Analyzing the Similarities and Differences between Brazil's Pix and India's UPI Payment Systems
Brazil's Pix and India's UPI: A Comparative Analysis of Two Successful Instant Payment Systems
In the realm of digital payments, two systems have emerged as standout successes: Brazil's Pix and India's UPI. Although both aim to increase access to digital payments and remove intermediaries from transactions, they differ in cross-border capabilities and geographic reach.
Domestic Adoption
As of 2024, UPI boasts around 400 million users with about 13 billion monthly transactions, significantly larger than Pix’s approximately 150 million users and 4 billion monthly transactions. However, Pix has penetrated a higher percentage of Brazil’s population relative to India. Pix accounts for a majority (51%) of online B2B transaction value in Brazil and has become the dominant payment method, surpassing credit cards in online purchases.
Cross-border Capabilities
UPI offers a more expansive and mature cross-border payment network, supporting multiple countries and a wide range of users. Since April 2023, UPI allows international mobile numbers from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK to send money to India. Several Indian banks support remittances using UPI apps like BHIM, Paytm, and PhonePe. There are ongoing efforts and agreements (e.g., with Eurobank Ergasias) to enhance UPI's cross-border payments and integrate it into platforms like STICPAY to simplify international transfers and enable Indian businesses to transact globally.
Pix's cross-border capabilities are newer and currently focused primarily on enabling international transactions for Brazilian businesses through partnerships like Stripe and EBANX. This setup facilitates Brazilian businesses' participation in the global economy, particularly for cross-border e-commerce and B2B transactions.
Comparison in Scale and Adoption
UPI's adoption rate is particularly notable, suggesting potential for cross-border expansion. Encouraging open adoption by participants in the payments space has been crucial for the success of Pix and UPI. PagBrasil, a payment collection agent for Pix, has partnerships enabling payments in several countries, including Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and the US state of Florida.
In essence, UPI offers a more expansive and mature cross-border payment network, supporting multiple countries and a wide range of users, whereas Pix’s cross-border capabilities are newer and currently focused primarily on enabling international transactions for Brazilian businesses through partnerships like Stripe and EBANX.
| Feature | India's UPI | Brazil's Pix | |-----------------------------|---------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------| | Domestic adoption | ~400M users, 13B monthly transactions | ~150M users, 4B monthly transactions | | Cross-border reach | Available in ~10+ countries; remittances via major Indian banks; MoUs to expand integration | Enabled via Stripe-EBANX integration mainly for businesses; cross-border e-commerce and B2B focus | | Use cases cross-border | Personal remittances + business payments | Business and e-commerce payments | | Transaction cost | Generally free domestically | Fee-free domestically | | Population penetration | Lower % penetration than Pix relative to Brazil | Very high % penetration among Brazilian adults |
[1] Stripe's integration with EBANX enables Pix payments for international businesses
[2] UPI's Cross-Border Expansion: A Comprehensive Guide
[3] Pix: A Centralized Payment System Taking Brazil by Storm
[4] UPI's Future: Cross-Border Payments and Beyond
[5] Pix: The Digital Payment Revolution in Brazil
- The cross-border capabilities of India's UPI extend to more than ten countries, whereas Brazil's Pix primarily focuses on enabling international transactions for Brazilian businesses through partnerships with companies like Stripe and EBANX.
- UPI has a more expansive and mature cross-border payment network, supporting personal remittances and business payments in numerous countries, while Pix's cross-border reach is mainly restricted to enabling businesses' participation in the global economy, particularly for cross-border e-commerce and B2B transactions.
