PagBrasil Expands Pix Payments Beyond Brazilian Borders

PagBrasil, a payments processing firm that handles Brazilian transactions for international businesses, has launched two new solutions to expand the reach of Brazil's instant payments system, Pix, beyond national borders.

The company announced at Money 20/20 USA that it would introduce International Pix and Pix Roaming, enabling Brazilian tourists to use Pix abroad whilst allowing international visitors to utilise the payment system within Brazil. 

The solutions aim to reduce transaction fees for merchants and eliminate the standard 30-day wait period associated with credit card payments.

Rapid domestic growth

Brazil's Pix system, which enables real-time bank-to-bank transfers through mobile applications and digital wallets, has reached 151 million active users, representing 92% of Brazil's adult population. The system processed 227.4 million transactions in a single day during September 2024, moving R$108.4 billion (US$18.5 billion).

“Pix is now responsible for 90% of bank transactions in Brazil,” says Ralf Germer, CEO and Co-founder of PagBrasil. “What we have done at PagBrasil is to enable ways for Brazilian tourists abroad, and foreign tourists travelling to Brazil to utilise Pix services.”

The system integrates with Brazilian bank accounts and digital wallets, allowing users to initiate transactions through mobile banking applications and online platforms. 

It supports consumer-to-merchant payments, business-to-business transfers and transactions with government entities.

International expansion

The firm has partnered with B89, a Peruvian digital banking company, to offer International Pix to merchants across Panama, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. The partnership enables Brazilian citizens to pay in reais with a fixed exchange rate at the point of purchase.

Elsewhere in Europe, PagBrasil has collaborated with Wipay, a Spanish payments technology provider, to introduce Pix to merchants across the continent. 

The system will operate in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, with plans for expansion to additional European markets.

The company has also announced plans to launch in Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile and regions of the United States, though specific timelines for these rollouts have not been disclosed.

Technical implementation

International Pix allows Brazilian travellers to pay through participating merchants' existing point-of-sale devices. Merchants enter charges in local currency, with automatic conversion to Brazilian reais at current exchange rates.

Meanwhile, Pix Roaming operates through QR codes, enabling international visitors to Brazil to pay in their local currency. The system converts Brazilian real amounts to the visitor's currency at the point of sale, processing payments through the customer's existing digital wallet or banking application.

For online transactions, consumers can select Pix at checkout and complete the payment by scanning a QR code or entering a Pix code through their banking application or digital wallet.

Ralf concludes: “When Brazilians travel, they should be able to pay for things however they prefer. International Pix has the potential to boost sales in locations like Florida or New York, where over one million Brazilians travelled in 2023. It also lowers costs for both retailers and vacationers.”

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