Bank, but without forgetting its retail roots. This is how Midway positions itself beyond Riachuelo’s financial services (), even within the retailer’s structure. Even with the awareness that the retailer’s consumer is its target with its own credit card, the company is seeking more presence in other segments after restructuring that began around 4 years ago.
The finance company was already one of the pioneers in granting retail credit, with a history of more than 40 years, but it lacked the bank structure when changes were made, in an exclusive interview with InfoMoney. The more robust structure means that Midway is considered a “2nd core business”, with two biases: building customer loyalty in retail and also seeking real results. Among the changes, the board also focused on implementing separate governance.
Of the approximately 20 million customers who shop at the retailer each year, 20 to 30% pay with their Midway card. Riachuelo has around 3 to 4% market share, considering a very fragmented universe such as retail.
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Midway, which also operates in an equally or more fragmented sector, has around 1% market share. Although increasing this percentage is in the finance company’s plans, presenting other products and services is also relevant, especially considering new bets.
“The customer already understands that we have financial products and services beyond the card”, says Francisco, citing new fronts for the company such as investing in payroll loans and even in the insurance market. In addition to its own branded card, Midway also offers a Mastercard card, which can be used outside the store. On the loan front, the financial company bets on payroll loans, both private and public, the personal modality and FGTS advances.
The newest front is insurance, where Midway operates products such as home insurance, “purse” insurance (involving belongings, pix and card), cell phone insurance and protected invoice insurance, among others.
The fronts also guarantee a relationship with each other, such as the potential payment of the Riachuelo Card invoice in case of unforeseen events, and also reflect one of the main changes in the restructuring: risk management.
“When we place a bank head, we reduce the risk”, says Santos. One of the first moves upon his arrival was to ensure that the de-risking process was carried out. “We restructured the credit area to evolve”, he says. With this, according to the executive, it was possible to reduce defaults and break records, which was not always constant at Midway before.
The financial sector oscillated between positive cycles interspersed with moments of smaller gains and even losses. “We tolerated greater risks, which left the business more exposed,” he says. Almost four years ago, Midway was concerned about protecting itself from “possible defaults” and . With the change, it was possible to start selecting clients with a better value proposition, with a “risk-adjusted return head”, according to Santos.
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To face the challenge, it was necessary to change Midway’s culture, which, according to the executive, was well accepted by the Riachuelo controlling family. To this end, Santos already had experience with retail banking, having worked at institutions such as Santander () and Itaú (), with a “pinch” of having worked at a pure digital bank, in the case of PicPay.
The changes were converted into numbers: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the 4th quarter of 2025 for Financial Services was R$126 million in 4Q25, with growth of 28.4% compared to the same period in 2024.
In 2025, Midway recorded EBITDA of R$482 million, an increase of 19.3% compared to the previous year.
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Next phase
Over the years, risk appetite did not return to previous levels, but results continued to improve, piggybacking on the growth of the parent company. “Riachuelo has greatly improved its value proposition”, he says.
The retailer has plans to open 15 to 20 stores in the coming years and, according to the executive, Midway will continue to follow the expansion. Physical expansion is desirable for the financial company, especially as it operates 100% of the group’s customers, but its presence on digital channels has increased over the years.
Adhesion and sales via the app and WhatsApp are already important in Midway’s numbers, with the app already representing around 10% of Riachuelo’s sales.
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For 2026, the executive sees two challenges for the finance company: further integrating Midway into retail, being the natural choice for Riachuelo customers, and gradually expanding the product portfolio.
