In Brazil, cards lost to a free rail.: Launched in late 2020, Pix overtook both debit and credit cards for everyday payments by early 2022.

The public rail passed the card networks in months.. Launched in late 2020, Pix overtook both debit and credit cards for everyday payments by early 2022.

In Brazil, cards lost to a free rail.: More than three quarters of Brazilians use Pix, and most name it their go-to way to pay.

It is now how the country pays.. More than three quarters of Brazilians use Pix, and most name it their go-to way to pay.

In Brazil, cards lost to a free rail.: Person to person, street cart to store, the transfer is instant and free to send.

A QR code replaced the card machine.. Person to person, street cart to store, the transfer is instant and free to send.

capsrow / Latin America

Invisible Giant

In Brazil, cards lost to a free rail.

It took a free public rail barely a year to beat the card networks.

By capsrow · Updated July 2026

The public rail passed the card networks in months.Launched in late 2020, Pix overtook both debit and credit cards for everyday payments by early 2022.
It is now how the country pays.More than three quarters of Brazilians use Pix, and most name it their go-to way to pay.
A QR code replaced the card machine.Person to person, street cart to store, the transfer is instant and free to send.

It took a free public rail barely a year to beat the card networks.

Brazil launched Pix in late 2020. By early 2022 it had passed both debit and credit cards for everyday payments, and today more than three quarters of Brazilians use it, most naming it their default way to pay. A QR code, instant and free to send, replaced the card machine from the street cart to the store.

When the state builds the rail and gives it away, the card networks stop setting the price.

Sources. Source: Banco Central do Brasil, 2024.