In 2019, Banco Central do Brasil the Brazilian National Bank announced the creation of Pix, launched in 2020. The payment system enables users to instantly send and receive money in Brazilian real estate between participating institutions such as hundreds of Brazilian banks and financial technology companies.  Pix allows you to send money to another person, pay a company or even make a payment to the government.

What is Pix money transfer

Pix money transfers can be made from accounts held with participating institutions in Brazilian reais (BRL).

For example, you can pay a friend using their Pix alias or chave Pix, which can be their phone number or email address. It means you don’t have to get their full banking details just to split the bill cost.

You can also pay a merchant with Pix by scanning the merchant’s QR code on your phone.

Is Pix only for Brazilian bank accounts

To use Pix you need to have an account with a payment service provider that is on the Pix platform. This can be a bank however, it is also used by other financial organisations such as financial technology companies.

Nevertheless, Pix payments are in BRL only. This means that the organizations that are offering Pix payments are often Brazilian and are often financial technology services that process payments from Brazil to other parts of the world, like Wise.

For example, you can’t link your US bank account to Pix directly, but through a specialist service like Wise, you can use Pix to pay for payment from your Brazilian bank account to the US.

How long does Pix payment take

Even when made out of banking hours, Pix payments are deposited instantly.

International payments and Pix

Can Pix be used to make overseas transfers

Pix payments are limited to Brazilian real, but you can use Pix to make an international payment with a specialist service. 

Pix doesn’t let you send an international payment directly. That’s because all Pix payments are always in BRL.

That’s not to say you can’t use Pix to send money abroad at all, it just means that you can’t use Pix as the only method for sending your overseas transfer you’ll have to make your payment via another service, such as Wise.

Now, what this means is that you use Pix to transfer BRL to the money transfer provider’s account in Brazil.

Once the agreed amount in the currency you need is sent by the money transfer service to the person you’re paying. And it’s convenient, and if you choose an international transfer provider, it can also be fast and cheap.

Can you use Pix in the US

Pix payments are only in BRL and are available only through participating Brazilian banks and financial institutions. The equivalent services in the US are Zelle or Venmo.

Can foreigners use Pix

If you have an account with a bank or provider that provides Pix, you can use the services provided. Consequently, as a foreigner residing in Brazil, and having a bank account in Brazil, you can enjoy convenient and fast Pix payment, as long as your bank is a part of the Pix payment.

Questions and answers about Pix payments

Below are the answers to a few more frequently asked questions about Pix money transfers.

Is Pix safe

Pix is safe. The Banco Central do Brasil offers it and it is designed with safety in mind right from launch.

Pix payments are protected by the Brazilian National Bank who have strict security standards, which banks and providers must comply with, and any data used or stored to Pix payments is encrypted and safely stored.

Does PayPal use Pix

You would be able to use PayPal and Pix together only if you have a PayPal account set up to use. Furthermore, the location of where you are in the world would also matter.

If your account is a Brazil-registered account, you may be able to use Pix if you’re a PayPal user in Brazil. However, if you’re not in one of these countries, you probably won’t be able to integrate with your PayPal account with Pix.

Is Pix like Zelle

Like Zelle, Pix is an instant payment offering that doesn’t require the recipient’s full banking details. Pix payments can only be done in BRL, while Zelle transfers can only be made in USD. Pix is a simple, fast and secure way to make BRL payments to individuals, organisations and businesses. If you are in Brazil and you have an account with a bank or financial service provider that supports Pix, you will find that setting up is pretty easy and starting to make payments is pretty intuitive.

You can only pay with Pix in BRL. But you can send money from Brazil to more than 80+ countries with Wise, and pay with Pix for ease. If you want to get your money moving to the US (or any other supported country) then be sure to check out Wise.

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