By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s leading food delivery platform iFood, part of Prosus NV (AMS:PRX), is turning its dominance in delivery into a springboard for financial innovation. The company’s fintech arm, launched in 2019 to support restaurant partners, now disburses around BRL 160 million in loans monthly, totaling BRL 2 billion in credit granted and 175,000 active accounts.
According to a report by Broadcast, the financial division — branded iFood Pago — is becoming one of the group’s fastest-growing business units. It already holds licenses from Brazil’s Central Bank as a Payment Institution (IP) and a Direct Credit Society (SCD), and now seeks regulatory approval to operate as a full commercial bank, potentially through strategic partnerships.
Artificial intelligence drives smarter credit decisions
Artificial intelligence lies at the heart of iFood’s fintech success. CEO Diego Barreto explained that the company’s proprietary algorithm analyzes restaurants’ operational data to evaluate financial health and creditworthiness.
“We created an algorithm that assesses a restaurant’s operational capacity and assigns a sustainability score,” Barreto said. “If a restaurant cancels few orders, customers like it, and it manages inflation in menu prices, the model identifies it as low-risk and eligible for credit.”
The AI system, he added, also predicts the likelihood of a restaurant leaving the platform — giving iFood an edge over traditional banks in extending credit to small businesses.
Expanding into benefits and payments
Beyond credit, iFood has expanded into employee benefits and payments. Its meal voucher platform, launched in 2020, now serves 856,000 active users. The company has become one of the most vocal advocates in Brasília for market openness and interoperability in the benefits sector.
In payments, the company introduced its own card terminal, fully integrated with the iFood app. The system processed BRL 925 million in transactions and aims to reach 4,000 restaurants by 2026, deepening the company’s role in the financial ecosystem.
Innovation as part of corporate culture
Innovation has become part of iFood’s DNA, a culture fostered by former CEO Fabricio Bloisi, now CEO of Prosus. Internally, new business initiatives are dubbed “jet-skis” — experimental projects tested for viability before scaling. As of 2023, about 20 such projects were in development.
Barreto, who now also leads Prosus’s Latin American operations, recently attended a Google-hosted private event for global entrepreneurs, where he discussed the major technological revolutions ahead.
“There’s a very clear vision that global productivity will skyrocket in the next five years,” he said, referring to breakthroughs in AI, robotics, and quantum computing.
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