Raynor de Best
Content expert covering payments and (crypto)currencies
Digital payments landscape in Brazil - statistics & facts
Digital payments in Brazil have become synonymous with the success of real-time A2A payment scheme Pix. Launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in November 2020, Pix made Brazil one of the top countries in the world in terms of processed real-time payments. What digital payment characteristics and payment trends are also noteworthy for Brazil?
With Pix being such a clear domestic success -and perhaps a leading example for the world of payments digitalization - the question remains what is next beyond 2025. A successful expansion beyond Brazil could mark the beginning of an international, intertwined payments system.
Pix and financial inclusion
Pix's adoption allowed an increasing number of Brazilians to gain access to financial services. It was mandatory to use in Brazil's COVID-19 relief funds. Consequently, Brazil's share of unbanked population declined significantly. Generally speaking, the share of people who do not have access to a bank account also declined across other countries in Latin America during this time. However, the change in Brazil was considerably higher than elsewhere in the region. Surveys suggest that changing costs of living also impacted the use of alternative payment methods - as Pix does not have additional transaction fees.Are credit cards obsolete in Brazil?
In 2022, the Brazilian Central Bank remarked that Pix would lead to "credit cards ceasing to exist at some point soon". By 2024, A2A had become the most popular online payment method in Brazil, dethroning credit cards for the first time. That said, the number of credit cards issued increased with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of nearly 17 percent between 2018 and 2023. Cross-border payments, such as paying for travel, may have contributed to this. It should be noted that credit card rates in Brazil are much higher than in, for example, the United States, as it lacked credit card regulation.Pix moving beyond Brazil
With so much domestic success, many industry analysts wonder if Pix will expand beyond Brazil's borders. As of 2025, Pix does not directly work in other countries except Brazil. It requires an intermediary provider to settle international payments - a service provided by U.S. fintech company Fiserv in Argentina. Brazilian payments firm PagBrasil is another such intermediary, enabling Pix for outbound tourism from Brazil through local partnerships in Peru and Europe. Linking Pix to the domestic payment systems of other countries is what is being explored in 2025 - a key trend for digital payments going forward, according to industry professionals.With Pix being such a clear domestic success -and perhaps a leading example for the world of payments digitalization - the question remains what is next beyond 2025. A successful expansion beyond Brazil could mark the beginning of an international, intertwined payments system.
