Banco do Brasil launches Pix payment feature in Argentina, eyes expansion

SAO PAULO, March 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run Banco bash Brasil connected Friday launched a diagnostic allowing Brazilians successful Argentina to ‌make payments done the Pix instant-payments system.

The service, developed ‌with Banco Patagonia, the Argentine lender controlled by Banco bash Brasil, enables immoderate Brazilian ​Pix idiosyncratic - whether oregon not they slope with Banco bash Brasil - to wage for purchases successful Argentina, extending Pix beyond home transactions.

"The motorboat of Pix overseas strengthens Banco bash Brasil's planetary operations and underscores its ‌commitment to innovation successful ⁠payment methods," said Felipe Prince, the bank's vice president for Internal Controls and Risk Management.

Argentina is the archetypal ⁠step successful expanding outgo options for Brazilian users arsenic portion of the bank's planetary strategy, helium added.

The inaugural is simply a measurement toward determination integration, ​Banco Patagonia ​CEO Oswaldo Parre said.

Banco bash ​Brasil is besides evaluating whether ‌to widen the diagnostic to different countries successful the Americas, Europe and Asia, focusing connected areas with ample Brazilian communities, it said.

HOW IT WORKS

Pix, created by Brazil's cardinal bank, enables instant, round-the-clock transfers and is escaped for individuals. Around 900 institutions enactment the system, which ‌has go Brazil's astir wide utilized outgo ​method, reaching implicit 170 cardinal people, according ​to the regulator.

Under the ​new feature, Brazilian customers successful Argentina scan a QR ‌code with their banking app ​to implicit purchases successful ​participating merchants. The Argentine merchant is paid successful section currency, portion the lawsuit is debited successful Brazilian reais.

Banco bash Brasil ​handles the underlying transaction, ‌including the peso–real conversion and immoderate applicable taxes, which are ​shown to the lawsuit connected the confirmation screen.

(Reporting by ​Isabel Teles. Editing by Mark Potter)