The mechanism moved more than R$26 trillion in 2024 alone, an amount equivalent to practically two and a half GDPs of Brazil; there are new operations being studied and about to be launched
The instant payment system for completed, this Sunday (16), five years of existence, with the result of having generated savings of R$ 117 billion for consumers and companies in Brazil. Between January and September 2025 alone, R$38.3 billion were saved. The result is driven by two complementary movements: the consistent drop in TEDs and the increasing migration of person-to-business (P2B) transactions to Pix, whose fee is significantly lower than debit. According to the Movimento Brasil Competitivo (MBC), Pix costs around R$0.60 to the financial system.
In 2024 alone, the mechanism moved more than R$26 trillion, an amount equivalent to practically two and a half GDPs of Brazil – for the purposes of knowledge, Brazil’s GDP, according to the IBGE survey in 2024, is R$11.7 trillion. In 2025, movements will already total R$28 trillion, in a balance made from January to October.
BC data shows that adults account for more than three quarters of transactions, being more common among those aged 20 to 49, and the Southeast is the region that makes the most use of the payment system, followed by the Northeast, South, North and Central-West
Pix Evolution
Currently, more than 178 million Brazilians use the system – around 75% of the population – and there are more than 900 million registered keys. Over its half decade of existence, Pix has undergone some changes. What started with the possibility of making instant transfers now allows:
- Automatic Pix;
- Scheduled Pix;
- Pix by approximation;
- Pix collection;
- Pix Saque and Pix change;
These are just a few updates, as there are also others, including ongoing studies, such as Pix Parcelado, which has been studied by the Central Bank. There was an expectation that the mechanism would be published by October, however, it did not materialize. The new forecast is that the regulations will be published by the end of 2025.
“Research has shown that more than half of the population already uses Pix in installments. […] We are in a preliminary phase of Pix in installments and more than half of the population is already using it”, said the president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo.
Dispute Button
The evolution of Pix generated the need to increase security in the face of cyber threats to the Brazilian financial system. .
“The most valuable asset of a payments arrangement is its reputation, the perception that it is reliable, that people can use it with peace of mind. So, this is very expensive for the Central Bank. The BC has really devoted a lot of energy to preserving this important asset of the arrangement”, said the director of Organization of the Financial System and Resolution at the BC, Renato Gomes.
to accelerate the recovery of values in cases of fraud, scam or systemic error. In 2024 alone, R$6.5 billion in losses due to fraud were recorded by PIX, an increase of 80% compared to the previous year.
The measure is part of the BC’s set of actions to improve the Special Return Mechanism (MED), which receives another update on November 23, when the refund request in cases of scams may come from accounts other than the one used in the fraud, aiming to prevent scammers from circumventing the refund by transferring the money to other banks. The measure will become mandatory on February 2, 2025.
In 2024 alone, through MED, more than 1.13 million returns were completed, totaling almost R$400 million.
Next steps
The BC wants and believes in the evolution of Pix, therefore, it has plans for it to develop more and more and even become international. “The future of Pix will be felt through a series of products that may not be as obvious, that catch the eye like the original Pix, the original conception of Pix, but that will cause a silent revolution in the credit and payments market in Brazil”, stated the Organization of the Financial System and Resolution of the BC, Renato Gomes.
There are some projects underway such as:
- Duplicate Pixwhich allows companies to pay their electronic invoices through the instant system.
- Pix under Guaranteewhich will focus on companies, but is scheduled to be launched in the next biennium.
- Pix Offlinewhich will make it possible to make payments even when you have no internet access, isolated regions and places without a signal.
The Central Bank enthusiastically supports the solutions that the market is developing for the internationalization of Pix, stated Renato Gomes. “We support these solutions; obviously after verifying that everything that is PLD, everything that is compliance and everything that is know your customer is being respected. This is very important”, he considered. The director emphasized that the authority views the solutions that are being developed with enthusiasm and that the expectation is that others will emerge, possibly including the integration of Pix with other payment systems.
