Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 789 posts

Re: Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

#4

Post by seanalltogether »

Given the fact that the central government uses taxes to fund the creation and managements of a countries currency, it makes perfect sense that in the digital age it should also be funding the infrastructure to send digital transactions with that currency. I wonder how differently the internet would have developed if microtransations were free and easy to transfer.

Re: Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

#7

Post by alephnerd »

vithalreddy wrote: post #3

Same with India's UPI https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/upi/upi-ecosystem-statist...

Tiger Global, Seqouia, and Khosla Ventures invested in a lot of Brazilian fintech and neobank startups in the early/mid 2010s the same way they did in Indian fintech and what became IndiaStack in the early 2010s, and China's equivalent in the late 2000s.

YC has also been very active in the space in both markets by the late 2010s.

A lot of the work around Pix is largely thanks to the fact that neobanks like Nubank have become very competitive in the Brazilian market, and helped set higher consumer and business expectations for transaction processing and management.

Re: Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

#8

Post by SwiftyBug »

I've been living in Brazil for the last 20 years.

Pix revolutionised the way we transact in Brazil. I've used Pix to pay for things that cost only cents, and I have a friend who bought her house using Pix. The system just works for any transfer amount. And it's so easy to use.

Its speed is truly baffling, and so is its reliability. Never have I failed to make a Pix payment because of downtime. I never cease to be amazed by how fast money arrives in my Brazilian account when I make a withdrawal directly from my EUR wallet on Wise. I receive a push notification from my Brazilian bank before Wise finishes running the animation of confirmation of withdrawal. It's like magic.

And it's so widespread that nowadays I don't even question whether someone accepts Pix. When I get in a taxi, no matter how old the driver is, it's certain that they take (and prefer) Pix.

I've even had homeless people ask me for Pix instead of change on multiple occasions.

Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance.

Re: Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

#9

Post by nicce »

bestouff wrote: post #5

> Pix has spiced up Brazil’s fusty banking sector, but it gives the central bank a worrying amount of power I think a largely prefer a government-run payment system than an US company monopoly.

Payment systems take huge fees. It is always good if they get back to the country and not elsewhere. Digital paying is something fundamental. Like electricity.

Re: Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

#10

Post by trollbridge »

Standard workflow in Brazil:

- You need to buy something from person XZ, whether an individual, small business, or huge business.

- XZ sends you an invoice (including relevant taxes).

- You pay the invoice. XZ knows you’ve paid.

- At year end you can download all your invoices, including any taxes already paid, for doing your taxes. (Brazil taxes make American taxation look simple.)

Standard workflow in America:

- “Do you want cash, mail a check, or PayPal/Venmo/Cashapp?”

- “Umm do PayPal but friends and family please… also it’s at my wife’s email that still has her maiden name”

- Zero detail on invoice (maybe a receipt printed on thermal paper or a random email) which you lose by tax time

Post reply on HN