The PIX payment system was indirectly cited, but significantly, in the new round of attacks from the United States against Brazil. Open by Donald Trump’s management, the US Commercial Representation office (USTR) states that Brazil “seems to engage in a series of unfair practices regarding electronic payment services, including, but is not limited to favoring its government -developed electronic payment services.”
The phrase points directly to Pix, created by the Central Bank and today dominant in the national market.
Including PIX in the complaint package, the Trump government refers to an old annoyed US ally, the Central Bank’s decision in 2020 to block the release of WhatsApp Pay in Brazil.
At the time, Mark Zuckerberg’s company service would be the first means of payments board directly in a messaging application, but it was interrupted days after the official announcements, on allegations of risk to competition and the stability of the financial system.
The suspension of WhatsApp Pay was seen as a precautionary gesture by the municipality, but behind the scenes, it generated discomfort in the goal and other American companies. The argument was that, by preventing the service from advancing, the government would be protecting the development of Pix, which still took its first steps. The blockade lasted months.
When WhatsApp Pay was finally released in 2021, it was late: the Pix had become a national adoption success, leaving little room for competition.
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Now the old discount of the goal returns as the giants of technology have allied with Trump. Zuckerberg, who did not have the republican’s sympathy, renewed the alliance shortly before the republican’s inauguration. At the event, besides founder of the goal, Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Sundar Pichai (Google), Elon Musk (X and Tesla) and Tim Cook (Apple) were featured on the ceremony stage.
Now, the episode returns in a new context: this time as ammunition in a broader offensive against sovereign decisions in Brazil in the digital area.
The offensive against Pix adds to recent tensions between the Brazilian government and the US technology sector. Among them, the decision of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that changed the interpretation of the Internet Civil Marco, expanding the responsibility of the platforms on illegal content, even without court order. Also on the radar are the proposal to regulate artificial intelligence and the new BRICS guidelines on digital sovereignty.
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Brazilian government officials also evaluate that the inclusion of Pix in the list of US government investigations into Brazil’s business practices was motivated by lobbying of large credit cards, Mastercard and Visa, and should not advance.
