Hong Kong-based AEON has enabled Brazilian consumers to pay in crypto by scanning any Pix QR code, with merchants receiving instant settlement in reais via the country’s dominant instant payments system.
AEON has launched a “scan to pay” feature in Brazil that allows consumers to pay with crypto by scanning any merchant’s Pix QR code, while the merchant is settled instantly in Brazilian reais over Pix.
The company says the integration works with major exchange wallets and on-ramp options and is pitched as a lower-cost alternative to card-based crypto rails.
Pix is Brazil’s dominant payment method. It processed an estimated 64–69 billion transactions in 2024 and continues to outpace cards in growth and usage, underscoring the addressable merchant footprint for any solution that rides Pix.
At checkout, Brazilian users select a crypto funding source, scan the merchant’s Pix QR code and authorise payment. AEON then converts the crypto and settles BRL to the merchant via Pix, which supports static and dynamic QR codes under the Central Bank’s BR Code standard. The approach leverages Pix’s ubiquity without requiring merchants to accept or hold digital assets.
AEON says the feature is compatible with popular wallets such as Binance Wallet, Bitget Wallet, KuCoin Pay and Bybit Pay. It also claims coverage across “20+ million merchants” and “10,000+ global brands” in existing markets, positioning the Brazil rollout as part of a broader LATAM push. These coverage figures are company-provided.
AEON frames the offer as a cheaper route than card-based crypto off-ramps, highlighting an “effective transaction cost” near 0.8% versus double-digit FX and network fees sometimes seen on international card rails. AEON says it does not charge merchants and that settlement is instant in BRL via Pix.
Regulatory backdrop
Brazil has one of the more advanced regulatory regimes for crypto service providers.
The country’s Virtual Assets Law (Law 14,478/2022) took effect in 2023, and Decree 11,563 designated the Central Bank of Brazil as the competent authority to authorise and supervise virtual asset service providers. Any scaled crypto-to-fiat payment operation will need to sit within this framework alongside standard AML and consumer-protection rules.
Pix’s ubiquity is the draw. The system serves a majority of Brazilians, with person-to-business usage accelerating and daily records now exceeding 250 million transactions.
Its QR codes follow EMV-based BR Code standards, enabling broad interoperability at the point of sale. For crypto firms, settling onto Pix provides local familiarity for users and immediate fiat funds for merchants, sidestepping volatility and reconciliation concerns.
AEON is not the first company to connect crypto to Brazilian bank rails, but enabling payment at any Pix-accepting merchant via a standard QR scan expands the potential acceptance base beyond closed networks.
As Pix evolves with features such as Pix Automático for recurring payments, the addressable use cases for crypto-funded transactions could grow, provided providers meet licensing and KYC obligations overseen by the Central Bank.
