Stripe’s network of businesses will be able to offer their customers in Brazil the option to make Pix payments in Brazilian Reals, with settlements available in the merchant’s domestic currency.
The integration, facilitated by Latin American payments firm EBANX, will be available to both businesses directly integrated with Stripe and those using e-commerce platforms built on Stripe’s infrastructure.
A key use case for the launch is cross-border payments. One of the most effective ways to improve international transactions in Brazil is to offer local payment methods.
This approach can deliver measurable results: data from EBANX shows that merchants who support Pix increased revenue by 16% and grew their customer base by 25% over a six-month period.
Capitalizing Upon Ubiquity
Pix has quickly become the predominant payment method in Brazil since its launch in 2020. The real-time payments system processed over six billion transactions per month last year, and 93% of Brazilian adults say they use Pix.
The main reasons the network has gained traction so rapidly are that it is fee-free and transactions are real-time. These factors have driven the platform to surpass credit cards as the leading payment type in Brazil.
Pix has capitalized on its ubiquity by launching new features like contactless payments, recurring payments, and a buy now, pay later service. These features have increased the platform’s popularity to the point where merchants who want to tap into the Brazilian market must offer Pix capabilities.
Options Are Effective
Reaching more customers in Latin America is one of Stripe’s goals, as Brazil is the largest market in the region. It also represents a shift toward incorporating more real-time payments, after Stripe has been heavily focused on crypto-related ventures in recent months. The company also made significant acquisitions of both stablecoin company Bridge and crypto wallet Privy.
However, the Pix integration isn’t Stripe’s first foray into instant payments—it already operates its own pay-by-bank platform, which was first launched in the UK before expanding into France and Germany.
While there have been questions about how much traction this platform will gain, certain options have proven effective. Stripe noted that merchants offering at least one additional relevant payment method beyond cards saw average revenue growth of 12%.
