This new feature makes banQi more accessible and convenient
With the acquisition of Airfox now finalized, the Airfox team is accelerating the development of our banQi app and new features. As part of the Via Varejo group, we are furthering our mission to offer underbanked Brazilians accessible, affordable, and simple financial services on a larger scale.
By leveraging Via Varejo’s resources, the Airfox team has developed and launched a new way for banQi users to make cash deposits. In addition to making deposits at Casas Bahia stores, banQi users can now make deposits at lotéricas and have the money added directly to their banQi accounts.
What are lotéricas?
Lotéricas are stores throughout Brazil where people can pay utility bills, carnês, bill installments, invoices, and various other bills. Lotéricas are convenient and make paying bills simple and easier for Brazilians. With a network of over 13,000 lotérica stores across the country, lotéricas are accessible to a wide range of the Brazilian population — more than any bank in Brazil.
By offering lotéricas as an option for depositing cash, we’re expanding banQi’s reach and making using banQi even more convenient. Not only is depositing cash faster and no longer requires banQi users to travel to Casas Bahia stores, but they can deposit cash into the app while making their pre-planned trip to a lotérica store.
Lotérica deposits on banQi
banQi users can add funds to their accounts by depositing cash at any lotérica. To make a deposit, banQi users must first choose the Lotérica (PEC) deposit option in the app and define the amount that will be deposited at the lotérica store. This generates a unique PEC code that facilitates in-store deposits at any lotérica location.
After that, banQi users have until midnight to go to a lotérica store, inform the cashier that they are making a PEC deposit, and give the cashier cash equating to the amount noted in banQi. Once a user deposits their cash, the money will be available in their banQi account by the end of the day.
Lotérica deposits can only be made Monday to Friday. If a banQi user starts the deposit process but does not go to a lotérica that same day, then the deposit order will be cancelled and the code will become invalid, although the banQi user can generate a new code the next day. banQi users can deposit up to R$2,000 per day with a total of R$10K per month at any lotérica location.
Making banQi more accessible one feature at a time
By allowing our users to deposit at lotérica stores, banQi has become more accessible than ever before. Previously, cash could only be deposited in banQi at Casas Bahia stores or via boleto. By extending deposits to lotéricas, we’re expanding the reach of the app across Brazil and making storing money in banQi even easier.
Many Brazilians don’t trust banks and thus keep their money as cash instead of in a bank account. Many of these underbanked Brazilians also don’t have credit or debit cards.
By working with a brand our target users already trust with their bills and money, banQi becomes more trustworthy, convenient, and easier to access. Our banQi users can now deposit cash while already at a lotérica to pay their bills.
Keeping money in banQi allows our users to pay their boletos and other bills directly in the app — reducing travel and making their financial transactions as simple as a click of a button.
Coming soon to banQi
Now that we’re fully aligned with Via Varejo, Airfox can utilize Via Varejo’s infrastructure and scale to accommodate more users. We’re continuing to find new and innovative ways to improve our user experience and serve underbanked Brazilians.
We’re continuing to prioritize app features that will further simplify financial services for both banQi users and Via Varejo customers. We’ll be sharing these innovative features with our banQi users soon as we maintain our mission to serve the underbanked and make financial services more accessible.
