Applicant name: Inter&Co
Applicant Type: Public Company
Website: www.bancointer.com.br/en/
Headquarter City: Belo Horizonte
Headquarter Country: Brazil
Innovation Name: Inter Super App
Innovation Type: Product
Category: Fintech Making a Difference
Status of Innovation: In-Market
Innovation Active Since: 11/07/2019

Innovation Description: Inter is a leading Super App, and the first Super App in the western world, offering financial and non-financial services to more than 22 million customers in Brazil and the US. We were founded in 1994 as Intermedium Financeira and in 2015 we transformed our business with the mission to improve financial inclusion, seeking to deliver user-friendly digital finance products to underserved communities in a single app. Over time, we evolved from a neobank to a Super App, offering financial and non-financial services in a full-service digital ecosystem that aims to simplify people’s lives in each of our six verticals: banking, credit, investments, insurance, shopping, and cross-border services, including remittances.

We have created significant momentum and are on the path for international expansion. Last year, we expanded our Super App offerings in the US with the acquisition of remittance fintech company formerly known as USEND and in June, we transferred our listing to NASDAQ, strengthening our position as a global technology company.

We continue to be driven by financial inclusion. Our mission is to simplify people’s lives, and we do this through our Super App, which is a complete ecosystem of services that expands beyond financial services. A combination of data, recurrence, payments and credit that equals a unique digital platform. One single mobile app can offer an entire suite of lifestyle services. At the same time, we are addressing financial inclusion by focusing on the unbanked and underbanked markets.

Innovation Inspiration: Back in 2015, we saw a clear problem to be solved: banking in Brazil. It was a concentrated market, with costly financial products distributed through branch networks that didn’t reach the low-income cities and populations. It also involved a lot of bureaucracy. Summing up, a bad experience for the users. So, our initial value proposition included a 100% free debit account, totally cloud-based, with mobile distribution, resulting in a best-in-class experience for our users. This triggered a digital banking revolution, as we were able to reach everyone in Brazil that had a smart phone.

Who can benefit from your innovation most? We are revolutionizing the way people, especially underserved immigrant populations, transact with banks, and therefore believe that anyone with a smart phone can benefit from our product.

In our vision, customers can hold accounts in foreign currencies, allowing for greater freedom as they travel, shop abroad, or require consumer services. They can transfer funds from local accounts to US-dollar accounts (and vice versa) all within seconds.

We are working towards making this vision a reality with Inter Global Account. Through Global Account, users can complete a variety of cross-border financial transactions all from a single app. They can hold funds in US dollars, send money, pay bills, buy gift cards, be issued a prepaid card for global purchases, and receive personal banking information to complete any sort of transaction customers need today.

Our model has been a proven success in Brazil, and now it’s time to bring it to the rest of the world!

What are you most proud of about your innovation? 

• We are most proud that every day, we continue to honor our commitment of making financial products affordable and accessible to everyone.
• We recently surpassed more than 22 million customers in the US and Brazil, growth of over 70% year-over-year.
• We reached revenues of R$1.5 bn by the end of June 2022, growth of over 130% year-over-year.
• We reached a gross loan portfolio of R$19.5 bn by the end of June 2022, growth of over 56% year-over-year.
• Our expansion into the US continues to grow with our recently announced partnership with the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), allowing us to connect more meaningfully with the Brazilian and Latino communities in the US.
• We launched Inter Global Account to service immigrant populations in the US.
• This is only the beginning, and the best is yet to come!

Why do you think you should win this category? We are ahead of the curve. As one of the first Super Apps in the western world, our product is truly innovative and designed to simplify life in different moments. Importantly, this is a product for everyone, not just a few. The democratization of the digital economy and transparency are key to us. As the world becomes increasingly digital, we work to ensure that nobody gets left behind.
Many consumers with lower socioeconomic standings are excluded from the banking sector. We have worked to remedy this wrong by offering unbanked, or underbanked, consumers the ability to access financial services through the Inter Super App. We are accessible and affordable. We offer one of Brazil’s first 100% free-of-charge digital checking accounts. This means that we do not charge any annuity to cardholders, nor do we charge fees for ATM withdrawals or wire transfers. We are now working to expand these offerings to the US, starting with Global Account and remittances with an initial focus on immigrant communities.
Removing barriers to access financial services is important in ensuring a more equitable world, and we work towards this goal every day.