Although the majority of people in São Paulo (61%) say they use Pix to transfer money or make payments, the system is much less used among the less educated who live in the state.
According to a Datafolha survey carried out at the end of June, only 30% of respondents who completed elementary school use the tool. In the universe of those who completed high school, the proportion goes to 68% and rises to 79% among those with higher education.
Datafolha heard 1,806 people in 61 municipalities in São Paulo between June 28th and 30th. The margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points.
In operation since November 2020, Pix already has more than 130 million registered users and, since then, billions of transactions have been carried out. According to data from the Central Bank, in March this year alone, there were 1.6 billion payments and transfers.
Despite its inclusive power —which facilitates instant and fee-free operations—, the tool also reflects Brazil’s socioeconomic inequalities.
It is that, in addition to the issue of schooling, income also appears as an obstacle. According to the survey, the rate of adhesion to Pix is 51% among people in São Paulo who earn up to two minimum wages. Of those who earn between two and five salaries, 69% say they use Pix.
Although the proportion is not low, it is even higher in the higher salary ranges. Between five and ten minimum wages, for example, 84% of people say they use the system to transfer money and make payments. In the cut above ten salaries, the adhesion rate is 76%.
One of the reasons behind this difference may be the digital divide, which hits the poor more strongly and involves everything from infrastructure issues to connectivity problems, high-priced mobile data packages and obsolete cell phones.
report of Sheet showed that Pix contributed to inclusion, but also helped to clarify the existing contrasts in the country.
In January of this year, for example, the South region handled more financial volume than the Northeast on Pix, even registering half the volume of transactions and having fewer registered users. In previous months, the scenario was no different.
Even so, the system helped to popularize credit transfer operations, which were previously restricted to higher-income consumers, due to the collection of fees.
It is no wonder that, in the second quarter of 2021, Pix was the fourth most used means of payment in the country, accounting for 12.93% of the amount of transactions, behind only boleto (15.09%), credit card (19.58%) and debit card (21.44%).
Pix is more popular with younger people
The Datafolha survey also shows that the vast majority of young people already use Pix to transfer values, pay or receive money. Of people in São Paulo aged between 16 and 24, 90% say they use the tool.
The proportion decreases as the age group grows. The adherence rate in the group between 25 and 34 years old is 85%, but it drops to 71% among people between 35 and 44 years old. Of respondents aged between 45 and 59, nearly half (51%) use Pix.
However, the scenario is reversed in the group of people over 60 years of age. It is the only cut where the vast majority (76%) do not use the payment system.
In this case, the digital divide can be a deterrent, but the perception of Pix security is also a factor.
According to the survey, respondents over 60 are the most suspicious of the tool. For 51%, the system is not at all secure. Only 8% believe it is very safe and 35% say a little.
The scenario is quite different in the age group that uses Pix the most (between 16 and 24 years old), where only 9% consider nothing safe.
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