Brazil Set to Add Recurring Payments Feature to Pix on June 16

Brazil’s central bank is reportedly set to launch the long-awaited recurring payments feature for its instant payment system Pix on June 16.

The feature, which is called Pix Automático and was initially slated for launch in October 2024, will allow users to authorize recurring payments with one consent, Reuters reported Wednesday (June 4), citing speakers at an event held by the central bank in Sao Paolo to discuss the feature.

Central bank officials said during the event that Pix Automático is expected to disrupt both the traditional paper method of paying bills and the existing automatic debit services offered by banks; make it easier for small businesses to offer automatic debit; and enable the 60 million Brazilians who do not have a credit card to access subscription-based services.

Brazil’s central bank said in July 2024 that it was delaying the launch of the recurring payments feature until June 16. It did not give a reason for the delay.

Pix was launched at the end of 2020 and quickly bloomed in popularity, in large part due to the instant payments platform’s simplicity and ease of use, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Kushki collaboration, “Digitizing Payments in Latin America Playbook.”

Today, Brazilians traveling abroad in neighboring countries can use Pix to pay for services like restaurants and hotels — and the instant payments system may be connected to other instant payment schemes around the world.

It was reported in January that FinTech company and early Pix Automático adopter EBANX expected the new recurring payments feature to draw $30 billion in eCommerce payments alone to Pix in two years.

Most of the growth delivered by the new feature is expected to come from consumers who don’t have a credit card.

Pix Automático promises to reshape how businesses handle recurring payments in emerging markets, particularly for global software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies operating in Brazil, EBANX Vice President of Product Eduardo de Abreu told PYMNTS in an interview posted in October.

Ninety-five percent of new customers of EBANX partners in Brazil pay for their first purchase with Pix, and the new instant payment method will unlock the remaining potential of the recurring market in the country, de Abreu said.