Brazil is the world’s seventh-largest economy with a population of 207.8 million and GDP of US$1.775 trillion in 2015. An independent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), published in August, shows a thriving payment cards market in Brazil. Approximately 40% of adults held a bank-issued debit card in 2014, with a transaction volume of US$109 billion. 35% of the adult population held a Credit Card, generating US$272 billion in transactions.
However, settlement times are abnormally slow in the Brazilian market. “The average settlement period for credit card transactions in Brazil is D + 28,” PwC wrote, indicating the number of days it takes for banks to internally settle each payment. In most western markets it only takes two days, prompting the Central Bank of Brazil to ask the Brazilian Association of Credit Card Companies to formalise the fundamentals of the local model that would justify the existing settlement period and evaluate a potential change.
http://bravenewcoin.com/news/santander-says-yes-to-bitcoin-in-brazil/
