Pix Goes Global: Eight Countries and Counting

Hey Payments Fanatic!

Pix has 200M monthly active users. What happens when it leaves Brazil?

We're starting to find out.

Brazil's dominant instant payment system is now operational in eight countries: Portugal, Spain, France, the US, and four Latin American neighbors.

In Portugal, it's already live at Continente supermarkets and El Corte Inglés, and it's set to integrate directly with MB Way, the country's leading instant payment method.

That last part is the interesting bit. This isn't just a merchant rollout, it's two national payment rails connecting.

Customers scan a QR code, the FX conversion happens in real time, and they sidestep Brazil's IOF tax on international card purchases. A genuine incentive to change behavior.

While the cross-border payments conversation often centers on stablecoins and new infrastructure, Pix is expanding by plugging into what already exists.

Country by country. Rail by rail.

But Pix crossing borders is the easy part. The hard part is regulation.

🎧 This new FN Tech podcast episode with dLocal covers what merchants get wrong before they launch. Worth a listen.

Today's biggest Payments stories are also just below. 👇

See you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Marcel

PODCAST RECOMMENDATION

🎤 Compliance Isn't the Cost of Doing Business. Non-Compliance Is. In episode three of the FN Tech podcast, in partnership with dLocal, host Elliot Gotkine speaks with dLocal's Gabriela Vieira and Barnes & Thornburg's Jeff Lethman about what global merchants get wrong about emerging-market regulation, why a licence in one country isn't a passport to the next, and why AML enforcement across Latin America, Asia and Africa is about to get much tougher. Watch the full episode here.

NEWS

🇺🇸 zerohash powers stablecoin payout and prefunding capabilities for Visa Direct. The integration lets Visa Direct clients send and receive stablecoin payments across Zero Hash's network.

🇬🇧 Mastercard and PEXA partner to explore synchronised settlement, aiming to create greater certainty for UK homebuyers. The collaboration will test whether property and payment settlement can complete simultaneously rather than sequentially.

🇦🇹 Bitpanda connects AI assistants to user portfolios via its API and Model Context Protocol. Investors can now ask supported assistants to review allocations, set up recurring workflows and initiate trades across crypto, stocks, ETFs and metals.

🇧🇷 Pix is now operational in eight countries, including Portugal, Spain and France. Brazil's instant payment method will soon integrate with Portugal's MB Way, letting local merchants accept Pix via QR code with automatic currency conversion.

🇬🇧 Trust Payments and felloh partner to connect payments and finance data for travel businesses. The integration links payment processing with financial reporting to streamline reconciliation for travel merchants.

🇦🇹 Bybit secures an Austrian EMI license for EU payments. Austria's FMA granted Bybit Payments GmbH authorization to issue electronic money and offer regulated payment services across the EU, separate from its MiCA crypto entity.

🇱🇺 Wero launch in Luxembourg pushed to 1 September, missing the June target set by participating banks. BGL BNP Paribas and other lenders will now roll out the European payment app later than originally planned.

🇫🇷 Rivo raises $3.1M to automate cash management for businesses. The seed round will support development of its platform that centralizes treasury operations and optimizes liquidity for growing companies.

🇺🇸 FIS deepens its banking push with payments and issuing, reporting continued traction with large financial institutions. Banks keep spending on payments, fraud prevention and modernization even as broader tech budgets face scrutiny.

🇺🇸 Yellow Card raises $40M as its stablecoin group expands beyond Africa. Standard Chartered's SC Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund backed the round, which will fund Global USD Accounts for businesses in Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

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