The Central Bank of Brazil is about to launch Automatic Pix, a new payment method that promises to further boost the growth of e-commerce in the country. According to a study released by Ebanx, a company specializing in payment technology, the new feature is expected to generate at least US$30 billion in its first two years of operation, considering only the e-commerce sector. The information is from Reuters.
Pix, launched in November 2020, has already become an absolute success among Brazilians, moving more than R$ 2 trillion per month in payments and transfers. With the arrival of Automatic Pix, scheduled for June of this year, the trend is that these numbers will grow even more, especially in e-commerce.
Eduardo de Abreu, vice president of product at Ebanx, highlights the importance of Automatic Pix for e-commerce segments that rely on recurring revenue, such as streaming services and software as a service companies. "Ele (Pix Automatic) tends to be very large and very significant," says Abreu.
The new feature will allow scheduling payments with weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual recurrence, in a free service for customers and offered by companies. This differs from the Recurring Scheduled Pix, which is already in operation, used by some users.
Although the credit card is seen as the main competitor of Automatic Pix in e-commerce, Abreu believes that most of the growth of the new functionality will come from new customers, currently without access to cards or with insufficient limits to contract these services.
Ebanx's study, based on internal data and data from other companies, indicates that Automatic Pix could capture around $2 billion of the credit card market in its first year of operation. Currently, the credit card processes approximately US$ 50 billion in recurring payments annually in Brazilian e-commerce.
Alexandre Albuquerque, senior analyst at Moody's Ratings, believes that banks will not be significantly affected by Automatic Pix, since they have diversified revenues and have offered benefits to keep customers on credit cards, such as cashback programs.
However, some banks are already anticipating by offering recurring payments via Pix, in an apparent strategy to retain customers and attract companies before the official launch. Santander Brazil, for example, already has a product that allows scheduling recurring payments via Pix, while Bradesco and Itaú Unibanco plan to launch similar services in the coming weeks.
Automatic Pix represents another step in the evolution of digital payments in Brazil, offering convenience, security, and accessibility for both consumers and businesses. Com seu potencial de movimentação bilionária, a nova modalidade deve impulsionar ainda mais o crescimento do e-commerce brasileiro nos próximos anos.
