Waiting for ‘Pix international’, fintech makes instant payments in reais abroad

It will soon be possible to make instant payments between countries and pay less for it. An “international Pix” model is being tested by the BIS, the Swiss-based Central Bank of Central Banks.

The Nexus initiative brings together 60 countries that already provide an immediate payment system like the Brazilian one – considered an example of success and efficiency. In addition to being fast, transactions tend to waive fees charged in the traditional banking system.

“Pix is ​​spectacular in that sense. It was very easy to adopt, with very good usability and solves the problem of those who don’t have access to a bank, to money, in places where they sometimes don’t have a bank branch. It was very well designed – and it’s just the beginning. I think there’s still a lot to come”, says economist Gustavo Cunha, an innovation specialist and founder of Fintrender, in Portugal.

Tests with the Nexus are simulating payments between Malaysia, Singapore and Italy, which represents the eurozone. The BIS points out that sending money abroad is often still slow and expensive. “Connecting these national systems internationally could improve the speed, cost and transparency of cross-border payments.”

Disparities between countries

Emerging countries and mainly Asian ones, such as China and India, provide the most advanced “Pix”, which cover hundreds of millions of registered keys. But the disparities are still large compared to the rest of the world. Bridging the gap between financial systems represents a huge opportunity, says Cunha.

“Within Europe, there’s still a lot of difference. Here in Portugal, there’s an instant payment system that works more or less like Pix, NBWay. But in the United States, for example, they still don’t have a fully integrated system. one next year”, he says.

Enabling the connection between different national systems, safely and efficiently, is the main challenge of the Nexus. The BIS document on the project highlights that to link three countries, three connections are needed. But to zoom in to 20, that number shoots up to 120.

Economist Graziela Furtado, from PUC-Rio’s Business School, adds other obstacles. “One of the barriers is still the foreign exchange legislation, as we are going to deal with the exchange rate in operations. This may explain why the international Pix has not yet been released”, she points out. “The cost part is also a challenge, because the entire banking system will have to modernize – just as our Central Bank had to modernize in the pre-implementation period of Pix.”

Pay with Pix in Paris

Meanwhile, a Brazilian fintech already offers instant payments in reais abroad, in some of the favorite cities of Brazilians in Europe and Latin America. The range of VoucherPay accredited stores is still limited, but in these establishments, the customer has the IOF reduced from 6.38% to 0.38%, in addition to a fee for the service.

When buying in Paris and paying in Brazil, tourists have the chance to pay in installments. “Brazilian customers can pay with PIX or pay in installments at partner stores. If they buy 200 euros, they will pay 10 times of R$198, after all they pay in reais. R$ 5.28. The rate in this case is 1.8% per month”, explains Juliane Oliveira, communication director of the Brapago Payments group in Brazil, behind the initiative.

The expansion of instant payments around the world will ultimately benefit the service. In France, for example, the population is still unfamiliar with transactions such as those with Pix.

“Here in France, there is a little more resistance with the service because it is something new that the French are not used to. It is a Brazilian product that is arriving in a new market”, says Oliveira. “At the same time, there is the surprise that the service may attract more Brazilians.”