Withdrawals via Brazil instant mobile payment Pix total $22 mi

In the nearly eight months since their implementation into Brazil’s mobile payment system Pix, Pix Saque and Pix Troco—named after their use as cash withdrawal and change money, respectively—added up to BRL 112.1 million in transactions, the country’s Central Bank reported Tuesday (Jul 12).

The use of these features has been on the rise month after month since the Central Bank implemented them in the country in November last year. In December, the first month in this time series, account holders withdrew BRL 442.13 thousand through Pix Saque and BRL 26.21 thousand through Pix Troco. In June, these soared to BRL 31.03 million and 321.5 thousand respectively.

The increase is made all the clearer by the amount of operations. In December, 3,588 withdrawals were made through Pix Saque and a mere 293 through Pix Troco, compared to 223,423 and 2,693 in June.

Despite the evolution, the two features are still little used if one takes into account the total volume of Pix transfers. In June, 1.634 billion transactions accounted for BRL 772.735 billion. Since the platform was created, in November 2020, transfers have totaled BRL 17.537 trillion.

History

The two tools came out on November 29, 2021. They enable Brazilians to withdraw cash and get change from commercial establishments and other public places.

With Pix Saque, users can make withdrawals using their cellphones via QR code anywhere the service is offered, like stores and ATMs. After the transfer is made, users receive the money from the vendor or sales clerk, or take the cash from the ATM.

Pix Troco, in turn, makes it possible for users to pay for an in-person purchase and get cash as change, after the sum of the two is transferred. The purchase and the change are listed separately on the user’s bank statement.