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15/05/2026
13 min
On November 16th, 2020, Pix, the instant payments platform developed by the Central Bank of Brazil, was launched. This payment method allows transactions to occur in under 10 seconds, 24/7, and soon become a huge hit among Brazilians. And the numbers prove this: in 2022, Pix moved BRL 10,9 trillion, according to the Central Bank, and sums over 146 million users.
Read also: Pix in 2023: main developments on Brazil’s instant payment
The modality even surpassed cash, becoming the third preferred method of payment among Brazilians, ranking behind credit and debit cards, according to a McKinsey survey.
10 questions and answers about Pix
Despite its popularity, there are still many doubts about instant payments. Below, we have listed some of the main questions and answers about Pix. Check it out!
1 – What institutions are offering Pix?
All financial institutions and payment institutions can offer their clients and users Pix, including fintech companies. However, institutions with over 500,000 active accounts are obligated to offer Pix.
2 – What are the address keys – or Pix keys?
The address key is a way to identify the user’s account. There are four types of address keys that users can use:
• CPF/CNPJ
• Email address
• Cellphone number
• Random key – a set of random number, letters, and symbols
This key binds the basic information to the user’s complete account information, allowing users to send and receive money using only an address key.
Read more: The first-year anniversary of Brazil’s instant payment method, Pix
3 – How do users register an address key?
Users can register an address key directly with their financial institutions and payment institutions. To complete the registration, users must confirm the key’s ownership and link it to their accounts by inserting a code provided by the institution via SMS or email.
It is essential to highlight that while users are not obligated to register an address key, they highly recommend that they benefit from more agility when sending and receiving payments.
4 – How do users send payments with Pix?
Users can send money by using the receiver’s address key, scanning a QR Code or manually inserting the receiver’s account information.
5 – How do users receive payments with Pix?
There are two ways to receive payments with Pix: by informing the payee of your address key, or by generating a QR Code.
QR Codes can be both static and dynamic. With static QR Codes, the transaction amount doesn’t need to be included, which means payees must manually insert the payment amount; with dynamic QR Codes, however, the amount must be included.
6 – How much does Pix cost?
Pix is free of costs to individuals. For Legal Entities. However, the cost is much lower than the amount charged today for TED transactions.
Read more: Central Bank of Brazil announces Pix Cobrança and Pix API, the instant payment’s new functionalities
7 – Is it possible to request a refund or cancel a transaction carried out with Pix?
As the transactions with Pix will occur in real-time, they cannot be canceled. However, it is possible to request the recipient a refund.
It is also possible to change the amount to be paid or cancel the transaction before confirming the payment. In special cases, such as fraud, the Central Bank has developed a transaction called in Portuguese, Mecanismo Especial de Devolução (MED), or Special Return Mechanism in English.
8 – Is there a minimum or maximum amount to make a Pix?
There is no minimum limit for transactions with Pix, only at night time — the limit for digital payments between individuals, between 8 pm and 6 am, is BRL 1,000.
In general, there is also no maximum limit for transactions; however, participants can establish maximum limits in order to prevent risks. These limits may not be lower than those established for other payment methods, nor may they limit the use of Pix in regard to the characteristics and profile of the payer.
Read more: Research shows that 55.4% of Brazilians have made an online purchase with Pix
9 – After paying or receiving a Pix, does the user receive a receipt?
Yes. After completing a transaction, a receipt is generated for both the payer and the recipient. The receipt generated by the payer contains:
• ID / Transaction number
• Transaction amount
• Date and time
• Description of the transaction
• Recipient information
10 – Will Pix have more functionalities besides the typical money transfer?
Yes. The Central Bank is continuously developing new features for Pix. In 2024, the launch of Pix Automático is scheduled, which will facilitate recurring payments with Pix through prior authorization from the paying user. Learn more on the Central Bank of Brazil website.
Pix for foreigners: everything you need to know
That Pix has become a huge success in Brazil is undeniable. But is it possible to use Pix abroad?
Pix, as we know it, is a 100% Brazilian technology developed by the Central Bank of Brazil. Therefore, transactions can only be carried out between accounts within Brazil. A person residing outside of Brazil can make or receive a Pix payment, provided that both the sender and the recipient have accounts with a Brazilian financial institution that offers the Pix service, such as a bank or fintech.
However, certain establishments outside of Brazil may accept Pix payments through partners like PagBrasil. PagBrasil’s Pix for international payment facilitates payments for Brazilian tourists in countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, and the United States.
Is it possible to make a Pix payment to an account that is not in Brazil?
For now, it is not yet possible to make an instant payment to accounts outside of Brazil or receive an immediate transfer from abroad. However, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is developing the Nexus project, which aims to enable instant payments and transfers between people in more than 60 countries.
Introducing PagBrasil Pix
PagBrasil Pix offers the highest conversion rates for Pix payments in e-commerce. With PagBrasil’s technology, your online store gains access to features such as confirmation and webhook retry, as well as fallback with multiple banks, ensuring stability so you won’t miss any sales with Pix. Discover it now.
Paula Martins
Paula Martins is a journalist specializing in Marketing. Her areas of expertise include payment methods, digital payments, and e-commerce. Currently, she works as a Marketing Analyst at PagBrasil. Throughout her professional journey, Paula has provided Digital Marketing consulting services to over twenty companies across Brazil in the Technology, Fintech, and Communication sectors. She has also written for the local newspaper Zero Hora – one of the largest newspapers in the southern region of Brazil – and worked as a freelance writer for the content agency Rock Content, contributing to more than a hundred articles.