Brazil’s Pix Coming to US Via PagBrasil-Verifone Partnership

PagBrasil and Verifone are bringing Brazil’s popular real-time payments system Pix to the U.S.

The partnership between the two payments technology firms involves launching an in-store, alternative payment method that lets Brazilian shoppers pay in Brazilian Reais using Pix while shopping in the U.S., the companies said in a Tuesday (July 22) news release.

“This is a game-changer for U.S. merchants in high-tourism markets like Florida and New York,” said Madhu Vasu, senior vice president of global product management at Verifone. “Only Verifone can offer this capability at the point of sale today, giving merchants a powerful differentiator to attract and serve the 1.9 million Brazilian Tourists who spend more than $4.1 billion annually in the U.S.”

Launched by Brazil’s central bank in 2020, Pix allows users to send and receive money within seconds, and is used by roughly three-quarters of the country’s population.

And as PYMNTS has written, it’s been one of the drivers of the wider adoption of digital payments in Latin America.

“This shift is fundamentally reshaping commerce and financial access, with consumers and businesses increasingly favoring mobile wallets, real-time transfers and other digital tools,” PYMNTS wrote last month. “Mobile devices are fast becoming the preferred means for payments, revolutionizing purchasing behaviors and actively promoting financial inclusion.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that Pix processed 64 billion transactions last year, a 53% year-over-year increase, exceeding the combined total of debit and credit card transactions by 80%. By the end of 2024, Pix was processing more than 6 billion transactions each month.

Recently, Brazil has begun defending Pix in a social media campaign amid an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) into unfair trade practices in the country.

The slogan of the campaign is “PIXéNosso, My Friend” (“Pix is Ours, My Friend”), per a Financial Times report.

“PIX is from Brazil and for Brazilians! It seems our PIX is causing quite a stir of jealousy out there, huh?” a government social media post said. “There’s even a letter complaining about the existence of our Secure, Confidential, and Fee-free system.”

When the USTR announced its investigation of Brazil’s practices, it did not mention Pix by name but said it would include “digital trade and electronic payment services.”

“Brazil may undermine the competitiveness of U.S. companies engaged in these sectors, for example, by retaliating against them for failing to censor political speech or restricting their ability to provide services in the country,” the USTR said in a Tuesday press release.