Implemented in Brazil three years ago, the free-flow toll collection system, carried out by a gantry and without the need for booths, is the main avenue for growth for Sem Parar, a company that leads the market for electronic payments on highways in Brazil.
The company, controlled by the American firm Corpay, plans to invest R$ 150 million in 2026 in technology platforms, expanding service points, and acquiring more services, such as gas stations and parking lots.
The goal, with these actions, is for the company to increase its current volume of 8 million tags installed in vehicles to 15 million by 2029, almost doubling in size.
Corpay, which acquired Sem Parar for US$1 billion in 2016, projected global revenue of US$4.5 billion by 2025. The Brazilian operation accounts for 15% to 17% of the total, equivalent to just over US$700 million.
"Free flow is a great positive avenue for us because it generates increasing demand for automatic payment services. Only 15% of vehicles in Brazil today have adopted the electronic payment model. The market is still underpenetrated," says Carlos Gazaffi, CEO of Sem Parar, in an interview with NeoFeed.
The executive bases his statement on figures from the Brazilian Association of Automatic Payment Companies for Mobility (Abepam), which shows that there are currently around 15 million tags in Brazil, taking into account all companies in the sector.
This is for a fleet of just over 100 million vehicles – 60 million cars and 40 million heavy vehicles, such as buses and trucks. The expectation is that the advancement of free flow will also double the volume of automatic payment stickers in three years, exceeding the 30 million mark.
The first free-flow model was implemented in March 2023 on the Rio-Santos Highway, but so far it has progressed at a slower pace. Today the system operates in 15 concessions, with 77 active gantries and five thousand kilometers of highways in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Rondônia.
The expectation is that, by the end of the year, there will be 156 direct toll collection gantries, eliminating the need for toll cancellations, across 26 highway operators in Brazil. New concession projects are expected to begin with free-flow systems already implemented.
On July 1st, the model will begin operating on the Anchieta-Imigrantes System, managed by Ecovias, which connects the capital of São Paulo to the coast. The two highways currently charge the most expensive toll in Brazil, at R$ 38.70, payable only on the downhill section.
Following the change, the fee will be split, with half, R$ 19.35, being charged for each lane. According to Gazaffi, this shouldn't affect the company's revenue, which is linked to the monthly fee. What should happen is a dilution of the revenue passed on to the concessionaires.
"What will happen is that transactions will involve smaller tickets, with a greater quantity, when compared to traditional toll plazas. But there is no change in risk," he states. Sem Parar currently receives around 800,000 toll payments per month on the highway leading to the coast.
Even with the projected growth of the model on the roads this year, Gazaffi acknowledges that more clarification is still needed for the public, especially regarding payment methods for those who have not subscribed to companies that offer tags.
In this sense, he understands that the decision by the National Traffic Council (Contran) to suspend, until November 16th of this year, the payment of 3.4 million fines for traffic violations in the free flow zone was correct.
"This system is a point of no return. There was the challenge of high-speed reading, and that has been solved. The default rate, which is currently around 4%, has also not become a problem. But communication and the education process need more time," says Gazaffi.
“There are still people who don’t even know that a tag can be used in free flow. And, for those who already have one, nothing changes. They receive the charge normally in the app. For those who don’t have one, they need to remember to pay and look for the payment channels. Brazilians want to pay. But it needs to be well explained,” he adds.
Today the company has around 200 stores in Brazil and 15,000 retail points of sale for Sem Parar tags. The system operates in approximately 8,000 locations, such as parking lots and gas stations, in 150 municipalities.
The company also has partnerships with the country's main automakers and, according to the CEO, Sem Parar has been expanding this number, especially in relation to Chinese electric car manufacturers. "Out of 10 cars produced, nine now leave the factory with our tag," he states. According to him, the company already offers maps of charging stations for automobiles.
New avenues
According to the CEO of Sem Parar, the strategy also involves using the increased volume of tags in cars as a gateway to other services offered by the company in the country. The executive stated that the new plans, in addition to the company's core service,already account for 30% of annual revenue.
In this segment, the company operates in three avenues of growth. One of the paths of this expansion has been in the insurance sector, where the company already has four million policies.
The focus has been on offering services such as paintless dent repair or 24-hour coverage for incidents along the highway, starting from the moment the driver passes through the first toll plaza.
The second avenue is the market for paying vehicle-related fees, such as fines, taxes, and licensing fees. The company advanced in this direction following the acquisition of the Gringo app for R$1 billion in January 2025. The previous year, the company had already acquired the fintech Zapay.
"These two platforms allow us to access an addressable market of approximately R$120 million per year. They have connectivity with 100% of the Detrans (Brazilian state traffic departments) in Brazil and are now integrated into the Sem Parar platform," he explains.
The third service is Sem Parar Mais, which offers a credit card integrated with the tag service. Earlier this year, the company internalized this service, which until then was done in partnership with Afinz bank. "It's a product for those who spend on mobility and want to have a benefits package," he says.
According to the CEO, Sem Parar currently has 150,000 issued credit cards, and the plan is to reach one million issued cards within three years.
"When we add these three new verticals, we triple in size considering the last five years. Last year alone, these verticals grew by 26%. They will continue to grow, but they should remain at this level, because our core business, which is tags, has a lot of room to grow," explains Gazaffi.
In the first half of 2026, shares of the company that owns Sem Parar rose 14.7% on the NYSE. Corpay has a market capitalization of US$22.5 billion.
