SAO PAULO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A study by financial technology firm Ebanx revealed that Brazil's payment system Pix is expected to process $30 billion in e-commerce transactions within two years, thanks to a new feature for recurring bills that will particularly benefit streaming companies.
Introduced in late 2020 by Brazil's central bank, Pix has quickly become the preferred payment method for Brazilians, surpassing credit and debit cards. Currently, it manages over 2 trillion reais ($338 billion) in monthly transactions.
In June, the central bank is set to launch "Pix Automatico," a feature aimed at automating the payment of recurring bills such as utilities and streaming services. Ebanx's vice president of product, Eduardo de Abreu, emphasized the significance of Pix Automatico for sectors like software as a service and streaming services that heavily rely on recurring revenues.
De Abreu noted that while credit cards are considered Pix Automatico's main competitor in e-commerce, the initial growth of this feature is expected to primarily attract new customers who are currently underserved due to a lack of credit cards or credit limits.
Besides, the total volume of payments processed by Pix Automatico could surpass Ebanx's projections, given that the current estimates are focused solely on the e-commerce industry.
Currently, recurring bills in Brazil are settled using bank invoices and automatic debits, requiring companies to collaborate with various banks for handling customer charges. In contrast, Pix Automatico will streamline this process by necessitating vendors to partner with only one financial institution.
Nevertheless, Moody's Ratings senior analyst Alexandre Albuquerque pointed out that financial institutions are unlikely to be adversely impacted by Pix Automatico, as they have diversified revenue sources and offer client benefits like cashback on credit card payments.
(Conversion: $1 = 5.9109 reais)