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| Pic: Marcelo Casal Jr/Agência Brasil |
Vanq, a fintech from Minas Gerais, is preparing to launch in the first half of this year the pilot operation of the service of unification and simplified management of credit cards. The focus is on serving people who use three or more cards and who want to reduce the number of cards in their wallets, simplifying control over their expenses. Even before launching the service, the company already has more than 25,000 users who have pre-registered by requesting the Vanq card.
“In Brazil there are approximately 14 million people who use three or more credit cards”, says Daniel Cária, founding partner and CEO of Vanq. “These people want more control over their financial life and reduce the number of cards in their wallets. We came to bring them not only these benefits, but also ensure an additional layer of security for their daily operations”, he guarantees. The service will be provided through an application that aggregates all the user's cards, in addition to a physical and digital card for offline and online purchases.
“The operation with the Vanq card will be the same as what the user would do if he used his normal credit cards”, points out Cária. “But he will have the advantage of walking around with just one card in his wallet, tracking the spending of all his cards in a single application, in addition to tracking and gaining insights into his consumption habits and greater control of his expenses”, he adds.
The basic profile of the interested user is formed by young people between 20 and 35 years old, self-employed professionals and entrepreneurs, fans of new technologies and who use four or more credit cards. Among the company's goals is to end 2023 with around 100,000 users on its platform.
How it works
Cária explains that Vanq customers will be able to choose in real time, via the application, which credit card purchases made on Vanq will be directed to, or program the use of cards by period, so that the purchase amount will always be directed to the card with better payment term. All purchases made at commercial establishments or over the internet will now be made with the Vanq card, which will automatically transfer the amount to the card indicated by the customer, at no additional cost.
The operation also guarantees Vanq customers the maintenance of all the benefits of the cards registered in the application – such as mileage, points and services. Among the facilities that the Vanq application offers are the dashboards, which make it easier to view the statements of the various cards or even manage credit card purchases by expense profile (restaurants, streaming subscriptions, school, etc.). “With Vanq, it's no longer necessary to carry multiple credit cards in your wallet or purse. One card, one password and double the security”, stresses Cária.
To ensure this additional security, the physical Vanq card does not bear the printed number and the application acts as a financial firewall, protecting the data of the original cards. In case of loss or theft, this card cannot be used without the password and the customer's original cards remain safe at home. “In addition, in the event of theft or theft, the user only has to cancel the Vanq card and, while waiting to receive a new card, he can continue using all his other cards”, details the CEO.
Concept proof
The startup expects to start the pilot test of the physical card and the application in the first half of this year, which should involve around 300 users. According to Cária, the pilot test will function as a proof of concept and will serve to make adjustments to the application and operation.
The CEO believes that the potential audience should grow significantly as soon as the application also includes debit cards, meal vouchers, food, among others, on its platform. “In the beginning, we will only operate with credit cards, but little by little we will include other types of payment cards. Vanq's goal is to aggregate all the cards used by the user to effectively simplify, connect and organize their financial life”, he points out.
Funding
Vanq was born in 2019 and held its first fundraising at the end of 2021, with Minas Gerais investors, in the pre-Seed round. At the time, the company obtained R$ 3 million to start its operational activities and will soon return to the market for new funding rounds, with the aim of leveraging the operation.
“We are going to carry out the Seed capture in the first half of 2022, with the aim of expanding the number of customers and expanding the functionalities. We intend to advance to the A series in early 2023, with the aim of achieving a strong leverage of the operation”, he says. Fintech also recently entered into an operational partnership with an international credit card brand.
About Vanq: Vanq is a financial unification fintech that allows users to spend on all their cards through a single card.
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