In just three years, PIX has taken Brazil’s real-time payments from standstill to sky high — making it the world’s second largest market in real-time transactions, after India.
PIX was launched in November 2020 as part of the Banco Central do Brazil’s (BCB) mission to drive financial inclusion by decentralizing financial services and increasing competition. Full integration into popular payment wallets and existing bank-based systems has made it the country’s go-to payment method.
Much of this instant payments success is due to central bank regulation and a fintech-rich ecosystem that has seen no-fee peer-to-peer (P2P) payments soar. In 2023, instant payments expedited over 37 billion transactions and now represents more than 36% of Brazil’s electronic payments. Brazil is fast-tracking financial digitization and inclusion with over 150 million active users on PIX.
Brazil
Real-time transactions
2023 Real-time share of electronic payments
36.2%
2028f
115.8B
2023-2028 CAGR
25.4%
Real-time payments launch
2002
Scheme messaging
ISO 20022
Real-time payment schemes
SITRAF
2002
PIX
2020
Popular use cases are driving momentum
When PIX launched, BCB promised a steady flow of new use cases. Today, its diverse offerings touch every demographic, in every part of the country.
77% of the population uses PIX P2P, the debut offering that still accounts for over 50% of instant payments. While free for consumers, there can be transaction fees for businesses.
64% of Brazilians with a smartphone now access PIX Billing (PIX Cobrança) for instant bill payment via embedded QR codes, and generate 1.3 million monthly cash withdrawals.
Brazil’s mobile-first consumers can now open bank accounts digitally, making PIX widely available for P2P, bill, retail and eCommerce payments. As a result, real-time transactions are projected to achieve a 25.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2028.
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