How Pix Ignited Digital Payments in Brazil

Digital payments acceptance is becoming table stakes around the world as consumers continue to move many aspects of their lives online, and Latin America is no exception. The transaction value of digital commerce in the region surpassed $100 billion in 2019, and this value is expected to skyrocket 73% by 2025. Digital payments are part and parcel of eCommerce, and the demand for electronic transactions is rising in concert with the growth of electronic banking and retail.

Brazil is leading the charge in Latin America’s digital payments surge due to its sizable digital penetration in other financial services. While approximately 90% of bank customers in Latin America leverage some form of digital banking, Brazil holds the top slot at 98% of bank consumers, followed by Mexico at 94%. The Brazilian government is fostering this digital push through Pix, the instant payments platform powered by the Central Bank of Brazil. It has been a marked success since its introduction at the end of 2020, with six out of 10 Brazilians using it regularly.

In this edition of the Digitizing Payments In Latin America Playbook, PYMNTS examines how Brazil sets an example for the rest of Latin America in its embrace of digital payments. It also explores the driving factors of this trend and how emerging technologies such as cryptocurrency and open banking are forming the leading edge of digital payments adoption in Brazil and throughout Latin America.

Around the Latin American Payments Space

One of the fastest-growing trends in the financial sphere is open banking, which offers consumers control of their financial data and prevents banks from blocking money movements between other financial services. A recent global study found that 79% of Brazilians embrace open banking, far ahead of other countries. Just 51% of Americans feel that open banking is a positive development, for example, with 60% of French individuals, 57% of Germans and 54% of Britons saying it is a negative trend altogether.

FinTechs are quickly gaining ground in Brazil, and the government is taking steps to make sure its laws reflect the new normal. The Central Bank of Brazil recently unveiled stricter FinTech regulations, which would bring FinTechs under the same rules as other financial institutions (FIs) and make it easier for new players to enter the market. Credit card issuer Nubank, payment firm PagSeguro and digital wallet PicPay are the largest companies likely to be affected. The new regulation is expected to start in January 2023, with the rollout finalized by 2025.

For more on these and other stories, visit the Playbook’s News and Trends.

RecargaPay on Brazil’s Leading Role in the Digital Payments Ecosystem

Brazil has cemented its place as a Latin American payments leader through its centralized currency, Pix, but it was a tough road transitioning from a mixed payments economy to a digital-first one. The country still faces prominent fraud issues, as well.

In this month’s Feature Story, PYMNTS talked with Rodrigo Teijeiro, founder and CEO of Brazilian FinTech RecargaPay, about how Pix revolutionized digital payments in Brazil and how it deals with fraud in the financial space.

How Brazil Serves as a Payment Innovation Blueprint for Latin America

Digital payments are becoming more popular worldwide, especially as the number of banked individuals continues to grow and digital banking becomes the primary way individuals interact with their FIs. Brazil, in particular, has become a digital payments leader, thanks in large part to its instant payments platform, Pix, which more than half of the country’s consumers now use.

This month’s PYMNTS Intelligence explores how systems such as Pix and cryptocurrency have made Brazil a regional payments leader.

About the Playbook

In the Digitizing Payments In Latin America Playbook, a PYMNTS and Kushki collaboration, PYMNTS examines how Brazil sets an example for the rest of Latin America in its embrace of digital payments and how emerging technologies such as cryptocurrency and open banking are forming the leading edge of digital payments adoption in Brazil and throughout Latin America.