In the future, Brazilian tourists traveling to Argentina may see more signs of Brazil's instant payment system Pix in local shops. Banco do Brasil launched an international Pix payment feature on March 6, allowing tourists to directly scan and pay at cooperating merchants in Argentina, even if the payer is not a customer of the bank.

According to sources, this feature was developed through a collaboration between Banco do Brasil, Banco Patagonia in Argentina (which belongs to the Banco do Brasil group), and the local tech company Coelsa. The payment method is similar to Pix payments in Brazil, where consumers request a QR code from the merchant and then use their mobile banking app to scan the code for payment, without the need for additional registration or prior authorization.

During the transaction, Banco do Brasil automatically converts Brazilian reais to Argentine pesos and debits the amount directly from the user's account. The payment page displays the daily exchange rate information, including the amount in reais, Argentine pesos, and US dollars.

Currently, some Argentine merchants have started accepting Pix payments, especially in tourist areas of major cities. However, the existing system sometimes requires merchants to first deposit the received amount into a Brazilian account before transferring it to an Argentine account, making the process relatively complex.

At the same time, many Argentine tourists traveling to Brazil often use their country's digital wallets for Pix payments.

Brazilian financial institutions are currently working on further regulating and expanding the use of Pix overseas, increasing the number of cooperating merchants. According to Banco do Brasil, there are over 6,000 merchants in Argentina who are clients of Banco Patagonia and use the bank's payment system, Wapa. These merchants will be able to directly access Pix's international payment system in the future and settle transactions in Argentine pesos, promoting the internationalization of Brazilian payment technology.

In addition to Argentina, Banco do Brasil plans to expand this feature to several countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, prioritizing regions with a high density of Brazilian tourists.

Pix is a payment system launched by the Central Bank of Brazil on November 16, 2020, and has since become the most popular payment method in Brazil. According to data released by the Central Bank in January this year, around 80% of the Brazilian population has used Pix, with a total transaction count exceeding 7 billion.

Experts widely acknowledge the rapid adoption of Pix within Brazil. Currently, several countries have shown interest in this payment tool, including neighboring countries like Colombia and Peru, which are consulting Brazilian experts to establish or upgrade their own instant payment systems.