Technology

Brazil's instant payments system PIX transactions surpasses traditional banking transfers in the country

Between November 2020 and March 2021, 1 billion transactions have already been made through the real-time payments system

LABS

21.May.2021 10:42 BRT
UPDATED 11:11 BRT

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Brazil’s PIX already has more than 230 million registered keys;
79.9% of transactions occurred between individuals.

Brazil‘s Central Bank’s instant payment system, PIX, has surpassed the use of other means of payment such as TEDs (a type of bank transfer in Brazil, which is faster because it is done during business hours, but more expensive) and DOCs (a banking transfer that works in business days, from one day to another) combined.

In March, the number of PIX transactions also surpassed the number of settled boletos (a type of payment voucher or bank slip that Brazilians use to pay bills and purchases), according to a bulletin issued by the Brazilian Central Bank.

PIX already has more than 230 million registered keys (each user can have up to three PIX registration keys). Between November 2020 and March 2021, 1 billion transactions have already been made through the real-time payments system, which moved BRL 787.2 billion.

According to Brazil‘s Central Bank, 79.9% of transactions occurred between individuals, who accounted for 44.3% of the value of transactions. PIX transactions between legal entities represented 35.7% of the total value transacted in the period.

On the other hand, transactions initiated by individuals and received by legal entities, which characterize, in general, e-commerce transactions, represented 9.1% and 8% of the total, in terms of quantity and value, respectively.

According to data from the Brazilian Central Bank, when comparing the PIX adoption rate (defined as the number of transactions per inhabitant of the country) with instant payments in other countries, PIX is already the second-fastest adopted system, behind only Denmark.