Brazil Signals Surging Confidence in Plan to Export Pix Globally

Brazil’s central bank sounds more certain than in the past that it will link its instant payment system, Pix, to similar platforms in other countries, Reuters reported Monday (Aug. 10).

The central bank said in a Monday report that connecting Pix and other instant payment systems could lower costs, accelerate transactions, broaden access and improve the transparency of cross-border payments, according to the Reuters report.

In an earlier report, released in 2023, the central bank said only that Pix “may in the future” be integrated with other countries’ instant payment systems, per the Reuters report.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Digital Developments: Charting Digital Payment Growth in Latin America” found that Pix has helped instant payments become table stakes in Latin America, has achieved unprecedented growth and has become one of Brazil’s most preferred payment methods.

“Since its introduction, Pix has significantly boosted financial inclusion by encouraging the opening of digital accounts across all societal segments and integrating more individuals into the financial ecosystem,” the report said.

It was reported in February that payments firm Ebanx expects Pix to account for 45% of Brazil’s online sales by the end of 2026 and 50% in 2028. Those shares will be up from 2025, when the instant payment system accounted for 42% of the country’s online sales.

“There has been a lot of trust-building among consumers around Pix, combined with wider availability on websites,” Ebanx Chief Product Officer Eduardo de Abreu said at the time.

In July, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer named Pix an obstacle to trade when justifying 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil that went into effect in late July.

It was reported at the time that as Pix began appealing to several other countries, tensions grew between the governments of the United States and Brazil.

A senior official with the Trump administration told Reuters at the time: “We’re not asking Brazil to get rid of Pix,” adding that the White House wants to prevent a situation in which “Pix gets special treatment simply because it’s owned and operated by the government.”

Officials in Brazil said this criticism is meant to protect U.S. credit card companies.