Brazil's central bank has set out the details of its ambitious new instant payment scheme, which is set to go live in November.
The scheme, called PIX, will let citizens, companies and government entities make instant payments 24/7/365 through mobile phones, online banking and ATMs, using QR codes or recipient information such as phone numbers, emails and taxpayer identification.
PIX will run in a centralised settlement infrastructure, called the Instant Payment System, operated and managed by the Banco Central do Brasil.
All financial and payment institutions with more than 500,000 active customer accounts that are licensed by the central bank will have to take part in the project, settling transactions on the platform.
Payment institutions not licensed by the central bank will be able to use PIX by settling transactions through direct participants.
The government is demonstrating its commitment to PIX by ensuring that citizens and companies will be able to pay their federal taxes through it from November. The government also plans to use it to make payments such as tax refunds and social benefits.