Signs of financial inclusion after the implementations of the instant payment system - PIX - by the Central Bank of Brazil

• Main Author: Miura, Luciana Yumi
• Publication Date: 2025
• Format: Master thesis
• Language: eng
• Source: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Download full: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/12/12136/tde-01092025-101912/
• topic: Brasil; Brazil; Financial inclusion; Inclusão financeira; ODS; Payment systems; Pix; Pix; SDGs; Sistemas de pagamento

Sustainable development is a common goal among nations. One of the strategies for combating inequality and, consequently, poverty is to enable vulnerable populations to access financial services to alleviate poverty. In this context, new technologies are emerging to enable this access. Brazil, in the process of developing and innovating its financial system, created the instant payment system - Pix. Against this backdrop, this research sought to answer the questions: how did the institutionalization of Pix happen? And what effect did it have on poverty? A bibliometric analysis of the literature and a systematic analysis of the literature were then carried out to provide a complementary basis for the research. Three complementary research methods were applied, given the diversity of publics and the limited scope of each methodology. In the qualitative phase, 9 interviews were conducted, 8 with experts and 1 with an individual from a vulnerable population, and a survey with 298 valid responses. The interviews show that social assistance, through its municipal capillarity, has managed to register and assist vulnerable populations in the Bolsa Família, BPC and Loas government programs. Bolsa Família, in particular, has promoted the bankarization of an excluded population. Government remittances also have the function of promoting financial resilience by transferring income and alleviating material poverty. Fintechs fit into this context of a population that already has a bank account, demonstrating a marginal gain in access to other services not available in that account. The survey showed that, for the sample, Pix is widely used and is part of users\' daily lives, mainly replacing cash. In the survey, the agility, practicality and speed that Pix has brought to users\' daily lives are the most highlighted factors. Two unexpected points were raised. The first is that distrust of Pix is due to user interactions, rather than distrust of the system and its possible flaws. Thus, the main complaint from users is the possible use of Pix to facilitate digital scams. The second point is the ease of making online purchases, especially those of lower value. In the quantitative phase of the research, the fixed effects model was unable to identify a significant relationship between the number of Pix transactions and income from work in Brazilian municipalities. Thus, it is not possible to state that Pix contributes to poverty reduction according to the data obtained. This study contributes to the literature by presenting the specific case of financial inclusion, in which the Brazilian state is fundamental to promoting the eradication of poverty and the consequent financial inclusion, whether through social assistance, mainly through the Bolsa Família program, or through the development and innovation of the financial system promoted by the BCB.