U.S. opens a trade investigation on Brazil's payment platform, PIX
In just five years, PIX has gone from a local experiment to a national habit, and now a flashpoint in global trade.
In Brazil, cash and cards are quickly being sidelined by PIX, a digital payment system created by the country’s central bank in 2020. What began as a government mandate to modernise transactions now dominates daily life, handling nearly half of all financial activity in the country.
More than 175 million Brazilians (roughly 80% of the population) use it to pay bills, transfer money, or settle a bar tab, making PIX one of the most widely adopted digital payment tools. However, its popularity at home has triggered friction abroad.
So, in late September, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative launched a Section 301 investigation, a legal tool often used in trade disputes, to determine whether Brazil gave Pix an unfair edge. U.S. officials argue that mandating every bank to adopt the system and maintaining strict control over the data it generates disadvantages American companies, such as Visa, Mastercard, and Apple, which view such data as critical for business decisions and product development.
Of course, Brazilian officials reject that criticism. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has framed PIX as both a public utility and a symbol of sovereignty, saying the country should not be penalised for creating a fast, free, and secure system that boosts financial inclusion.
Roughly four out of five Brazilians now use PIX, including millions who previously had limited access to digital banking. That broad reach has made it part of daily life and even the national vocabulary—“What’s your Pix?” is as common as asking for a phone number.
However, analysts note that Brazil’s model gives more power to the state than to corporations, thereby challenging the traditional structure of global digital finance.
The impact also extends beyond bilateral disputes. Within the BRICS bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, it is seen as a template for building cross-border payment systems that could reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. The U.S. has already warned against such moves, with President Donald Trump threatening tariffs if the bloc attempts to develop a rival currency.
