Defying US Criticism, Brazil Mulls Pix’s Globalization

Key Takeaways:

• Brazil’s Central Bank plans to motorboat International Pix to link its 175M users globally.
• Pix’s 200B reduced interest transactions endanger giants similar Visa and Mastercard, per the USTR.
• Colombian President Gustavo Petro wants Colombia to follow Pix next.

Central Bank of Brazil Plans Internationalization of Pix Payment System

The Central Bank of Brazil has revealed its adjacent steps to support improving and increasing Pix, the ubiquitous instant outgo strategy utilized by astir each adults successful the country.

According to local media, the Central Bank plans to motorboat International Pix, a modular diagnostic that would let individuals and companies to implicit cross-border payments and remittances utilizing the Pix network.

While Pix is already disposable internationally successful Argentina, the U.S., and Portugal, this caller inaugural would marque it permanent, interconnecting instant nationalist outgo systems and streamlining settlements. Pix already serves implicit 175 cardinal users successful Brazil and has intermediated astir 200 cardinal transactions since its motorboat successful November 2020.

The determination of taking Pix’s functionality to different countries mightiness bring unintended consequences to Brazil, arsenic a study precocious released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) claims that Pix puts backstage outgo alternate rails astatine a disadvantage, arsenic it offers zero fees and instant finality, leaving planetary giants similar Mastercard and Visa successful the dust.

Nonetheless, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made the defence of Pix a emblem of his run to beryllium re-elected successful the upcoming elections, claiming that Pix belongs to Brazil and that nary 1 volition alteration it owed to the work it provides to the Brazilian people.

Internationalizing Pix mightiness acceptable a precedent for different countries, which could besides make their ain colony systems without utilizing existent planetary standards and hurting the U.S. dollar hegemony.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro supported Pix’s internationalization, proposing Colombia arsenic the adjacent destination for this initiative. Criticizing the actions of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), helium declared:

“I inquire Brazil to widen the PIX strategy to Colombia—and hopefully, to halt obeying the OFAC list, which is nary longer useful.”