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Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

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666 points jcartw | 1 comments | 08 Apr 25 10:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.199s | source
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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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m00dy ◴[08 Apr 25 11:58 UTC] No.43620658[source]▶
> Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance.

Pix can't facilitate cross-border micro payments.

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diggan ◴[08 Apr 25 12:03 UTC] No.43620699[source]▶
> Pix can't facilitate cross-border micro payments.

No reason it couldn't. Bizum (mobile payments in Spain) started with just Spain but can now be used for payments across & to/from Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Andorra.

Bizum is also a member of European Mobile Payment Systems Association which I think will eventually lead to all members being able to make transfers to other members, but that might a somewhat dream rather than actual reality today.

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graemep ◴[08 Apr 25 12:10 UTC] No.43620770[source]▶
All Eurozone countries, all bu one an EU member (and that one is very small has a very close trade deal with the EU) so not really cross border except from a certain legalistic angle.

The practicalities are very different from transferring between say Brazil and the US.

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1. diggan ◴[08 Apr 25 14:21 UTC] No.43622118[source]▶
> All Eurozone countries, all bu one an EU member (and that one is very small has a very close trade deal with the EU) so not really cross border except from a certain legalistic angle.

So what? Sweden has it's own Swish system, Sweden is well integrated in EU, Europe and Eurozone yet it only works within Sweden AFAIK.

That Bizum works across four countries is not a given just because they're all within the Eurozone. Just like how Brazil and US would need to figure out how to send electronic money between themselves if Pix was available in both countries, so did Italy<>Spain<>Portugal when it came to Bizum, which is a private company btw.