With two years of operation, Pix, instant money transfer, has consolidated itself as the most used means of payment by Brazilians, reported the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban).
From November 16, 2020, when it started operating in the country, to last September 30, 26 billion operations were performed in the national financial system, with the amounts transacted reaching R$ 12.9 trillion.
A survey carried out by Febraban based on Central Bank figures shows that, in the first month of operation, the Pix surpassed transactions made with DOC (credit document). In January, it surpassed TED (available electronic transfer) transactions. In March of the same year, it surpassed the number of transactions made with boletos. In the following month (May), Pix surpassed the sum of all of them.
As for cards, Pix surpassed debit transactions in January this year and, in February, surpassed credit card transactions, when it became the most used means of payment in Brazil.
According to Febraban’s president, Isaac Sidney, the transactions made with Pix continue to rise and show the great popular acceptance of the new payment method, which has brought convenience and ease to customers in their everyday financial transactions. “In the last 12 months, we recorded a 94% increase in transactions with the tool.”
When analyzing the amounts transacted, the survey shows that last September the Pix reached R$ 1.02 trillion, with an average ticket of R$ 444, while the TED, which totaled R$ 3.4 trillion, had an average ticket of R$ 40,600.
“The numbers show that the population is using the Pix as a means of payment of lower value, such as in transactions with self-employed professionals, and also for everyday purchases, which would be made with banknotes, as was predicted at the time of the tool’s launch,” said the executive director of Innovation, Products and Banking Services at Febraban, Leandro Vilain.
According to Vilain, this causes the number of transactions to increase at an accelerated pace, bringing greater convenience for customers, who no longer need to carry banknotes for small transactions.
Also according to the survey, the September statistics show that almost half of Pix users are in the Southeast Region (43%), followed by the Northeast (26%), South (12%), North (10%) and Center West (9%). As for the users, 64% are between 20 and 39 years old.
Since Pix was launched, 523.2 million keys have been registered in the Central Bank’s Directory of Transactional Account Identifiers. Random keys total 213.9 million, followed by keys by CPF (114.2 million), cell phone (108.3 million), e-mail (77.5 million). By October, 141.4 million Brazilians had already used Pix for their payments.
Security
Febraban and the associated banks invest about R$3 billion a year in cybersecurity to improve and make users’ financial transactions safer.
The federation participates in the Pix Forum, promoted by the Central Bank, and contributes with suggestions to further improve the security of this payment method. The entity says it follows all the market regulations and, in case of changes, it will strive to implement them within the deadline set by the regulatory agency.
Pix is a secure tool and all transactions occur through digitally signed messages that travel encrypted over a protected network. The member banks also rely on the most modern technologies in terms of cybersecurity and fraud prevention, such as encrypted messaging, biometric authentication, tokenization, and use technologies such as big data, analytics and artificial intelligence in risk prevention processes. According to Febraban, these processes are continuously improved, considering technological advances and changes in the risk environment.