The silent revolution of payments has just gained a new chapter: Pix Automatic, which was officially launched and begins operating on June 16. With it, a theory we have advocated since the novelty was announced was finally confirmed: it did not come to kill the bank slip, but rather, to replace the old and problematic direct debit.

Distinction matters. For over two decades, direct debit has been an unresolved promise of convenience. In theory, it would allow bills such as electricity, water, gas, telephony, or subscriptions to be paid with a simple click, or none. But, in practice, it never came close to becoming a mass payment method. Only 11% of utility consumers used direct debits, and in less affluent segments, the rate is even lower.

The reasons are not hard to understand: trust in the collecting company has always been low. Consumers have experienced countless negative experiences with incorrect charges, difficult cancellations, and little transparency in the debited amounts. The effect of these experiences is not limited to one sector: someone who had a problem with a telecommunications provider, for example, tends to carry that distrust to other services. This helps explain why so many people avoid putting essential bills, such as electricity and water, on direct debit. Added to this is the so-called marginal propensity to consume 1 by 1, where everything earned is spent, requiring the user to have the autonomy to decide month by month what can or cannot be paid. Direct debit has never served this reality well.

Therefore, since Pix was launched in 2020, many experts, ourselves included, argued that a recurring feature would be the final blow to automatic debit and not to the slip as many imagined. It would allow scheduling regular payments with more control, transparency, and, most importantly, more interoperability between payer and payee. On the 4th, during the Pix Connection event held in São Paulo by the Central Bank, this thesis materialized.

The participation of companies like GloboPlay, Amazon, OLX, and Mercado Pago among the first to join Automatic Pix reveals the prominence of e-commerce in this new phase of payments. In the case of utilities, there is an expectation of growth in the number of automatic payments with Pix, but industry analysts estimate that this advance should not exceed 5%. The bulk of consumers still prefer the slip, which reinforces the structural limits still present in this segment.

The model solves what might have been the biggest pain point in the market: integration between those who charge and those who receive. A traditional automatic debit depends on agreements with banks, which impose high costs and little flexibility. The Automatic Pix is, by design, more democratic: it only requires the consumer to authorize the recurrence. This changes the logic of entry for new players in the ecosystem, besides accelerating the digitalization of sectors previously hindered by analog infrastructure.

As Gabriel Galípolo, president of the Central Bank, stated: “Pix is the money that moves at the speed of our time,” this new phase of Pix can do for recurring payments what the first wave did for instant transfers: universalize.

The confirmation of this thesis is symbolic for those who have been following the evolution of the Brazilian financial system. The billet, with all its problems, still serves a critical function of reminder and control. As for automatic debit, it fell short: neither as transparent as the billet, nor as convenient as Pix promises to be.

And for those still doubting the speed of this transformation, it is worth remembering: Pix took less than four years to reach 160 million users. Automatic Pix inherits this base and now has everything to become the new standard for automatic payments in Brazil. It is gratifying to see this vision consolidate before our eyes, especially in e-commerce. Automatic Pix is not just a functional innovation. It is the victory of a fairer, simpler model more aligned with the Brazilian consumer’s behavior.

*Vinicius Santos, founder and CEO of Conta Comigo Digital. Graduated in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Vinicius also holds a degree in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University in Paris (FR). Currently the founder and CEO of the fintech Conta Comigo Digital, he has led companies like Navii.co, focused on the maritime sector, and Acordo Aéreo, a company with a platform capable of seeking compensation for consumers who have had issues with airlines.