The Central Bank of Brazil said it plans to begin an internationalization phase for Pix, exploring links between the instant-payment platform and systems in other jurisdictions, according to a management report published on Monday.
UnionPay International is planning a pilot to connect Chinese payment apps to Pix, allowing Chinese tourists in Brazil to pay by scanning merchants' Pix codes. Spending on Brazilian terminals using China-issued UnionPay cards rose more than 30% in the first half of 2026. The central bank is also studying offline Pix transactions and a real-time fraud-probability indicator.
Pix transactions grew 25.7% in 2025 to nearly 80 billion operations, exceeding 35 trillion reais. The expansion has drawn scrutiny: the U.S. government imposed 25% tariffs on some Brazilian products, citing Pix as an unfair practice, after a trade investigation raised concerns over the central bank's dual role as operator and regulator.