Banco do Brasil has introduced a cross-border Pix payment function in Argentina, enabling Brazilian customers to make purchases at local stores through Brazil’s instant payment system. The bank is considering expanding this service to additional regions.
Partnership with Banco Patagonia
The feature was developed in collaboration with Banco Patagonia, an Argentina-based lender controlled by Banco do Brasil. All Brazilian Pix users can access the service, irrespective of whether they are customers of Banco do Brasil.
Brazilian customers scan a QR code via their banking app to pay at participating merchants. The transaction is settled in Argentine pesos, whereas the payment is debited from the customer’s account in Brazilian reais. Banco do Brasil handles the currency conversion and any relevant taxes, which are shown to the customer during the confirmation process.
First International Pix Deployment
Argentina marks the first international application of Pix within Banco do Brasil’s cross-border strategy. The bank is assessing opportunities to extend this feature to other countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, particularly focusing on regions with significant Brazilian expatriate populations.
Pix, created by Brazil’s central bank, supports instant, round-the-clock transfers free of charge for individuals and is supported by approximately 900 institutions. The system has surpassed 170 million users and has become the most widely used payment method in Brazil, as reported by the regulator.
Felipe Prince, the bank’s vice president for Internal Controls and Risk Management, stated that the launch bolsters Banco do Brasil’s international operations and underscores its commitment to payment innovation. Oswaldo Parre, CEO of Banco Patagonia, views this initiative as a move towards regional integration.
The initiative aligns with an increasing trend in domestic instant payment systems seeking cross-border interoperability, a development gaining support across various regions as regulators and financial institutions aim to streamline international retail payments.
