How does a PIX payment work?
The shopper picks PIX at checkout and the provider generates a dynamic QR code or a copy-and-paste code tied to that transaction. The shopper scans it or pastes it into their banking app, checks the amount and the receiver, and approves. The bank moves the money through the Central Bank’s SPI settlement system, and the provider notifies the merchant within seconds. The shopper never enters a card number, and there is no 3-D Secure step.
Keys make the system easy to use. A PIX key links a CPF, CNPJ, phone number, email or random code to an account. The Central Bank counted more than 920 million registered keys at the end of 2025, and Tecnoblog, citing Central Bank data, reported that the total passed 1 billion on 30 September 2026. Random keys are the most common type, with 52.3% of the total.
Why does PIX matter for merchants?
It is now the leading way to pay online in Brazil by value. Worldpay’s Global Payments Report 2026, as reported by Poder360, put PIX at 42% of the value of Brazilian e-commerce in 2025, ahead of credit cards at 40%. Instalment cards still matter for larger baskets, so most stores offer both.
Use keeps growing. The Central Bank’s management report for 2023 to 2025 shows almost 80 billion PIX transactions in 2025, up 25.7% on 2024, worth more than R$35 trillion, up 33.8%. In December 2025 alone there were 7.8 billion transactions, and 148 million individuals and 12 million companies made or received at least one PIX.
It also works for merchants outside Brazil. Providers such as Stripe accept PIX from Brazilian shoppers on behalf of businesses abroad. The IOF foreign exchange tax then applies, currently 3.5% of the value according to Stripe, and the merchant decides whether the shopper pays it on top or the merchant absorbs it. Stripe applies cross-border limits of USD 3,000 a day and USD 10,000 a month per customer per business.
Can PIX be used for subscriptions?
Yes, through Pix Automático. The business sends an authorisation request, and the customer accepts it once in their banking app, setting the frequency, a fixed or variable amount and a maximum per charge. Later charges are debited automatically on the agreed dates, and the customer can cancel or change the authorisation at any time. Pix Automático went live on 16 June 2025 and became mandatory for institutions on 13 October 2025. A charge above the amount the customer authorised fails. At Stripe, recurring charges send the customer a pre-debit notice and wait three days before the debit.
What can go wrong?
Most failed PIX payments are not bank declines. They are expired QR codes, shoppers who abandon the banking app, name or CPF mismatches on pay-outs, and provider timeouts. Each has a different fix: clear expiry windows, reminders, the right identity data collected at sign-up, and a second provider in the routing rule.
Fraud disputes are limited but real. PIX has no card chargeback, but the Special Return Mechanism (MED) lets a bank block and return funds in proven cases of scams, fraud or crime. Since October 2025 shoppers can open a dispute from a button in their banking app, and from 2026 the MED can trace funds beyond the first receiving account. At Stripe, merchants cannot contest a PIX dispute and the outcome is final.
How would Omno handle PIX?
Omno connects PIX through more than one provider. Routing rules set by the merchant would choose the provider, for example by customer group, amount or currency. If a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment moves to the next provider in the rule until one accepts. Pay-outs would use providers that check the receiving account is in the recipient’s own name. Every final status would arrive by webhook, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment.