Hipercard

 

Hipercard is a Brazilian credit card brand originally launched as a private label card for the Bompreço supermarket chain and later acquired by Itaú Unibanco, one of Brazil’s largest banks. It built a strong following particularly in the Northeast and South of Brazil, becoming one of the more recognised domestic card brands in the country alongside Elo, Visa, and Mastercard.

As of July 2025, Hipercard is being phased out. Itaú Unibanco has begun migrating existing Hipercard cards to the Mastercard brand, which means the Hipercard scheme is in a wind-down phase. Merchants who have Hipercard as a standalone payment method in their checkout should verify with their PSP whether the method is still being processed and whether it requires any action. In practice, former Hipercard cardholders will increasingly present Mastercard-branded cards, which any PSP with standard card acquiring already accepts.

For merchants entering the Brazilian market or reviewing their Brazilian payment setup, Hipercard is no longer a method that requires independent prioritisation. Standard Mastercard acceptance covers the migrating cardholder base. The methods that do require deliberate attention for Brazil are Pix, which now processes over 6.2 billion transactions monthly and is the country’s dominant payment method, Boleto Bancário for cash-preferring and unbanked consumers, and local installment payment capabilities, which are a structural expectation among Brazilian card users across all card brands.

PSP support for Hipercard during the transition period varies. The more relevant question for any merchant with Brazilian operations is whether their PSP provides full local coverage for Pix, Boleto, Elo, and instalment payment flows.

Relevant markets: Brazil (phasing out as of July 2025)