Brazil Created Its Own Digital Payment System. Trump Says It Hurts U.S. Businesses.

Digital outgo strategy PIX has won the hearts of millions of Brazilians, and the ire of the Trump administration.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative successful July launched an probe into Brazilian trading practices crossed respective industries, including integer outgo services.

The USTR says successful a study to the U.S. Congress that PIX has an unfair vantage implicit U.S.-based companies due to the fact that it is overseen and operated by the Central Bank of Brazil. The bureau besides says the Brazilian authorities disadvantages U.S. companies by imposing a web usage interest and refusing to stock consumers' idiosyncratic data.

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Trump ordered the investigation, according to the USTR's connection announcing the probe that is besides looking into "unfair" tariffs connected U.S. exports and different matters allegedly affecting U.S. businesses.

"Brazil's policies and measures bash not restrict the operations oregon undermine the competitiveness of U.S. companies engaged successful physics outgo services," Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said successful an August missive to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

The USTR could enforce further tariffs connected Brazilian imports if it determines Brazil gave PIX an unfair advantage.

PIX is simply a integer outgo strategy that operates likewise to Zelle oregon Venmo. Users tin nonstop oregon person instant payments done the system, linked to their slope relationship oregon a integer wallet.

While Zelle is controlled by a consortium of banks, PIX is operated by Brazil's cardinal bank, which launched the work successful 2020.

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It rapidly gained popularity among users and businesses. More than 170 Brazilians, oregon astir 80% of the population, actively usage PIX, according to the Central Bank of Brazil.

Its occurrence has piqued the involvement of different countries exploring akin systems, according to Bloomberg. Argentina and Uruguay already let Brazilian tourists to usage PIX to wage for edifice and edifice bills.

The USTR has been keeping an oculus connected PIX since 2022 to guarantee Brazil "facilitates a level playing tract for each marketplace participants," according to an bureau report.

No U.S. fintech oregon recognition paper companies submitted comments arsenic portion of the probe, according to the USTR's website. Some U.S. commercialized groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said they agreed PIX had an unfair vantage since the BCB oversees and operates the system, and requires each fiscal firms successful Brazil to judge it arsenic a outgo method.