I often hear people say that PIX is free, but that doesn't mean the system doesn't have a cost.
The Central Bank reports that PIX costs about 10 million dollars a year to run.
For a system that handles over 240 million transactions in a single day, this direct maintenance cost on the part of the monetary authority is considered surprisingly low.
However, the truth is that most of the actual processing and security costs were passed on to the financial institutions themselves.
Each bank or fintech has to maintain its own IT infrastructure, connection APIs, and robust anti-fraud systems to handle the sheer volume of PIX transactions.
By law, PIX is only free for individuals. Businesses (corporate accounts) pay fees to send or receive PIX at most banks. It is precisely this fee charged to businesses that helps financial institutions cover their operational costs.
Why am I writing this?
I’m not trying to take away the government's credit for organizing the system.
But notice that the heavy lifting and the costs actually fall on the PRIVATE SECTOR, which is so commonly demonized in Brazilian culture.
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