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Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

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666 points jcartw | 3 comments | 08 Apr 25 10:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.601s | 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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m463 ◴[08 Apr 25 21:53 UTC] No.43626843[source]▶
wikipedia doesn't say much about it.

I wonder about a few things.

Is it safe? I'm pretty sure everyone not carrying cash is very good for physical safety, but can someone be coerced into emptying their bank account at knifepoint?

Are there scams? Can stolen money be retrieved?

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1. lucasoshiro ◴[08 Apr 25 23:50 UTC] No.43627589[source]▶
> Is it safe?

Given the dimension of Pix, I never heard of someone losing money directly because of using it (for example, here in the past was common to see where credit cards were cloned)

> can someone be coerced into emptying their bank account at knifepoint?

There are limits of use. Banks have different settings for limiting the amount of money that will be transferred in different situations, like when using their apps outside a trusted network, at night, etc

> Are there scams?

Just like any other payment method. I dare say that it is even safer, as some banks (e.g. Nubank) alerts if you are trying to transfer money to a suspect account.

> Can stolen money be retrieved?

Perhaps if you contact the bank, but as far as I know it is not a feature :-(

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2. tpougy ◴[09 Apr 25 02:57 UTC] No.43628492[source]▶
> Perhaps if you contact the bank, but as far as I know it is not a feature :-( Acctually there is a feature to request the central bank to retrieve money stolen through PIX scam. It is called Special Return Mechanism (MED PIX). Link here: https://www.bcb.gov.br/meubc/faqs/p/o-que-e-e-como-funciona-...
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3. lucasoshiro ◴[09 Apr 25 03:47 UTC] No.43628720[source]▶
Thanks for your information!