Pix has taken the Brazilian financial market by storm. Since its launch in 2010, it has enabled billions of transactions and transferred more than a trillion Brazilian reals every month. However, Pix still has tremendous amounts of potential – delving into why, FXC Intelligence, the data and intelligence firm, published a new report on the popular payment method.
Pix’s current user base primarily consists of consumers who are making the majority of transactions on the platform. According to FXC Intelligence data, inbound consumer remittances into Brazil grew by 21 per cent in 2022. This suggests that cross-border consumer payments could be a huge potential market for the instant payments system.
However, Pix is not currently able to enable instant cross-border transfers through its infrastructure. Various fintechs, such as PagBrasil, have filled the gap by enabling Pix payments to merchants based in other countries through their own infrastructure. Sending money to recipients in Brazil via Pix is possible from other countries but requires the assistance of specialised payment providers, such as Wise, Paysend and Remitly.
The Banco Central do Brasil is considering agreements to connect Pix with similar instant payment platforms in other countries, including expressing an interest in Nexus – a project being spearheaded by the Bank for International Settlements to develop a platform that will enable instant payment platforms around the world to connect with each other.
Joe Baker, senior copywriter and author of the report, said: “Taking Pix cross-border seems to be a natural progression for the platform. It could help align with Brazil’s ambitions to reduce the power of the US dollar over its economy; streamline payments for Brazilian travellers and tourists in other countries; and grow B2B payments in and out of the country, as well as being highly beneficial for people sending and receiving remittances.
“FXC Intelligence will be monitoring the progression of Pix cross-border initiatives closely, although with other domestic projects more immediately in the pipeline, this is unlikely to happen any time soon.”
