As SMEs across South America seek simpler, more connected ways to manage their finances, BTG Pactual Empresas is moving beyond traditional digital banking. In this interview with The Digital Banker, Gabriel Motomura, Partner at BTG Pactual and Co-head of BTG Pactual Empresas, along with Rogerio Stallone, Senior Partner at BTG Pactual and Co-head of BTG Pactual Empresas, discuss how APIs, AI and embedded finance are reshaping the SME experience, the challenges of modernising legacy systems, and the next phase of its strategy around intelligent banking, B2B payments and financial infrastructure.
BTG Pactual Empresas has built a fully digital SME ecosystem for SMEs. What was the core vision behind this transformation, and how has it evolved?
Our core vision was to fundamentally redefine how SMEs experience banking. Our ambition was not simply to digitise legacy banking journeys, but to create a fully integrated financial operating system for SMEs by combining banking, payments, credit, cash management, collections, and value-added services within one seamless digital ecosystem. Over time, that vision has evolved from digital banking into embedded financial infrastructure. Today, we are increasingly positioning BTG Pactual Empresas not only as a bank, but as the financial backbone of our clients’ businesses — deeply integrated into their daily operations and growth strategies.
How are APIs, AI and embedded services changing the way SMEs interact?
APIs, AI, and embedded services are transforming SME banking from a transactional relationship into a more contextual, intelligent, and invisible banking experience. APIs allow banking services to be integrated directly into our clients’ systems, reducing friction and eliminating manual processes. Artificial Intelligence is enabling a shift from reactive banking to proactive banking. Embedded services enable contextual and seamless offering .
Many SMEs in South America still rely on legacy systems. What challenges did you face in driving adoption of APIs and automation, and how did you overcome them?
The primary challenge has not been only technological — it has been behavioural and operational as well. Many SMEs across South America still operate on fragmented legacy infrastructure, manual financial processes, or outdated ERP systems with limited integration capabilities. In many cases, the challenge is as much about change management as technology adoption.To address this, we focused on two pillars: simplicity, with APIs and integrations designed to be developer-friendly, modular and easy to implement, even for clients with limited technical resources; and clear ROI, framing automation in business terms — time saved, operational efficiency gained, reduced errors, improved cash visibility.
From digital onboarding to value-added services, which innovation has had the most tangible impact on your SME clients so far?
While digital onboarding has been critical in removing friction from account opening, the most tangible impact has come from the integration of banking and payments into a unified operating platform. By combining transactional banking, collections, payments, cash management and reconciliation in one platform, we have materially improved our clients’ operational efficiency and financial visibility. For many SMEs, the greatest value is not any single product but the elimination of fragmentation.
That said, one of the most impactful innovations has been enabling clients to connect their banking data and workflows directly into the tools they already use every day, including Excel, Google Sheets, Telegram, and other no-code/low-code environments.
Looking ahead, what are the next big priorities for BTG Pactual Empresas in shaping the future of SME banking across South America?
Our next priorities are centered around deepening intelligence, integration, and ecosystem expansion. We will continue investing in AI-driven credit risk analysis and in making banking increasingly predictive, automated, and personalised.We are also broadening our payments ecosystem through the launch of new proprietary B2B payments infrastructure, including the BTG Pay merchant acquirer and business cards. These initiatives are designed to modernise how companies transact with suppliers, manage spend and orchestrate business payments across their value chains. We believe B2B payments remain one of the largest untapped opportunities in financial services across the globe, and we intend to play a leading role in digitising and simplifying this space.
