Fábio Magalhães (*) For decades, access to credit in Brazil has been shaped by bureaucracy, opacity and high costs.

This wasn't accidental - it was structural. But now the game is changing. The compulsory use of book-entry invoices opens a new chapter: a digital, traceable and more reliable model for granting credit. But this transformation, although inevitable, is far from simple. And the biggest problem is not a technical one - it's one of alignment between the players in the ecosystem. And now, more than ever, banks, companies and bookkeepers will need to operate under a new type of synchronization. The challenge? Everyone has different pains, and not everyone is on the same page.

On the financial institutions' side, there is a clear opportunity: to operate with more security, less information asymmetry and greater traceability. According to the Central Bank, the digitalization of trade bills is expected to reduce the cost of credit for medium-sized companies by up to 20%, thanks to greater transparency and a reduction in fraud. But this clarity comes with new responsibilities. Traditional risk analysis models will need to be adapted to the reality of real-time data.

Validation processes, integration with bookkeeping platforms and automated auditing will no longer be differentials, but requirements. As pointed out by Serasa Experian, around 40% of companies still do not have systems prepared for real-time integration with registration platforms - a technical and strategic challenge. In a scenario where digital flow becomes the new basis of trust, operating with friction will be unforgivable.

For companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, the new scenario means fairer access - but not necessarily easier. The promise is of cheaper and more accessible credit, with less intermediation and more agility. A recent study by ANBC (National Association of Credit Bureaus) shows that up to 60% of Brazilian SMEs still rely on manual processes in their financial management, which makes it difficult to adhere to book-entry duplicatas. The reality, however, is that this requires a level of internal structure that many do not yet have. Without accounting automation, systems integration and document traceability, bookkeeping becomes more of an obstacle than a solution. The risk is obvious: creating a new type of financial exclusion, not based on credit restrictions, but on a lack of technological capacity.

And at the center of this machinery are the bookkeeping companies - agents who used to operate behind the scenes and have now become protagonists. They will be responsible for ensuring that the digital duplicate fulfills its role: to give ballast, visibility and legal security to the transaction. But this requires more than a robust database. It requires interoperability, real-time availability, standardization and the ability to deal with multiple creditors and debtors simultaneously. Today, there are already 10 bookkeeping companies authorized to operate in Brazil according to B3, with different levels of technological maturity and standardization, which still creates friction in the operation of the system.

The digitization of trade bills is an undeniable advance. It has the potential to reduce the cost of credit, increase the efficiency of the system and generate more dynamism for the real economy. According to CVM estimates, the impact on the economy could exceed R$ 100 billion a year in efficiency gains and access to capital. But, like any structural change, it also reveals inequalities. The question now is not whether the transformation will be positive. It will be. The question that matters is: who is really prepared to operate this new model - and who will be caught between the promise of the new and the weight of the old?

(*) Founder and partner of Ideen/Revvo.