How Brazil became a fintech powerhouse, with Bruno Balduccini | PodKast #242

In this episode, we talk to Bruno Balduccini, partner at Pinheiro Neto Advogados and a central figure in shaping Brazil’s modern financial regulation.

From the early days of the fintech boom and of instant payments to the rise of tokenization and digital money, Bruno shares how regulatory innovation helped shape one of the most advanced financial ecosystems in the world.

We talk about what makes Brazil a complex but exciting market, why execution always beats ideas, and how even street beggars are embracing P2P payments with a PIX key.

A must-listen for anyone building in fintech, emerging markets, or curious about how regulation can drive transformation.

00:00 – Introduction

01:35 – Who is Bruno Balduccini and his role in Brazil’s fintech transformation

07:00 – Overview of Pinheiro Neto and its structure

08:45 – Brazil’s banking landscape before the fintech boom

11:35 – Why the Central Bank pushed for change and competition

14:20 – Regulatory innovation and the birth of Nubank

17:10 – How onboarding and digital regulation evolved

20:00 – How traditional banks reacted to fintech disruption

23:00 – Acquirers, competition, and how new players gained market share

26:00 – Brazil’s influence on fintech across Latin America

31:00 – The rise of credit fintechs and the concept of “super-light banks”

33:30 – Why Pix was created and how it revolutionized payments

38:15 – Why open finance hasn’t taken off in Brazil (yet)

44:30 – Crypto in Brazil: regulation, stablecoins, and custody rules

47:00 – Tokenization and its legal implications

53:30 – Visa, Mastercard, and crypto integration for real-world use

55:00 – The AgroToken case: soybeans as tokenized credit and new possibilities

57:00 – How traditional companies are adapting to the fintech era

59:00 – Exporting regulatory know-how: Brazil’s global influence

01:01:00 – Why Bruno’s firm launched a fintech startup accelerator

01:03:00 – Lessons learned from supporting fintechs in their early stages

01:05:00 – Final thoughts: Executing ideas and supporting entrepreneurs