Brazilian Central Bank Launched Pix For Payments

In Brazil, boletos and wire transfers (DOC or TED) have customarily been used to make payments and send money between bank accounts. But that is quickly changing. Earlier this year, the government announced that a new way to pay would soon be available.

Time passed and last week the Central Bank launched Pix - an electronic system for making payments and transferring money, whether to individuals or companies. It’s not a separate app but rather a payment system incorporated into each bank’s own banking platform. All financial institutions that have more than 500,000 active checking, savings, or prepaid accounts must provide their customers with access to Pix.

To enable Pix, you need to register a chave or key with your bank, such as your e-mail address or telephone number. Then, to send money, you just have to open your bank’s app or website and type the chave of the beneficiary.

There are at least three big advantages to using Pix. First, there are no service fees. Second, the funds are transferred immediately. And third, the only information required to send money is the other person’s chave. Gone are the days of asking for full names and bank account details. Pix will even work for the payment of federal taxes.

While boletos, DOCs and TEDs are still available, it’s unlikely they will be used much as Pix becomes more and more popular. After all, why go the old route when there’s new technology that is easier, faster, and cheaper to use?