By Elias Sfeir - President of the National Association of Credit Bureaus (ANBC)

The digital transformation of payment systems is reshaping access to credit and financial citizenship in Latin America and the Caribbean. A recent study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), shows how instant payment systems, Fast Payment System (FPS), are becoming catalysts for financial inclusion. Europe, Asia and Africa also have countries with similar systems.

Visibility in credit depends first and foremost on the formalization of financial relationships. FPS, such as Pix in Brazil, SINPE Móvil in Costa Rica and SPEI in Mexico, have played a key role in this process. By allowing transfers in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, these systems reduce dependence on cash and create digital trails that, through transaction data, can be used to assess the financial behavior of individuals and small businesses.

These trails are the basis for building payment histories, including credit histories, especially for populations traditionally excluded from the formal financial system. According to the study, the introduction of FPS increases the number of people who borrow from financial institutions by 3.9 percentage points and those who keep formal savings by 3.0 percentage points.

Financial inclusion goes beyond access to a bank account; it involves the effective use of financial products that meet the needs of the population. In this sense, FPS promote quality inclusion by offering low-cost, interoperable services that are accessible even through simple cell phones. The G20 has reinforced the importance of financial inclusion as a vector for sustainable economic and social development. Brazil, with the success of Pix, which already accounted for 43% of cashless transactions in the country by mid-2024, according to the BIS, stands out as a global benchmark.

Second recent article by economist Paul Krugman, According to the Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Brazil may have invented the future of money. He points out that Pix is used by 93% of Brazilian adults and is rapidly replacing the use of cash and cards. O volume of withdrawals in the country in 2024 was around R$ 660Mi, a drop of around 40% over the last three years.

What's more, Pix carries out transactions in around three seconds, while debit cards take two days and credit cards up to 28 days to settle payments. The cost of transactions is also significantly lower: just 0.33% for companies, compared to 1.13% for debit and 2.34% for credit. Krugman claims that Pix is achieving what cryptocurrency advocates promised but failed to deliver: low transaction costs and financial inclusion.

The Banking & Banking Forum promoted by Cantarino Brasileiro a few months ago brought valuable contributions on the role of Pix in the credit agenda in the world. one of his lectures. Pix is increasingly being used by small business owners and the Central Bank is developing the “Pix Garantido” project, which will allow the flow of receipts via Pix to be used as collateral for credit operations. This could reduce the cost of credit and increase access for those who previously did not have formal guarantees through visibility via credit bureaus.

In addition, the Central Bank is investing in mechanisms such as the MED (Special Return Mechanism) to combat fraud and increase confidence in the system. It was also pointed out that Open Finance is entering a new phase, with a focus on integration with credit. This will allow financial institutions to offer more personalized and accessible products, based on the user's financial history, an important step forward in democratizing access to quality credit.

More recently, the Central Bank launches Pix Automático, The new feature allows recurring payments to be scheduled with prior authorization from the payer. The novelty increases convenience for users and creates opportunities for companies, especially small businesses, which can now offer credit at a lower cost and with greater predictability of receipt, contributing to the formalization of commercial relationships and generating valuable data for credit analysis.

Pix's international expansion further reinforces its role as a vector for economic transformation. The Brazilian solution, which is already widely used by tourists and immigrants in countries such as Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, is also beginning to gain ground in the United States. Technology developed by companies such as PagBrasil allows Pix to be accepted in American physical retail, with direct integration to Verifone machines.

In addition, the so-called “Pix Roaming” enables payments by foreigners using their local bank's app, connecting Pix to financial institutions in other countries. This international interoperability shows that in addition to democratizing access to credit in Brazil, Pix is also inspiring new payment models outside of Brazil, challenging traditional structures and creating bridges between regional financial systems. It's the seed of cross-border credit that I mentioned in previous article.

These projects reinforce the idea that Pix and Open Finance, in addition to being technological innovations, are instruments for social and economic transformation, with direct potential to expand access to credit, reduce inequalities and strengthen financial citizenship. And these are exactly the pillars of our Sustainable Credit: Trends and Transformations column.