want to have reserves in other currencies to protect themselves from currency devaluation.
The more adverse market for startups does not mean there is no room for newcomers. This is the case of Marcos Pileggi Filho, CEO of Broad, a fintech for international payments that was accelerated by Y Combinator and launches its products in Brazil this Monday.
The goal: “to solve the problem of traveling with a fanny pack,” Pileggi, a lawyer specializing in business law with a master's degree in management from London Business School, told Bloomberg Linea.
"Brazilians still resort a lot to conventional means like the exchange house to take money out and travel with that fanny pack, which is a horrible experience. Sometimes you don't know how to count the change [in foreign currency], you're afraid of losing the fanny pack and the savings you've put together to fulfill the dream of going somewhere else," he said.
The entrepreneur joined Juliano Alves (CTO, or Chief Technology Officer) to found the digital player, which aims to reach all of Latin America, starting with Brazil. Alves has worked in international financial companies such as CapitalOne and Wise.
Besides the traditional exchange houses and services offered by digital banks - such as C6 Bank and Nubank - and incumbents such as Itaú Unibanco (ITUB4), Wise (ex-Transferwise) is precisely one of the players Broad will compete with in Brazil.
Other competitors are Nomad and Avenue Securities, startups that bring more competition and seek to offer cheaper spread rates to the foreign exchange market.
Broad's debit card, which can be virtual or physical, has the Mastercard flag and works "like a local" in the three currencies, but also allows purchases in any currency - doing the conversion at the time of purchase. Pileggi says that the startup is also seeking integration with Google and Apple Pay.
As of this Monday, customers can download the app for iOS or Android and create the account, which, like other digital banks, charges no administration or maintenance fees.
Remittances can be made to Broad's account through Pix. The fintech charges IOF (Tax on Financial Transactions) of 1.1%. Broad is remunerated by an exchange spread of up to 2% over the commercial exchange rate of the currencies, in addition to the interchange fee charged by the establishments that accept the card.
The startup's focus is on people who travel for tourism, who spend money on international sites, and who want to have reserves in other currencies to protect themselves from currency devaluation.