It seems like yesterday that we felt that expectation of using the “Pix” for the first time. 2 years after its launch, the payment method is so ingrained in Brazilians that you probably don’t even ask “Do you accept Pix?” anymore.
Data released by the Central Bank reinforce this behavior. Even with a lower rate, the creation of Pix keys continues to grow – as well as financial transactions. And, consequently, transaction values.
Pix that gave birth! How much!
Pix began to crawl on May 3, 2018. On that date, the Central Bank (BC) released an ordinance that made official the creation of a working group (GT) to develop an instant payment method between different banks. Just over 2 years and 6 months after GT was created – and in the middle of the pandemic – Pix was launched.
I don’t know about you, but I was an early adopter of the tool and was curious to see how it works in practice. Probably my first use was some person to person transfer — Pix’s main transaction type since its launch.
O tool growth was “exponential” in the number of keys created — over 523 million (counting random keys), transfers and moved values. These last two are closely linked: if there are more people transferring money, then there is more money in circulation.
Speaking of money, Pix moves impressive values. This year alone, more than BRL 7.5 trillion were transferred using the instant payment tool🇧🇷 To reach that amount, the number of monthly transactions on Pix has exceeded billions since September 2021.
As of December 2021, driven by Christmas shopping, Pix users have made 1.44 billion transactions. In January 2022, the number dropped to 1.2 billion — also a reflection of the Christmas celebration. Since then, the number has only grown: in September, 2.3 billion “de Pix” were made.
Pix during the week and times of day
Sunday (and holidays) is the least busy day, both in terms of the number of Pix made and the amounts transacted. The amount of transfers doesn’t drop much on Saturdays, but the amount of money moved in Pix does. In the chart below, you can easily identify Saturdays and Sundays (and All Souls’ Day) just by the amount of money moved via Pix.
Even though it’s one of the times when fewer Pix are made, the 3 am period usually brings a peak in transacted values when compared to other dawn times (is there a different place there after the nightcap?). And of course, lunch time is sacred. Not least, it is a period in which transactions show a drop in quantity and value.
Pix is from Brazil! From dating apps to scams
Pix’s popularity got so big that… that it reached the hearts of Brazilians — in some ways.
As Pix allows sending messages of up to 100 characters during a transaction, it “took” only a few months for it to serve as “dating app🇧🇷 The person sends a value on the Pix and the song is sung in the text space – remembering that love cannot be bought. Of course, the tool achieved its popularity for other reasons as well.
As fintech growthease of creating an account and popularization of the cell phone, more Brazilians can “make the Pix”. sellers at traffic lights, street vendors (even on the beach) already accept the payment method. The excuse “I don’t have money” for when someone offers you a little paçoquinha is over.
Pix is so popular that I’ve been without my card for months (partly because my bank’s app is problematic and doesn’t register my order). Since I lost my card, I’ve only seen one establishment that doesn’t accept Pix.
And of course, the blows. It wouldn’t be like Pix, a payment method, not be used to perform blows🇧🇷 A case that went viral this year was even comical — after the initial scare, of course.
Businesswoman Jéssica Rodriguez, owner of a clothing brand, received a very badly counterfeit Pix “receipt”. The scammer tried to take several products without paying. To try to trick the businesswoman, he added an “IDO” — with one of the Instagram sources — on top of the “transfer” button, trying to hide the “R” at the end of the word.
In the end, Jessica’s case was easily understandable and funny. However, there are several methods of blows via Pix. A few months ago, cases of the Pix robot and the like became commonplace. In these scams, criminals ask for a transfer and promise to return a higher amount in return.
These scams can even be easy to spot. Let’s face it, it’s pretty strange for someone to ask for BRL 20 and promise to pay BRL 200 in return after using your money to invest in cryptocurrencies or paying a robot to comment on social media promotions. However, cases of phishing and social engineering are more difficult to recognize — at least for those with little digital literacy, regardless of age.
There are reports of scams in which criminals call victims and impersonate bank employees. They say a Pix was wrongly scheduled for the person’s account and they need to return the amount in advance. If someone says this to you, wait for the Pix to drop and then return it – probably the Pix wasn’t even scheduled. Some scammers send screenshots showing that there is a Pix scheduled.
New fall in January 2023?
It won’t be scammers that will make Pix lose popularity. Despite the “ode” to Pix, there is a way for it to lose popularity: overspending. With another full year of Pix coming to an end, it will be very interesting to see how the public behaves during the holidays.
High movements in December 2021 followed with a fall the following month. The drop was also strengthened by the fact that the Brazilian used the thirteenth to pay his debts. January 2023 may not show a very big drop: even those who charge are already accepting Pix — IPTU and garbage installment? Pay for Pix.
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/11/16/eles-crescem-rapido-pix-faz-2-anos-e-esta-cada-vez-mais-maduro/