INTRODUCTION
What is Pix?
Brazil’s instant payments platform, launched in 2020 by the country’s central bank, is centred on instant settlements, 24/7 availability and low fees – attributes that have sparked huge adoption among businesses and consumers.
With more than 155 million users, Pix is now Brazil’s most popular payment method – and the second most-used real-time payment system globally, behind only India’s United Payments Interface (UPI).
AT A GLANCE
What’s behind
Pix’s success?
From country-wide bank participation – more than 825 financial institutions in Brazil are integrated with Pix – to a payments landscape ripe for innovation, it’s little wonder that Pix has been so widely adopted.
Success is also down to Pix embracing the spirit of open banking. Because participants aren’t limited to banks, payment providers such as Volt can drive adoption by offering a seamless integration to global merchants with expansion ambitions.
OUR INTEGRATION
Seamless expansion
into Brazil
We’ve integrated Pix into our global real-time payment network, enabling you to seamlessly accept payments from in Brazil. Why so seamless? Because you don’t need a local entity. We act as your merchant of record.
Switching on Pix with Volt also means benefitting from cross-border settlements. Consumers pay in Brazilian real; you receive the funds in your local currency via competitive FX rates. It’s the easiest way to expand into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
FAST, EASY
Pix stats
99.9%
of Pix payments settle
in less than 10 seconds
4.4bn
Pix payments are
initiated every month
34%
of Pix payments are
consumer-to-business
OUR INTEGRATION
Pix Automatico:
A game changer
There’s much excitement over Pix Automatico, which will enable the automatic processing of recurring payments. Consumers will simply set up a Pix Automatico agreement with a merchant – confirming parameters around transaction value and frequency – before initiating subsequent purchases with a single click or tap.
While still in development, the launch of Pix Automatico is drawing closer – with official timelines targeting a late 2024 launch. We’ll be among the first payment providers to make it available to global merchants.
Interested in Pix Automatico?
Fast, Easy
Reasons to switch on Pix with Volt
One simple integration
Reach hundreds of millions of Pix users with a single integration to our global real-time payment network. We take care of all your cross-border needs.
Faster funds, fewer costs
Pix payments are inherently more cost-effective than cards, while also helping you reduce churn and avoid chargebacks. FX rates are highly competitive.
Superior customer UX
We’re building the global standard for real-time payments. Our Pix checkout adheres to this standard with a fast, conversion-driving experience.
Fast, easy
The Pix payment experience
Fast, Easy
Industry use cases
Retail
E-commerce stores
Connect consumers in Brazil to your goods or services. Pix gives shoppers in Brazil a fast, safe and easy way to check out online – from stores beyond their own shores. Our team on the ground can advise on the intricacies of shipping products to Brazil.
Travel
Airlines
Pix is the perfect way for airlines to take payments from passengers in Brazil. This has historically been difficult because a) most credit cards issued in the country are limited to domestic purchases and b) prior to Pix, there was no account-to-account scheme that a third party could utilise for cross-border payments.
WEALTHTECH
Investment platforms
Digital investment platforms are growing quickly in Brazil, which has aspirations to become a global crypto hub. With Pix, global players have an opportunity to tap into this boom – while offering local retail investors not only their preferred way to pay, but a means for them to access and secure their investments more quickly.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Streaming services
The impending launch of Pix Automatico will transform the digital subscriptions industry in Brazil. Services with eyes on the country should start exploring now how best to integrate it in order to provide the best-possible experience to the hundreds of millions of consumers who’ll begin using it.
CUSTOMER STORY
‘Pix positions us as a travel industry innovator’
Since switching on Volt, Brazilian online travel agent Chalinga has recorded record-breaking sales and seen Pix’s share at checkout rise to 35%.
FAQs
Your Pix questions, answered
Other ways consumers can pay in Brazil are:
Cards
At the end of 2023, credit card transactions surpassed the previous year by 12%, debit card payments increased by 5%, and prepaid card payments rose by 38%. But for merchants, cards come with high fees, the risk of chargebacks, and slow settlement times of 30 days for credit card payments. There’s also the task of juggling multiple acquirers to improve conversation rates and reduce costs.
