On July vacation, dentist Tuanny Monteiro Noronha, from Brasilia, traveled with her husband to Paraguay and Argentina. In the two neighboring countries, something in common with the daily life to which it is already used in Brazil: Payment of bills through Pix, the instant system of favorite financial transactions of Brazilians.
The model, created by the Central Bank and implemented in 2020 in Brazil, is spreading quickly in other countries through solutions offered by private companies, especially calls fintechsspecialized institutions in financial services and technology.
“In Paraguay, almost everywhere they accepted, in Large stores always accepted,” says the dentist about the experience lived in Ciudad del Este, which borders Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, and is recognized as an international center for purchasing electronic products.
“There I already knew that the pix was widespread because I went to make purchases, but the presence is almost total, more than 90% of stores,” he says.
Already in Buenos Aires, Argentine capital, Tuanny says that almost all the restaurants visited also offer the possibility of payment via Pix. “There were few who didn’t have this option.”
Tuanny Noronha preferred to pay for purchases and meals at Pix during the trip with her husband, Rodrigo Noronha, Paraguay and Argentina – Photo: Tuanny Noronha/Personal Archive
Strictly speaking, Pix does not allow international transfers directly to bank accounts in other countries, only between open accounts in Brazil. But at least since 2023, and especially in the last year, the use of Pix as a means of payment abroad is being made possible from direct partnerships between fintechs Brazilian, who offer the PIX key, and accrediting companies, also called acquirers, which are those financial institutions responsible for credit and debit card payment machines.
“It works like this: the shopkeeper takes the machine, types the value in local currency, in Argentine weights, for example, if you are in an establishment of this neighboring country, and the Pix QR Code comes out on the screen. The person scan the Pix QR Code and the value is automatically converted to the real, with the iOF [Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras] Already embedded, “says businessman Alex Hoffmann, CEO and co -founder of PagBrasil, a porto Alegre company specializing in digital payment processing.
“And that value that appears in the machine of machine, already in real, is the final value of the purchase by the customer. That is, the exchange is fully guaranteed at the time of payment, different, for example, of the credit card, where you make a purchase and does not know what is the amount of quote that will be converted because it is the quotation of the billing date,” adds Hoffmann.
Intermediate service
For the PIX to work abroad it is necessary that the two tips of the transaction – the receiving user and payer user – have accounts at PIX participating institutions in Brazil and counts in real or, alternatively, an abroad establishment can receive through an EFX provider (international payment facilitators). In this case, the payer user makes a Pix through his account in Brazil for this EFX agent, which then proceeds with an international shipment to the establishment, instantly. This is precisely the service offered by PagBrasil and other companies that operate in this market and have helped expand the use of Pix outside Brazil.
“With the notoriety of Pix and its broad adoption by the Brazilian population, it has been increasingly common for institutions to offer solutions aimed at the international market. We already see Pix being accepted in this formatting in various places such as Chile, Argentina, United States, Portugal, France, among others. However, in models that currently involve PIX in transactions with other countries, Pix is used only at a transaction stage only in a transaction stage [doméstico]”, explains the advisory of the Central Bank (BC).
The institution has no plans to create an international Pix, which requires adoption of international treaties with different countries, but there are studies to connect the PIX network with the Nexus system, a platform being developed by the Bank of International Compensation (the Central Bank of Central Banks) to enable rapid resource transfers between countries.
Rapidly
Used by about 75% of the Brazilian population, which gives about 160 million people, PIX is fired the main method of transfer of resources between accounts. Since last year, according to BC data, he is responsible for almost half of the total payment transactions made in Brazil, far ahead of credit or debit card payments, for example.
“Since it is not safe today circular with cash in kind, the use of Pix facilitates, even abroad,” says Tuanny Noronha.
Another recurring option for the use of PIX outside the country happens through financial companies that offer international money transfer services and Multimoeda account. In this case, the user makes a PIX payment that generates credit in this international account, where it is possible to choose different currencies, using the international exchange, and spend on the form of a digital debit card, using the application installed on mobile.
Traveling to Paris, journalist Veronica Soares used Pix to buy credit in reais and exchange for euro on a digital platform – Photo: Veronica Soares/Personal Archive
Journalist Veronica Soares, who also lives in the Federal District, is on vacation in Paris, the capital of France, and has made transactions in Pix to her own account in one of these applications Multimoeda.
“Pix has greatly facilitated the dynamics of real to the euro conversion. The first time I was here, I had to change the real to euro in a gearbox in Brazil to bring to the trip. Now I pix my conventional bank account to an application, and I convert for the euro, without having to go through the exchange rate. All very practical and fast, using the phone to make the payments.”
Expansion of pix
Alex Hoffmann of PagBrasil says that the idea of the international pix came when he went to pass a New Year’s Eve In Punta del Este, Uruguay’s most famous resort two years ago. “The public there at this time is 80% formed by Brazilians. It made a lot of sense to have the possibility of using Pix as a means of payment.” A few months later, the service was already in operation in the neighboring country and today is quite widespread there, according to the businessman.
Shop in Panama Airport accepts payments via Pix – Photo: Marcelo Brandão/Agência Brasil
In the capital of Argentina and Paraguay, in places such as department stores, restaurants, fairs, bars and various points with high flow of Brazilian tourists, it is also right to find the payment option at Pix, Hoffmann says. But the model has already expanded to countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, Chile, Panama and, more recently, the United States (USA). In the largest economy on the planet, Pagbrasil and Verifone announced a few weeks ago an agreement to offer PIX payment modality with real -time dollar to Real conversion. “Verifone is the largest acquirer in the United States. It has 75% of the retailers of great American shopkeepers, it sues $ 8 trillion a year.”
The goal is to take advantage of the gigantic presence of Brazilian visitors in the United States every year. Last year alone, the number of tourists in Brazil that traveled to the US reached 1.9 millionaccording to data from the National Office of Travel and Tourism of the American country. This number is expected to exceed 2 million visitors this year, with spending exceeding the $ 4.9 billion mark. It is expected that, in the most prosecutors by Brazilians in the US, such as Florida and New York, the option of payment via Pix should be more widespread, especially in large stores and themed parks.
“IMPARABLE” SYSTEM
Recently, US President Donald Trump has determined the opening of investigation against Brazil for alleged unfair practices, Including as a target precisely the PIX transaction model. The measure, however, must hardly stop the advance of this technology, says Alex Hoffmann.
“I can’t have a crystal ball, but I believe and I hope there is no interference with it, because we are talking about currency entry in the US. So if the US government is pragmatic, he will see that we are encouraging tourism of Brazilians traveling to the United States and spending there with Pix,” he argues.
“And there is no way to stop history. Pix is unstoppable for its quality. It is the world’s most versatile transfer and payment system. Pix has this transfer layer, but it is also QR code at the point of sale, it is automatic now for recurrence payment. You can pay for approach and soon there will be the guaranteed Pix that will allow installmentas with credit cards. There is no transaction system in the broader world and better than this one, “adds Hoffmann.
