Notorious for its bureaucracy and complexities, Brazil has created one of the most efficient payment systems in Latin America, with blow-out numbers proving its success.
Pix is the name given to a system created by the Brazilian Central Bank to bring instant payments to everyone in the country. Through Pix, all wallets that use QR Codes will be interoperable, meaning transfers and fees will be allowed from one e-wallet to another in real-time, 24/7. Pix was announced in the summer of 2019 and was fully operational on November 16, 2020, to spur competition in the country’s banking industry. The launch of Pix turned out to be well-timed. With businesses closed during the pandemic, cash at points of sale decreased by 25% in 2020, according to a report from Brazilian Central Bank and their 2021 EOY report states that the system has already made more than 6 billion transactions, equal to more than 3.75 trillion BRL, or about 682 billion USD.
The massive use and acceptance of Pix by users and commercial establishments in the Brazilian economy had a fundamental impact in positioning Brazil in the Top 5 of countries that report growth in Digital Real-Time Payments in Latin America.
During the past year, Pix has positioned itself as one of the most powerful initiatives and resolutions of the Brazilian Central Bank focused on creating growth opportunities in the formal and informal market. Companies have been able to increase monthly profits, experience sales growth, and generate capital to invest and grow.
Pix is today one of the most accepted payment methods, and its popularity, including those who at some point felt excluded by the digital world, has impacted Brazil’s economy. In 2017, only 70% of the Brazilian population was considered “banked,” according to the Central Bank, leaving 48 million people without access to a debit card, credit card, or bank account. Regardless, the unbanked population in Brazil moves nearly 204 billion USD of the country’s economy per year.
Pix is bringing part of this unbanked population into the financial system, helping with the way they move money around, creating a new payment method that takes out the need of dealing with traditional banks and the cultural baggage that leads people not to trust them; this system can also cut off some of the high fees of credit and debit card usage. Brazil embraces advances in financial technology and digital transactions, creating real growth opportunities for entrepreneurs presenting Pix as the solution to make financial inclusion simpler to achieve.
Pix was created to help reduce – and probably facilitate – cash transactions, reduce the cost of maintaining paper money in circulation for the government, offer an alternative to existing payment instruments, and become a faster and more accessible payment option. Brazilian leaders aim to include everybody in society by giving them essential financial services regardless of their income or savings through the successful incorporation of Pix in everyday economic activities.
How is Pix going to be integrated by companies and services in cross border payments? Will it help remittances, both incoming and outgoing? How is this going to happen? All these questions come into mind while we plan our next event CROSSTECH LATAM in Brazil in Sao Paulo in April 26-28. At this event we will be highlighting topics such as PIX- Brazil’s competitive advantage for the region from the creators and representatives of the Central Bank of Brazil. Come and learn first hand how Pix continues adding new features and how the country is integrating its digital systems into the growing cross border payment environment that our industry needs.
CrossTech LATAM – São Paulo, Brazil
April 26th- 27th, 2022
Special rate available until March 31st, 2022
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