Payment innovation is one of the central themes at Money 20/20, the global event that helps set the agenda for trends like stablecoins and AI-driven e-commerce agents.
Amid the excitement, Ralf Germer, CEO of PagBrasil, brought a valuable and grounded perspective: Brazil has already proven its ability to innovate with real-world impact.
While the international market continues to debate technologies still facing regulatory, adoption, and even cultural barriers, Brazil created Pix, which solved a massive, concrete problem: giving millions of people access to fast, low-cost, and reliable payments.
In 2025, Germer attended two editions of Money 20/20—the events in Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas—where he also spoke as a panelist.
According to him, the most transformative innovations aren’t always the ones that make the most noise; they’re the ones that solve urgent, widespread problems for real populations.
In this post, we’ll explore the global trends shaping payments today and why a pragmatic lens can help Brazil stand out in the future of financial innovation.
Enjoy the read!
The Global Trends That Dominated Money 20/20 in 2025
Among the key themes discussed at the latest editions of Money 20/20, two concepts stood out: stablecoins and AI-powered e-commerce agents.
Both were showcased as innovations with the potential to reshape how consumers and businesses interact with payments, shopping, and digital transactions.
But what do these trends actually mean in practice? Let’s break them down.
What Are Stablecoins?
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to traditional assets such as the US dollar or gold. The idea is to avoid the extreme volatility typically associated with crypto, making these digital currencies safer for everyday payments and international transfers.
Unlike other highly volatile cryptocurrencies, stablecoins offer predictable value, which makes them more appealing for real-world financial use cases for both consumers and businesses.
In theory, they could help reduce costs, simplify cross-border transactions, and significantly increase transaction speed across countries and platforms.
What Are AI-Powered E-Commerce Agents?
AI-powered e-commerce agents are autonomous systems that use artificial intelligence to plan and execute complex tasks within the online shopping journey. These agents can analyze product catalogs, compare and even negotiate prices, and make purchasing decisions all the way through checkout—without any human intervention.
In practice, they work like virtual assistants that take over multiple steps of the buying process, including the final payment stage, with the goal of optimizing speed and efficiency. More advanced versions can track user preferences, adapt to individual shopping profiles, and even suggest alternatives in case an item is out of stock—all in real time.
As a result, they promise to increase conversion rates and reduce friction in the digital purchase flow, especially in high-volume environments or marketplaces with multiple suppliers.
A Critical Look: Do These Global Trends Apply to Brazil’s Reality?
Even though stablecoins and AI-powered e-commerce agents dominated the conversation at Money 20/20, the most important question for anyone operating in Brazil is whether these innovations actually make sense in the Brazilian market.
It’s essential to look at these trends with both caution and a critical lens.
These solutions are still far from being widely adopted in global commerce and, even if they were, local context matters. Brazil has its own unique challenges and market dynamics, which means not every global innovation can be applied directly—or immediately.
Below, we take a closer, critical look at both stablecoins and AI-powered e-commerce agents in the Brazilian context.
Why Are Stablecoins Still a Distant Reality?
From a theoretical standpoint, stablecoins offer an appealing value proposition—especially for B2B trade between companies operating across different countries. In that context, stablecoins could help reduce costs and friction in international transactions.
“However, the path forward is filled with regulatory and legal hurdles, not to mention the need for broad global adoption,” notes PagBrasil’s CEO.
Everyday use of these currencies depends on a wide acceptance network, something that is still far from being a reality worldwide—particularly in emerging markets like Brazil. “That’s why I don’t see this becoming feasible in the short or medium term,” adds Ralf Germer.
Why AI Agents Won’t Replace Human Buying Decisions (At Least for Now)
On paper, AI-powered e-commerce agents promise efficiency: they automate administrative tasks, compare prices, and save time for both companies and consumers.
This kind of automation is valuable, especially for repetitive processes. “Perhaps eliminating repetitive and bureaucratic tasks makes sense,” Germer notes, citing exhaustive supplier price comparisons as a practical example.
The challenge arises when these agents attempt to replace human judgment in decisions that involve personal preference or high-value purchases.
“Are you really going to trust that, out of all the shoe options available, the one chosen by an AI agent is the best one for you?” the CEO illustrates.
Germer also highlights a cultural factor in Brazilian shopping behavior: many Brazilians still enjoy going to the mall on Sundays, which reflects a preference for seeing and evaluating products up close before completing a purchase. This kind of sensory and relational experience remains essential for many segments and is difficult for an artificial agent to replicate.
Given these dynamics, widespread adoption of this technology in Brazil still seems far off, at least as long as human judgment remains central to consumer decision-making.
The Brazilian Edge: Why Pix Stands Out as the True Model of Innovation
While the global market debates futuristic concepts and solutions still facing technical and cultural hurdles, Brazil has already delivered a concrete answer to some of the biggest challenges in financial inclusion and payment efficiency.
“We created Pix, an instant-payment system with real benefits,” notes PagBrasil’s CEO, highlighting the contrast between international hype and the effectiveness of Brazilian-born solutions.
Pix didn’t emerge as a theoretical promise or a trendy piece of technology. It was built to address a real need: giving the population an instant, accessible, secure, and free payment method for everyday use.
Instead of relying on emerging technologies still maturing—like stablecoins or autonomous AI agents—Pix was designed around the realities of Brazil. With a highly connected population and millions still outside the traditional banking system, the solution had to be simple, scalable, and easy for anyone to adopt.
The result was a system that, in just a short time, fundamentally changed how consumers and businesses behave, driving growth in e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retail, services, and even peer-to-peer payments.
Its massive adoption confirmed the success of its core mission: delivering real, tangible value to the population. While other solutions still struggle to gain traction, Pix is already used daily by millions, and Brazil is now increasingly recognized as a global reference point for instant payments.
The next frontier may be interoperability between similar systems around the world, and Brazil is well positioned to lead that evolution. By exporting Pix’s architecture and design principles, the country has the opportunity not only to inspire other markets but also to play a leadership role in building a global network of instant-payment systems.
Between Global Hype and Real Innovation
Global conversations about the future of payments offer valuable insights and point to possible paths for the years ahead. Stablecoins, AI-powered e-commerce agents, and other emerging technologies are worth watching, but they must be evaluated with a critical lens, especially in markets like Brazil.
Brazil shouldn’t ignore global trends, but it also shouldn’t adopt them automatically.
It’s essential to filter what truly makes sense for the country’s reality and, above all, continue prioritizing solutions that solve concrete, large-scale problems. Pix is a clear example of how innovation can be born locally and still become a global reference. It’s an effective response to local challenges that simultaneously elevates Brazil as a global leader in payments.
Real innovation is the kind that transforms the lives of millions. If your company is looking for a strategic partner leading payment innovation with deep local expertise, talk to a PagBrasil specialist.
