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    Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

    (www.economist.com)
    666 points jcartw | 11 comments | 08 Apr 25 10:59 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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    SwiftyBug ◴[08 Apr 25 11:48 UTC] No.43620583[source]▶
    I've been living in Brazil for the last 20 years.

    Pix revolutionised the way we transact in Brazil. I've used Pix to pay for things that cost only cents, and I have a friend who bought her house using Pix. The system just works for any transfer amount. And it's so easy to use.

    Its speed is truly baffling, and so is its reliability. Never have I failed to make a Pix payment because of downtime. I never cease to be amazed by how fast money arrives in my Brazilian account when I make a withdrawal directly from my EUR wallet on Wise. I receive a push notification from my Brazilian bank before Wise finishes running the animation of confirmation of withdrawal. It's like magic.

    And it's so widespread that nowadays I don't even question whether someone accepts Pix. When I get in a taxi, no matter how old the driver is, it's certain that they take (and prefer) Pix.

    I've even had homeless people ask me for Pix instead of change on multiple occasions.

    Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance.

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    earnesti ◴[08 Apr 25 12:17 UTC] No.43620818[source]▶
    Can you elaborate on the technicals? Is it a phone app? Does it work through QR codes or NFC? Is there a Pix "card"?
    replies(8): >>43620840 #>>43620900 #>>43620905 #>>43620909 #>>43620971 #>>43621013 #>>43621107 #>>43622383 #
    1. dormento ◴[08 Apr 25 12:33 UTC] No.43620971[source]▶
    Brazilian here.

    - no card

    - technically not a specific app, its a payment method that any app with a checkout flow (for example) can chose to implement.

    - you register some id with your financial institution of choice (any of CPF - equivalent to SSN, CNPJ - for businesses, phone number, email or a randomly generated key).

    - keys are fully portable, as in you can revoke em or change the bank institution they're associated with any time.

    - you can generate a QR code on the spot so the person paying can just scan it

    - transfer is pretty much instant (under 5s seems to be the norm)

    - no NFC (so works with any crappy phone)

    - since its a bank transfer, and since bank transfers are insured up to 200k (afaik), its pretty safe.

    replies(4): >>43622251 #>>43622336 #>>43622381 #>>43627179 #
    2. lucasoshiro ◴[08 Apr 25 14:32 UTC] No.43622251[source]▶
    > you can generate a QR code on the spot so the person paying can just scan it

    You can also generate a R$0,00, print it and leave to the other person input how much will be transferred.

    PS: Pix is so trivial to us that only in places like HN we can see how amazing it is

    replies(1): >>43622418 #
    3. catsma21 ◴[08 Apr 25 14:39 UTC] No.43622336[source]▶
    > its a bank transfer

    why can't we just use qr codes with ibans in that case?

    replies(4): >>43622526 #>>43623884 #>>43626978 #>>43631022 #
    4. owebmaster ◴[08 Apr 25 14:43 UTC] No.43622381[source]▶
    > - no NFC (so works with any crappy phone)

    It is possible to pay using NFC now

    5. owebmaster ◴[08 Apr 25 14:47 UTC] No.43622418[source]▶
    Brazilian banking system is quite well developed for a long time. Let's see if Pix being ubiquitous can help the country better develop economically, with better wealth distribution, innovation and high-paying jobs
    6. jowea ◴[08 Apr 25 14:56 UTC] No.43622526[source]▶
    You can use QR codes with your Pix address. I don't see why it would matter that much? I think the IBAN system is mostly used in Europe.
    7. AnAfrican ◴[08 Apr 25 16:55 UTC] No.43623884[source]▶
    Because the underlying "account" is not necessarily a Bank Account.
    8. gjvnq ◴[08 Apr 25 22:11 UTC] No.43626978[source]▶
    I guess that's because pretty much nobody in Brazil knows what an IBAN is
    9. vitorgrs ◴[08 Apr 25 22:41 UTC] No.43627179[source]▶
    There's NFC support now... You can now use Pix inside Google Pay (with NFC or QR code etc as well).
    replies(1): >>43631457 #
    10. nani8ot ◴[09 Apr 25 11:39 UTC] No.43631022[source]▶
    That's something I've wondered for a long time. Especially know when real time bank transfers aren't allowed to cost more than regular bank transfers (usually free), there's really no point in creating a seperate system.

    But it seems to me like banks don't really want to make bank transfers more comfortable for small transactions.

    11. kyrra ◴[09 Apr 25 12:47 UTC] No.43631457[source]▶
    Technically Google Wallet. There is no GPay app in Brazil.