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Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

reuters.com

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Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#121

Post by rodrigodlu »

mvieira38 wrote: post #74
ozgrakkurt wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is just better in my experience. You just scan a QR code and pay. Not much point of using a credit card unless you want to spend money that you don’t have. Or to think you are making “points” by spending more money

You're wasting a relevant amount of money by not using a credit card in Brazil. Interest rates are so high right now they have reached 1% monthly, which you can pocket by just delaying payment on everything for a month. And credit is stupid cheap here, too, with a bunch of different picks for free credit cards giving thousands of reais for anyone. If you have some money you can easily get a card with high cashback, a…

Not always. I tried to buy a laptop on Lenovo's website. They rejected my credit cards several times, despite my Serasa credit rating maxed out, etc etc.

But then they offered me the laptop with enough discount that was a no brainer. I obviously calculated the difference between 1x, 12x with the hidden interest - cashback and Pix.

So 3 days lost trying to buy the thing, then instant approval and next day delivery when I paid with Pix.

When I bought the NSW2 on pre sale, it was better to use installments, get some cashback, etc.

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#122

Post by BurningFrog »

em500 wrote: post #47
rcruzeiro wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Systems like these are very common in Europe. Here in Norway, you can pay for almost anything, anywhere with Vipps. It works very similarly to Brazilian Pix. Another system I have used in the past is the Portuguese MBWay which although similar to Pix and Vipps, doesn’t seem to be as widely adopted as the former.

The problem is that most European schemes are country specific. As soon as you cross the border even to another European country, your options are pretty much cash or Visa/MasterCard.

There is nothing for the Euro zone?

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#123

Post by rodrigodlu »

jt2190 wrote: post #114
ozgrakkurt wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is just better in my experience. You just scan a QR code and pay. Not much point of using a credit card unless you want to spend money that you don’t have. Or to think you are making “points” by spending more money

> Not much point of using a credit card unless you want to spend money that you don’t have. This is absolutely not why millions of people use credit cards. To repeat: Immediately handing cash to a merchant carries risk for the purchaser. What if the product is defective, or the order never filled, etc?

With stronger consumer protection laws I will just send the thing back. If the merchant does not honor, is an easy case to win on the small claims courts.

The risk is buying from shady merchants and platforms that don't care about the legal system, or can delay the resolution of the dispute.

For instance buying from China on AliExpress, I will obviously not use Pix (through AliPay), but my credit card.

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#124

Post by rodrigodlu »

didibus wrote: post #118
ozgrakkurt wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is just better in my experience. You just scan a QR code and pay. Not much point of using a credit card unless you want to spend money that you don’t have. Or to think you are making “points” by spending more money

The thing with a credit card, is that when I buy something online, or it never gets delivered, or turns out to be crap, I can get the credit card company to reimburse me. And in person, if someone manages to copy it and fraud me, I can also get it resolved and have the credit card company pay me back. Do these instant payment system offer similar protections?

There's the small claims courts for that, strong consumer protection laws.

Also some banks are offering insurance on trial basis already.

But yeah, I prefer CC on international platforms, or if the cashback is higher than the discount they offer via Pix (5% to 20%).

Lenovo offered me 20% on a Laptop recently through Pix.

With the discount I paid a bit more on broader support, keep your disks, liquid damage protection.

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#125

Post by d0100 »

cynicalpeace wrote: post #112

When I first moved to LatAm, the cashiers always asked how many "cuotas" I wanted to pay. I was initially confused and realized it meant I could take a (interest free?) loan to pay for my purchases in installments. I never understood how this was common in high interest countries in LatAm, but unheard of in the USA. Does anyone know? Like actually know, not speculating.

It's common because people want goods but don't have the money to buy it

Oh you want a $140 Instant Pot? I think you mean a 1.5x minimum wage Instant Pot

So the only way to buy an Instant Pot is to do installments

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#126

Post by voxleone »

jt2190 wrote: post #55
voxleone wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be good, but what does the Brazilian law say[0]? In 2021, Brazil enacted Law No. 14.063, which governs the digitalization of public services. Its Article 16 is clear: “Information and communication systems developed exclusively by the public administration shall be governed by open-source licenses, allowing their unrestricted use, copying, modification, and distribution by all public agencies and entities.” In…

Having an entity that’s sorta kinda government (I assume that the Brazilian Federal Bank is somewhat independent) develop and run Pix brings an interesting set of problems with it, including how it should be regulated and by whom. Open sourcing the platform’s software is only one form of audit/refulation. So maybe the source is secure and maybe another entity could run it but could another entity participate in the P…

>>So maybe the source is secure and maybe another entity could run it but could another entity participate in the Pix network or would they have to establish their own separate one?

