ECB Explores Instant Payment Link With Brazil’s Pix

The European Central Bank (ECB) is exploring a potential interlinking between its TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform and the Central Bank of Brazil’s Pix platform, Reuters reported Thursday (Sept. 3).

The ECB said this in response to Reuters’ inquiry about a claim by unnamed sources that the two central banks are considering linking their instant payment systems, according to the report.

The Central Bank of Brazil declined to comment, per the report.

A linking of the systems would mark the first cross-border expansion of Pix, which dominates payments in Brazil, the report said.

Technical teams from the two central banks are assessing whether an interconnection of the systems is feasible, and a pilot project could be launched in 2028, according to the report.

It was reported in August that Brazil’s central bank sounded more certain than in the past that it will link Pix to similar instant payment systems in other countries.

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

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.

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

“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.

Another PYMNTS Intelligence report, “The Real-Time Payments World Map,” found that since its launch in 2020, Pix has grown to reach 70% of Brazil’s population, or more than 150 million users, and processes more transactions than Visa and Mastercard combined.

Brazil’s central bank also extended Pix to Argentina so that Brazilians living in that country can make payments and transfers across borders, according to the report.

With Pix, Brazil has become Latin America’s most prominent success story in terms of instant payments, per the report.