In its continued success story, Brazil’s instant payment system Pix processed over six billion transactions per month in 2024.
A report from Matera, Pix by the Numbers, detailed the platform’s transactions and found dramatic increases in both consumer and business-to-business payments, which were up 94% and 56%, respectively, year-over-year.
December 20, Pix reached its high-water mark, setting a single-day record with 252.1 million transactions. Overall, there were roughly 64 billion Pix transactions last year, a 53% increase year-over-year.
There has long been speculation that Pix payments would eventually surpass card transactions as the preferred method of payment in Brazil. While initial estimates suggested it would take years for Pix to reach that milestone, the platform has already achieved it. Matera’s study found that Pix’s transaction volume in 2024 was 80% higher than the combined total for credit and debit card transactions.
Innovations in Progress
The main reasons Pix has gained traction so rapidly are that it is free to use and transactions settle in real time. While these benefits alone might be enough to drive continued adoption, the platform also has two key innovations in the pipeline for this year.
Pix launched contactless NFC payments through its Pix by Proximity platform last year, but that functionality was limited to Google Wallet. This year, the platform plans to extend the tap-to-pay functionality on a broader scale.
In addition, Pix plans to launch its Automatic Pix recurring payment solution this summer, allowing users to pay bills, manage subscriptions, and even make recurring investments. The launch of Automatic Pix was delayed from its originally planned October 2024 release due to concerns over the dispute process, among other issues.
A Worldwide Shift
Brazil has been at the forefront of the instant payments movement, one of the key forces driving a global shift in payments. A major factor beind Pix’s success is that it is operated by Brazil’s central bank, with government-mandated support for Pix’s adoption.
In the U.S., a government mandate is highly unlikely, which is one of the reasons why real-time payments rails like RTP and FedNow have not reached Pix’s level of ubiquity. However, financial institutions can still create a network that takes its cues from Pix’s success. This would involve developing an interoperable, intuitive, and innovative system designed to accelerate instant payment adoption.
“Pix is used by people to send money to friends, pay in stores, or by reading a QR code,” said Carlos Netto, CEO of Matera, in an earlier conversation with PaymentsJournal. “It’s not only a rail but also a way to move money from one bank account to another bank account. Pix and related technology enable every use case. We have QR codes so consumers can pay businesses instantly. We have the directory so we can send money to our friends. And there’s a standard UI so every bank providing Pix has to offer it in the same way so it’s easy for everyone to use. It enabled Pix to grow fast. Faster than we were expecting.”
