It enables instant transfers between individuals, businesses, and financial institutions — operating 24/7, including weekends and holidays. Transactions typically settle in under 10 seconds, providing an accessible, low-cost, and secure payment experience that spans the entire financial ecosystem.

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How Pix works

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Pix supports multiple initiation methods:

• Pix Keys: CPF/CNPJ, phone number, email address, or EVP (random key)
• QR Codes: Static (reusable) and dynamic (single-use, metadata-rich)
• Manual entry: Full banking details (bank, agency, account)

After confirmation, the transaction is validated, routed through BACEN’s infrastructure, and credited instantly to the recipient.

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Why Pix matters

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Pix combines speed, accessibility, and regulatory-grade security:

• Instant settlement: Routed and cleared in seconds
• Always available: 24/7 operation
• Low cost or free for individuals
• Secure and auditable: Every transaction has an E2E ID
• User-friendly: Human-readable identifiers reduce friction and errors

Pix has rapidly become Brazil’s most widely adopted payment rail, used for everyday transfers, merchant payments, service flows, and financial operations.

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Pix modalities

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Pix supports several operational flows defined by BACEN: These modalities cover both consumer and business use cases.

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Pix infrastructure: SPI and DICT

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Pix relies on two core services operated by BACEN:

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SPI — Instant Payment System

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The SPI is Pix’s settlement engine. It handles:

• Transaction routing between institutions
• Real-time clearing
• Final, irrevocable settlement

Institutions connect to SPI through the SPI Gateway, which requires strong cryptography, mTLS, and regulated network connectivity.

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DICT — Directory of Transactional Account Identifiers

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DICT is the nationwide registry that stores Pix keys. It ensures:

• Key uniqueness
• Lookup of recipient information
• Portability between institutions
• Ownership validation
• Fraud and dispute checks (linked to MED and infractions)

Every Pix operation also includes a unique End-to-End ID (E2E) for reconciliation and dispute resolution across all participants.

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Participants in the Pix ecosystem

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BACEN defines participation models based on how institutions connect to its infrastructure:

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Direct Participants

Institutions that connect directly to SPI and DICT. They manage:

• Their own Pix messaging and connectivity
• Real-time liquidity
• Full regulatory, operational, and security compliance

This model provides maximum autonomy and control but requires significant infrastructure and governance maturity.

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Indirect Participants

Institutions that access Pix through a direct participant (the “sponsor”). The sponsor handles:

• Connectivity
• Clearing
• Settlement
• Compliance with BACEN protocols

This reduces operational complexity and speeds up time-to-market.

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A practical way to understand it

In all cases, the goal is the same — but the responsibility and complexity shift dramatically. End users see no difference between the two models.

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PSTI — Information Technology Service Provider

A PSTI is a BACEN-regulated provider authorized to operate the infrastructure required for financial institutions to connect to the RSFN (National Financial System Network). Using a PSTI allows institutions to:

• Connect to BACEN networks without building full infrastructure
• Rely on certified, secure, and compliant systems
• Maintain control of their ledger and business logic

PSTIs ensure regulated communication, data protection, and high availability for Pix participation.

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Requirements for participation

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To offer Pix, institutions must follow BACEN’s operational and security standards, which typically include:

• mTLS authentication and ICP-Brasil certificates
• Regulated connection to the RSFN (directly or via PSTI)
• 24/7 availability and redundancy
• Real-time monitoring and SLA adherence
• Fraud prevention and dispute handling (MED)
• Compliance with DICT and SPI message formats
• Timely reporting, logging, and auditability
• Following nightly limit rules and configurable customer limits

These requirements ensure consistent, regulated behavior across the entire ecosystem.

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In short

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• SPI handles settlement
• DICT manages Pix keys
• Direct or indirect participants connect through certified gateways
• PSTIs provide regulated infrastructure
• Pix modalities support everything from simple transfers to QR Code payments and invoicing
• BACEN regulations ensure interoperability, security, and traceability

Together, these components form Brazil’s instant-payment ecosystem — fast, compliant, and universally accessible.

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Pix in the Lerian platform

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Lerian provides Pix Switch — a unified plugin that implements the complete Pix orchestration layer for financial institutions. Pix Switch handles all the complexity described above — DICT management, transaction flows, QR Codes, MED, refunds, and more — through a single API. Institutions configure their connectivity provider, and the plugin handles the rest. Key characteristics:

• One plugin, any provider — A provider adapter layer abstracts the connectivity provider, so your integration stays the same regardless of how you connect to BACEN
• All participation models — Whether your institution participates directly or indirectly, the API is identical
• Native ecosystem integration — Works with Midaz (ledger), CRM, Fee Engine, Reporter, Matcher, and other Lerian products