The acceptance of Central Bank´s instant-payment system Pix as a means of payment in the largest online stores in the country reached a record level of 64.4% in January, according to a study by consultancy Gmattos, obtained by Valor. A year ago, this percentage was only 16.9%. If the growth rate is maintained, it is possible that, in the coming months, the instant payment instrument will reach or even surpass banking bar-coded bills known as “boletos” in the ranking of the most available payment methods in e-commerce.
Today, Pix, launched in November 2020 by the Central Bank, occupies the third position on the list, behind credit cards (accepted in 98.3% of stores) and boletos (74.6% accepted). The study, conducted since January 2021, analyzed 59 online stores, which together account for 85% of the country’s e-commerce.
Co-founder and CEO of Gmattos, Gastão Mattos explains that the advance of Pix does not necessarily mean that there will be a drop in the acceptance of boletos. “In contact with the stores, we realized that the boleto fills a necessary space. A part of the people would stay on the margin of consumption without this option.”
The level of boleto penetration in e-commerce remained relatively stable throughout the year. Research shows that, so far, the more affected means of payment was, in fact, debt. The modality was available by 37.3% of the brands analyzed in January 2021, a level that dropped to 30.5% last month. “Pix is beating debt because the usability is much better in e-commerce”, says Mr. Mattos.
According to Mr. Mattos, the acceptance of Pix in e-commerce could reach that of the boleto in the coming months, possibly until May. It is necessary to consider, however, that from now on the growth of the modality tends to slow down. “There are already 120 million keys enabled and this is the main subject of this industry. If the store hasn’t put this option in place yet, it’s probably because they have some non-trivial difficulty in doing it.”
In his view, security problems involving instant payment, such as key leakage, are “certainly negative”, but not strong enough “to shake the reliability of the payment”. Last week, the Central Bank reported the third data breach in six months, raising concerns about the modality’s security.
On the other hand, among the factors that can help keep the availability of Pix growing, he cites the agenda of new features to be implemented by the monetary authority, such as installment payments. In addition, he also highlights the differentials that shopkeepers are offering to those who opt for instant payment, such as discounts of up to 10% of the cash value.
The credit card, historically a major driver of e-commerce, continues in the first position in the ranking. Features such as interest-free installments and points in frequent flyer programs encourage consumers to use it, says the consultancy.
Source: Valor International