MInd you, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) does have administrative autonomy. But under Brazilian law, it still counts as part of the public administration when it comes to digital systems developed using public funds.

So the legal issue isn’t about how “independent” the BCB is — it's about the origin of the software and who paid for its development. If Pix was created exclusively by a government entity, Law 14.063/2021, Article 16 requires it to be released under an open-source license. That’s the core of my point — a legal compliance issue, not a technical or governance judgment.

As for your broader question: yes, open-sourcing the platform wouldn’t necessarily mean other entities could plug into Pix directly. Participation in the network still depends on BCB regulations, trust, compliance layers, and access controls. Open code is transparency, not necessarily interoperability.

But in a system as critical as Pix, open code would at least allow independent auditing, public scrutiny, and possibly innovation through forks or parallel implementations — even if those don’t run on the live network.

So I agree — it’s a multi-layered governance issue. But transparency of publicly funded code is a foundational first step. That’s what the law mandates — and what hasn’t yet been fulfilled.

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#127

Post by wslh »

mlinhares wrote: post #76
ojosilva wrote: post #3

This is hands down one of the best instant payment platforms at the moment. Only India's UPI can match it in features, and China and Thailand in adoption. Most Western countries have had a (somewhat timid) taste of instant payments, but most don't know what it means to just drop credit and debit cards and cash altogether for a system that is not just universally adopted (from apps to flea markets to online payments a…

Developed countries (like the US) do have these capabilities, there's fed now in the US, but the banks have captured the government apparatus so that the government can't force it to become the default cos they wouldn't be making interest money on the cash they get to hold without instant payments.

Argentina, despite enduring ongoing economic and political challenges, has had a bank-to-bank transfer system since 1997. In 2018, it expanded to include Payment Service Providers (PSPs).

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#128

Post by dudus »

kwanbix wrote: post #88
ojosilva wrote: post #3

This is hands down one of the best instant payment platforms at the moment. Only India's UPI can match it in features, and China and Thailand in adoption. Most Western countries have had a (somewhat timid) taste of instant payments, but most don't know what it means to just drop credit and debit cards and cash altogether for a system that is not just universally adopted (from apps to flea markets to online payments a…

While it is a private service by a company called Mercado Libre (which means Free Market), in Argentina we have Mercado Pago (which means Market Pay), has instant payments and it is free for 99% of the people that do P2P transactions. It is free for anyone, meaning, you don't pay to use it. You only need your national document. Of course, after seeing the success, the banks tried to implement MODO, but it was already…

Mercado Pago is closer to PayPal than PIX. I'd say it's a generation behind Google Pay/Apple Pay.

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#129

Post by voxleone »

jowea wrote: post #97
voxleone wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be good, but what does the Brazilian law say[0]? In 2021, Brazil enacted Law No. 14.063, which governs the digitalization of public services. Its Article 16 is clear: “Information and communication systems developed exclusively by the public administration shall be governed by open-source licenses, allowing their unrestricted use, copying, modification, and distribution by all public agencies and entities.” In…

Isn't it much more likely that a court would order the code published instead of restricting the use of an extremely popular payment system and brake half of the economy? I mean, they blocked WhatsApp (95+% usage) before so who knows, but it seems unlikely it will actually affect the average person.

I mentioned 'Mandado de Segurança' not to suggest halting Pix, but because, yes, it's the relevant instrument in Brazilian law for forcing public agencies to comply with legal duties — in this case, transparency around public code. Courts would not block Pix itself unless something extreme happened. They might simply compel BCB to release the code if the legal conditions are met.

Re: Brazil central bank to launch Pix installment feature in September

#130

Post by mvieira38 »

rodrigodlu wrote: post #121
mvieira38 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're wasting a relevant amount of money by not using a credit card in Brazil. Interest rates are so high right now they have reached 1% monthly, which you can pocket by just delaying payment on everything for a month. And credit is stupid cheap here, too, with a bunch of different picks for free credit cards giving thousands of reais for anyone. If you have some money you can easily get a card with high cashback, a…

Not always. I tried to buy a laptop on Lenovo's website. They rejected my credit cards several times, despite my Serasa credit rating maxed out, etc etc. But then they offered me the laptop with enough discount that was a no brainer. I obviously calculated the difference between 1x, 12x with the hidden interest - cashback and Pix. So 3 days lost trying to buy the thing, then instant approval and next day delivery whe…

I meant for everyday stuff, not larger purchases where discounts may apply, I may have oversimplified. I do buy stuff with Pix now and then, but day-to-day NFC credit is my go-to
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