Last year, fintech PagBrasil enabled payments through PIX, Brazil’s instant payment system, in Uruguay via a partnership with Getnet, an acquirer belonging to Santander, through its local partner Plexo. Soon after, it expanded the solution — dubbed “International PIX” — to other South American countries, including Chile and Argentina.
Now, the company is launching in three European markets: Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. The expansion was made possible through partnerships with Wipay and Paybyrd, companies that process payments in the region.
Department stores, vending machines, gas stations, and hotels, among other types of commercial establishments, are gradually incorporating the solution to accept PIX payments from Brazilian tourists. Initially, there will be only a few thousand points of sale, but they are expected to increase over time.
“In Uruguay, where International PIX was launched in May last year, there are already more than 15,000 points of sale enabled to receive PIX payments,” Alex Hoffmann, the co-founder of PagBrasil, tells The Brazilian Report.
PagBrasil operates as a sub-acquirer, connected with the country’s main banks and acquirers, as well as some of the main e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify and VTEX.
Founded over a decade ago, PagBrasil started by processing cross-border payments for global companies that wanted to sell products and services to Brazilian consumers. The idea arose from a difficulty faced by PagBrasil co-founder Ralf Germer, who at the time was trying to sell software from a Spanish developer to Brazilian companies.
One of the companies reselling the software in Brazil was Mr. Hoffmann’s online store, based in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil. Together, they developed a solution and founded PagBrasil.
Over time, PagBrasil specialized in…
