Elo decides to "take on" Visa and Mastercard in the ultra-premium market.

Controlled by the banks Bradesco, Banco do Brasil and Caixa, the national card brand Elo decided to enter the ultra-premium segment, a market in which it had not yet operated in the country and which is currently dominated by American competitors Visa and Mastercard.

The target audience for this type of investment, which offers extra benefits to ultra-wealthy clients, represents less than 0.01% of the Brazilian population of 212.6 million, according to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). This means a contingent of only 200,000 people.

“We started thinking about this in 2022 because these products have always been on the horizon. Back then, we already envisioned having an ultra-premium card. And this intensified with the launch of competing brands,” says Giancarlo Greco, CEO of Elo, in an interview with NeoFeed . “Now, the relationship platform and the potential for benefits have improved. So, the time is right.”

In May of last year, Visa launched the Privilege card for very high-net-worth clients with investments of at least US$6 million with the issuing financial institution, or a monthly income of US$60,000.

In October, Mastercard announced its version for this audience, with the World Legend card . The proposal was to occupy the space of the Black model and offer a range of global benefits, such as gastronomic experiences at major airports and free business class tickets for the cardholder's companions.

With over 34 million active cards in the country, Elo will also be targeting this top-of-the-line financial customer profile. The expectation is that this option will be ready to be offered to banks and Elo cardholders starting in the third quarter of this year.

Currently, the company is in the final stages of studies, which include the exclusive benefits that will be offered and the minimum requirements to access the product, such as income and investment volume.

“We have a range of products very similar to Visa and Mastercard, from entry-level to our highest-end card to date, which is the Nanquim Diners. But until now, Elo didn't have an ultra-premium card that catered to this type of customer,” he says.

According to the executive, the company has noticed demand from partner issuers for this differentiated type of credit card, which contributed to the decision to finally bring the project to fruition.

“Our presence is very strong in the more mass-market segment, but the idea is to have a range of options from the beginning to the end of the journey. And that will happen soon,” says Greco.

Partnership with Accenture

In addition to its plan to expand its customer base, especially among wealthier consumers, Elo has diversified its revenue with new services, such as consulting. In this regard, the company established a partnership earlier this year with the global consulting firm Accenture precisely to offer new business opportunities to its existing customer base.

The proposal is to offer specific solutions to other companies, mainly in the area of payments. Since the partnership for this service model was established, four customized projects have already been implemented.

One of them is related to the creation of a direct consultancy to contribute to reducing the volume of fraud, with plans to expand management to reduce this type of problem.

Another ongoing action is the development of initiatives to contribute to increasing the activation of sold cards, with the participation of technicians from both Elo and Accenture.

“We were already developing some consulting solutions before, with themes related to card solutions, but the partnership with Accenture gives us scale of operation. On our own, Elo cannot scale,” says Greco.

In practice, the consulting service ends up helping Elo in its core business because, as the company makes the client more efficient, the tendency is for the volume of cards sold to increase.

According to Edlayne Burr of Accenture, demand in the first few months exceeded initial forecasts, which, according to her, demonstrates the growth potential of the sector.

“When we think about card brands, what comes to mind are credit cards. But today they play a role in helping banks guarantee more value from these businesses, with process improvements. The advantage of being a local brand contributes to offering specific solutions for the Brazilian market,” says the executive.

In 2025, Elo achieved net revenue of R$1.6 billion. The total payment volume (TPV) for the period reached R$310.9 billion. The company currently has 40 card issuers.

Of this total, the consulting vertical represents less than 10% of revenue (around R$150 million). With the partnership with Accenture, the CEO expects this model to represent between 20% and 30% of the business within four years.

“Today, our core business represents 85% to 90% of our revenue. When we look at international brands, this number drops to between 60% and 70%. What we want is to have this type of diversification and expand our revenue pie,” says Greco.

In any case, even though there is a plan to grow with very high revenue and consulting services, the CEO of Elo does not hide the concern imposed by the current challenging macroeconomic scenario, with a Selic rate of 14.75% per year. The risk is that this level will affect consumption, which could affect its main business.

“A high interest rate controls inflation somewhat, but it inhibits consumption. There needs to be a balance, especially on the part of the Central Bank. Ideally, inflation should be controlled while stimulating consumption. I don't think that will happen with interest rates at 14.75%. It needs to be lower,” he states.