Brazil’s national instant payment system PIX has expanded its coverage to cover credit with the launch of PIX Automatico on June 16.
Acting as a digital alternative to credit cards, PIX Automatico is aiming to cover 60 million Brazilians who do not have access to credit through the use of recurring payments.
The service will enable customers to make recurring payments connected to their bank accounts, digital wallets and mobile app. The aim is to help those customers who can not perform automatic and subscription payments.
The launch comes at a time when traditional cumbersome payment methods, such as direct debit links to bank accounts, are still being used by a large proportion of the population. This is in large part due to a “substantial number of Brazilians” lacking access to credit, as well as the inability to pay off debt and make repayments, according to a UNSGSA report.
PIX Automatico will help address these issues by alerting users when a recurring charge is imminent, allowing them authorise debts automatically within a singular digital platform. A customers is not required to authenticate each transaction, but only when the first alert is signaled.
The new PIX launch will be of significant focus for those paying subscription fees, such as for streaming services like Netflix, as well as gym memberships and more. In 2020, it was reported by Statista that 50% of Brazilian consumers paid for a digital video subscription, with 35% spending on a digital music subscription.
With the subscription payment market growing in Brazil, PIX Automatica aims to help simplify the repayment process digitally as an extension of the already popular PIX system app.
Early adopters
The launch has already seen early adopters, as local payments platform integrated PIX Automatico to its platform on the day of its launch.
PPRO provides a sandbox and documentation for Pix Automático for its merchants and Payment Service Providers (PSPs). The company stated that benefits of integration range from optimised conversion, faster time to market and a trusted infrastructure.
“Recurring payments are a powerful engine for growth and Pix Automático is set to transform how consumers in Brazil engage with subscriptions and other repeat services,” said Motie Bring, CEO of PPRO.
“Our mission is to help PSPs and merchants tap into local payment preferences with ease, and Pix Automático is another key step in delivering on that promise.”
