C6 Bank‘s automatic-payment system is reportedly one of the fastest growing online platforms in Brazil.
The C6 Bank began offering financial services in August 2019. The digital banking platform has introduced C6 tag, which has helped with accelerating growth for the firm. In around 2 years, C6 Bank’s toll tag has reached 13% market share.
As mentioned in an update by C6 Bank, two companies in Brazil have explored this market. The first to provide the toll tag service began operating back in 2000. With several dealerships as partners, it was the only service provider in this field for 11 years. In 2011, a change in legislation allowed for the entry of companies from other areas. That’s when the first competitor entered the market.
Even after the competitor began offering services, the market continued, until 2019, to be very focused on the original brand, which accounted for over 90% of sales. Consumers were required to have a credit card to use these services. The toll or parking fee – in addition to the usage fees – was found on the invoice, the C6 Bank team noted.
Max Gutierrez, Head of Products and Individual at C6 Bank, revealed:
“There are millions of people in Brazil without a credit card who use toll roads and parking lots.”
C6 Bank’s idea of offering the product to customers came from realizing that: a “tag” that was free and debited from a checking account, without “the need for a card.” The C6 Tag works “like a car debit card,” the firm explained.
In a market that hadn’t seen “anything new for years,” the C6 Tag “shook up” the competition, the company claims.
Currently, of the 10 million vehicles that use “tags” in Brazil, approximately 55% use the “leader and pioneer in the market.” Another 13% are using the services of the second company in the sector.
The C6 Tag, according to market sources, with only two years of operations, is already competing with the second brand, “also with 13% of users.”
Gutierrez pointed out that “new competitors have already emerged, but we are still the only one totally free on the market.”
C6 Bank does “not charge a membership fee or a shipping fee.” The company further explained that the toll or parking fees are “debited directly from the user’s account, it is not necessary to top up.”
The new automatic payment options and also the pandemic have led to many more consumers using automatic payment stickers.
At one of the largest highway concessionaires in Brazil, the increase in the use of “tags” since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak has been considerable (over 70%). This percentage “varies by region and highway traffic.”
“This is a market that was stagnant and is now growing because the consumer has started to see benefits,” Gutierrez claims.
In the case of C6 Tag, in addition to automatic payment without fees or monthly fees, since September 2021, there is C6 Tag Rodovia insurance: “with R$ 5 per month, customers are covered in case of any setback on toll roads.”
In the event of crashes or accidents, the insured is “entitled to a tow truck available 24 hours a day, free taxi to complete the trip within a perimeter of up to 400 kilometers from the accident site and accommodation, depending on the circumstances of the occurrence – in addition to coverage for up to BRL 5,000 for damage to own and third-party vehicles.”
Fabio Basilone, responsible for the insurance area at C6 Bank, stated:
“We had a great reception with this product. It was a surprise: within two months of launching, we already reached the target we had calculated for when the product reached its maturity.”
Currently, 47% of national toll traffic is carried out automatically, according to the Brazilian Association of Highway Concessionaires (ABCR). This average increases to 70% in the state of São Paulo.
Gutierrez added:
“The pandemic greatly accelerated the acceptance of ‘tags’ because with it you don’t have to stop, open your car window, get cash. All of this reduces the chances of contagion.”