What is an indirect Pix participant?

It is a payment institution that Makes Pix available to is customers as an instant payment, without having a direct connection to the Instant Payment System (SPI), via the National Financial System Network (RSFN), or an Instant Payment Account with BACEN for Pix settlement.

They can be a Direct Participant, responsible for acting as their direct liquidator in the SPI. BACEN Circular Letter 4.027 – 06/12/2020.

What is the difference between the Direct Pix Participant and the Indirect Pix Participant?

Direct Participants are institutions authorized by Bacen, which are directly connected to the Instant Payment System (SPI) through the National Financial System Network (RSFN). They hold a PI Account maintained at Bacen to transfer funds related to transaction settlements Pix and direct connection to the DICT.

The Direct Participant has a robust and dedicated technological infrastructure to connect with the Bacen settlement structure in the SPI, and a dedicated treasury for managing the PI Account that operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Furthermore, there are requirements and responsibilities determined by Bacen through specific regulations for the direct participant.

The Indirect Participant does not need to be a payment institution regulated by Bacen, as it does not have a direct connection to the SPI nor does it have a PI account to settle its transactions. They can be part of the Pix Arrangement through a settlement bank, the Direct Participant. Therefore, being an Indirect Participant has proven to be more advantageous due to lower costs and regulatory requirements.

If I am an indirect participant in another institution, can I migrate to Banco BS2?

Yes. Migration to Banco BS2 will be simple, as approval will be faster, given that the Indirect Participant already operates in the Pix arrangement and Bacen does not require the restricted operation phase in a production environment.

There are four stages in the alteration process:

1. Assessment of Indirect Participant membership at Banco BS2;
2. Change in the Bacen of the Indirect Participant's liquidator to Banco BS2;
3. Approval of the Indirect Participant at Banco BS2 accompanied by Bacen;
4. Beginning of settlement in the Indirect Participant's production environment, with Banco BS2 as liquidator.

What are the benefits of being an indirect participant?

Among those we can highlight:

• Lower costs with technological and operational infrastructure;
• No requirements to be a payment institution regulated by Bacen;
• More lenient regulatory requirements in relation to the Direct Participant
• Faster and simple access to the Pix arrangement.

What is a PI account?

The Central Bank assigns each Direct Participant an account for settlement of Pix transactions, the PI Account. This account must have enough funds to settle Pix operations and will preserve the record of fund transfers corresponding to the settlement of instant payments processed by the SPI.

Does the account holder need to have a Pix key to MAKE a payment?

It is not mandatory to inform or have a Pix key, as you will only be required to inform the recipient's CPF/CNPJ and bank details (participant, branch, account and type of account), which is similar to a regular bank transfer.

Does the account holder need to have a Pix key to RECEIVE a payment?

Not at all. They will be able to receive a Pix in their account without having a registered key, as long as the paying customer, when requesting the Pix payment, directly informs their CPF/CNPJ and bank details.

However, the recipient will need to have a Pix key registered with the DICT to receive a value through a static or dynamic QR Code.

So, what are the advantages of having a Pix key?

When the account holder has a Pix key linked to their DICT account, they simply need to inform any payer of this key, without any additional information, and the payments, when made, will automatically fall into their account.

Therefore, the Pix key is just a 'nickname' for an account holder's bank details, which will make identification easier.