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Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

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666 points jcartw | 4 comments | 08 Apr 25 10:59 UTC | HN request time: 0s | 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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WinstonSmith84 ◴[08 Apr 25 17:50 UTC] No.43624538[source]▶
> Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance.

Now, try to use Pix outside of Brazil - it's not even used in other Mercosur countries, what's the chance of having that adopted in other countries... And, that's problem #1.

How much do you trust your government with your money? A system like Pix don't stand a chance to get a worldwide adoption - maybe people are naive but governments won't unify to adopt a common system controlled by just a single entity / country.

What we may however end up with, are dozens of systems like Pix, one for each country, union, etc. Still cryptocurrencies as-is remain relevant (see point 1)

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1. scott_w ◴[09 Apr 25 05:46 UTC] No.43629239[source]▶
> How much do you trust your government with your money?

If you’re not able to trust the government to not steal your money then I suspect you have bigger problems and should look to claim asylum elsewhere.

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2. johngladtj ◴[09 Apr 25 07:16 UTC] No.43629631[source]▶
So every Canadian?
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3. sanswork ◴[09 Apr 25 08:36 UTC] No.43630078[source]▶
Canadian here, I trust my government with my money because I don't run or fund any criminal enterprises.
4. bregma ◴[09 Apr 25 10:34 UTC] No.43630662[source]▶
I have never had any reason to believe my government is stealing my money, or even has any interest in stealing my money. It's not some centralized criminal organization like it is becoming in the United States or maybe in other third-world countries. I do pay my share of taxes (for which I receive excellent value), and some of that goes to consumer protection including banking and financial institution regulations.

Who I don't trust completely with my money is banks and financial institutions. That's why I have a government who regulates them. And hey, it has worked where elsewhere it has failed (see 2008 global financial crisis).