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In recent years, financial inclusion has gained the attention of international organizations, regulatory bodies and governments around the world. In Brazil, much has been said about financial inclusion with the advent of account openings related to emergency programs. In discussions on the subject, the bankarization comes to the fore. For many, a bank account is taken to be synonymous with financial inclusion and access to credit, but these issues, although related, refer to different situations.

"Bankarization" is the name given to access to the services of a bank account or payment institution. There are various estimates of the number of "banked" in Brazil and around the world. The most comprehensive database is the Global Findex, compiled by the World Bank, with data up to 2021. According to these figures, the percentage of "banked" people in the world reached 76%, while in Brazil it reached 54%. This proportion only takes into account the population aged over 15.

Opening an account is the gateway to banking services such as transfers, receiving salaries (in the case of individuals), deposits, savings, paying bills, among other essentials for an individual or company to develop their economic relations, while access to credit is another story. Credit operations are more complex financial services and involve a number of stages before approval.

A banking relationship through an account can be a starting point in the search for credit, but it requires more than that. Data from the World Bank shows that, even with the advance of banking, there is a demand for credit met through informal means: according to the survey, just over half of the world's population borrowed money (531,000,000), of which 291,000,000 used formal financial institutions and 271,000,000 sought resources from friends and family, i.e. outside the financial system.

The key to obtaining resources through the institutions set up for this purpose lies in visibility for credit. This is the concept that has guided the development of solutions such as Positive data and other databases. Being visible for credit means being able to generate information that can be identified and read by credit analysis, even by individuals or companies with no previous banking relationship. A few years ago, visibility for credit was confused with the banking relationship itself. That has changed.

Economic activities, bills for ongoing services such as telephone, electricity, sanitation and gas, for example, contain important information about eligibility for credit, by analyzing payment history. They provide visibility for credit. It is important to clarify that credit visibility does not guarantee approval for a loan or financing, but rather provides more adequate information on the criteria of the credit analysis process. Is the potential borrower creditworthy? If so, what is their credit history? This is where the analysis of visible data comes in.

Another important clarification is that the financial institution's decision will not always be binary. Between granting and not granting, the institution can grant more or less credit under different conditions for each borrower, taking into account their history. Here, the concept of higher and lower interest rates must be replaced by fairer credit conditions. An efficient and sustainable credit market must ensure that the result is fair, reflecting the best assessment of the risk of the operation for each borrower profile, guaranteeing that the borrower is able to honor their commitments and prevent over-indebtedness.

O Central Bank defines financial inclusion as a state in which all adults have effective access to credit, savings, payments, insurance, pensions and investments. In short, bankarization is one of the pillars of inclusion, which can only be achieved through wider use than that made possible by the most basic services of a current account. Visibility for credit is an instrument capable of strengthening the relationship between consumers, companies and formal institutions, leading to full inclusion. Data from the credit bureau sector shows that the use of information from customers of telecommunications services has included around 14 million individuals and companies in the Cadastro Positivo database. This was a big step towards inclusion.

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By: Elias Sfeir President of ANBC & Member of the Climate Council of the City of São Paulo & Certified Advisor