25 Aug 2025

The Real Cost of Processing Pix Payments for Businesses

Business Growth Tips
Unlike card transactions, which involve interchange, scheme fees, and acquirer margins, Pix transactions are built on a straightforward model. This makes Pix not only easier to understand but also significantly cheaper for businesses to process.

After exploring the complex world of card fees, there’s good news: Pix is simpler.

Unlike card transactions, which involve interchange, scheme fees, and acquirer margins, Pix transactions are built on a straightforward model. This makes Pix not only easier to understand but also significantly cheaper for businesses to process.

Pix in Numbers

Launched in 2020 by the Central Bank of Brazil, Pix has quickly become a dominant force in payments. According to Reuters, Pix is expected to reach 44% of Brazil’s online payment market by 2025, surpassing credit cards.

Its adoption cuts across every payment flow:

  • P2P: Person to Person
  • P2B: Person to Business
  • B2B: Business to Business
  • P2G/B2G: Person or Business to Government

How Pix Pricing Works

With Pix, the cost structure is far more straightforward:

  • No Interchange: Unlike cards, there’s no fee flowing back to an issuing bank.
  • Provider Cost Basis: Costs for providers are generally fixed.
  • Merchant Pricing: Payment providers usually pass this along as a fixed fee per transaction (in BRL).

In practice:

  • Large, low-risk merchants may pay under BRL 0.10 per transaction.
  • Smaller or higher-risk merchants may pay BRL 1.00+ per transaction.
  • For cross-border Pix, pricing is often a % of volume with a defined minimum fee.

For context: card fees in Brazil typically range around 1.5–3%+ of the transaction value. Even at BRL 0.50 per transaction, Pix is dramatically cheaper—especially at scale.

In short: Pix pricing is almost always simpler than IC++ or blended card pricing, but it still flexes based on volumesand risk profile.

Types of Pix Transactions

Since inception, the Central Bank of Brazil (Bacen) has introduced (or is piloting) multiple Pix formats:

  • Pix Cobrança – invoicing with due dates
  • Pix Saque & Pix Troco – withdrawal or change at participating retailers
  • Pix Automático – recurring automatic payments (live, still rolling out across providers)
  • Pix Agendado Recorrente – scheduled recurring payments
  • Pix Parcelado – installment Pix (expected September 2025)
  • Pix Tap to Pay (Pix por Aproximação) – contactless Pix
  • Pix with Collateral (Pix em Garantia) – for secured transactions (expected 2026)

Some are already live with pricing similar to standard Pix; others are still rolling out.

Why Merchants Are Incentivizing Pix

For end users, Pix can feel slightly less seamless than card-on-file (logging into a bank app, scanning a QR, or using a Pix key). But adoption shows this hasn’t slowed its growth.

For merchants, the benefits are clear:

  • Faster settlement: Credit cards in Brazil often settle days later, or require costly anticipation fees (D+0). Pix settles instantly.
  • Lower costs: Even at BRL 0.50 per transaction, Pix is dramatically cheaper than average card fees.
  • Flexibility: Pix can now power subscriptions, installments, and even tap-to-pay.

Many businesses now encourage customers to pay with Pix—sometimes offering discounts—because it reduces costs and accelerates cash flow.

Final Thought

Pix is not just another payment option. It’s a fast, low-cost, and increasingly versatile alternative to cards—already capturing a massive share of e-commerce in Brazil.

For businesses, the key is to understand your transaction volumes and risk profile so you can negotiate the best possible Pix fee with your provider.

Want to see how Pix could reduce your processing costs? Get in touch with our managers to design a Pix proposal tailored to your business profile.