Cash
Despite cash usage declining in Brazil, it remains a payment method for small-value in-person purchases. Cash comes at a cost to merchants though, with disadvantages including: banks charging for accepting cash and coins, a lack of fraud prevention for the business and customers, a heightened risk of loss and human error, and more paperwork to keep track of revenue.
Boleto
Boleto involves a virtual or printed ticket with a barcode issued by a bank, which contains customer information and payment details. It’s mainly used for online payments, monthly payments (e.g. school tuition) or B2B. Despite its unique advantages (e.g. a merchant being able to grant ownership of a future payable Boleto as credit collateral) and effort from the industry to speed up Boletos’ settlement and approval, payment confirmation can take up to 24 hours, while settlement can take up to three days – potentially causing disruption for a business.
Wire transfers
Wire transfers are costly and need to be timed right. Transferência Eletrônica Disponível (TED) transfers may have the advantage of arriving anywhere from within minutes to a few hours, but they can only be initiated during banking hours. Transfers with Documento de Ordem de Crédito (DOC), which was recently discontinued, would take up to two days to settle.
In contrast to the above methods, Pix payments transfer and settle in real time, and are less expensive as merchants pay lower fees per transaction compared to cards and wire transfers. Users simply need an account with a participating institution.
There are different types of Pix payments, each with different use cases. Examples of person-to-business (P2B) payments include online and in-store purchases, and paying bills and invoices. Other types of payments include B2P (e.g. a business playing freelancers), P2P (e.g. transferring to a friend), B2B (e.g. a business purchasing goods), and even government initiatives such as the collection of taxes and fees.
Only 38 institutions were required by the central bank to join the Pix ecosystem, but as of May 2024 Pix has over 825 bank and financial institution participants, with more in the process of joining.
The number of transactions is rapidly increasing month-on-month too, with over five billion transactions processed in May 2024 alone and peer-to-business payments closing in on peer-to-peer (over 1.8 billion vs. almost 2.3 billion).
Yes. Developed by the Central Bank of Brazil, payments are initiated from users’ bank accounts, which they access via the likes of a passcode or biometrics.
All Pix transfers are made and authorised through the Brazilian Financial System Network (RSFN), an encrypted data communication system completely separated from the internet and managed by the Central Bank. This makes all payments fully traceable, meaning any potentially fraudulent transactions can be traced back to the source.
Yes. If a Pix payment is approved, it is guaranteed that the money will be received as the funds are transferred and settled in real time.
If you’re a business looking to expand into Brazil, Volt serves as your payment gateway for Pix instant payments. With a single integration, you can accept real-time payments in several territories beyond Latam. You don’t even need to set up a local entity in Brazil to operate there, since Volt acts as your merchant of record. You can accept Brazilian Real, wherever you are, and receive it in your chosen currency through our FX solution.
After receiving the customer’s Pix payment, Volt will handle sending the money cross border to your local bank account via batch settlements once a week, and ensure all the transaction details can be viewed on your reconciliation reports.
Yes. Fuzebox, Volt’s merchant portal, enables you to initiate full or partial refunds – both domestic and cross-border – via API.
Pix is mobile friendly. The ‘Pix copia e cola’ option, where the shopper pastes the code they’re given into their banking app to confirm their payment, makes it easy to pay even when the QR code is shown on mobile.
Just as integrating our Pix solution gives businesses access to Brazil, Volt enables local merchants to reach new customers in Europe and beyond.
According to the Central Bank, Pix is scheduled to launch its Automatico functionality in October 2024, though it is expected this will be pushed back to 2025. Automatico will enable recurring billing that Brazilian consumers will have full autonomy over by setting transaction value limits, viewing upcoming payments, and more.
This feature will support businesses currently operating subscription models, as well as offering a new revenue stream for those looking to add a subscription option to their existing business model.
Yes, Volt has a team based in São Paulo, Brazil to support your Pix experience.