In Brazil, the “original” PIX is on the verge of breaking the record of R$1 trillion (US$200 billion) in transactions in a single month. It is on track to replicate its experiences in other countries, such as Colombia and Canada.
This month, the U.S. Federal Reserve begins testing its instant payments system, FedNow.
It is a sort of American version of PIX and promises to revolutionize how money is sent and received in the world’s largest economy.
The Fed is expected to launch the system between May and July 2023.
In its final development phase, the FedNow pilot will begin technical testing, with more than 120 institutions participating.
In parallel, the Fed has already begun to include other institutions interested in the new solution but did not participate in the pilot.
The U.S. monetary authority has not yet announced its expectations for FedNow.
Lael said the number of U.S. businesses and households using the “American PIX” will depend on how many financial service providers join the agency’s new payments infrastructure.
In Brazil, PIX is used by more than 770 institutions, according to the central bank.
Because of the simplicity of sending and receiving money and the fact that there are no fees, Brazilians’ approval of the new system has been explosive.
At more than 478 million, the number of PIX keys is twice the country’s population (212.7 million), according to the latest estimate from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The total number of users is more than 131.8 million, of which 122 million are individuals.
PIX has been praised by institutions such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a kind of central bank of central banks, which highlighted “the lower costs and greater financial inclusion” offered by the tool.
And it has attracted interest from other countries.
According to the central bank’s president, Roberto Campos Neto, the first international steps of PIX could be within Latin America.
Colombia has already shown interest in emulating the Brazilian experience.
“We are doing an international part of PIX. I’ve talked extensively with the Colombian central banker (Leonardo Villar). He told me they want to do the same thing,” he said at an event last month, mentioning Canada’s interest.
For Campos Neto, the attraction of other countries is the low cost: “PIX is very cheap; it costs the central bank R$5 million.”