Since its inception in 2020, Brazil's Pix has transformed the payments landscape, quickly becoming a dominant payment method and expected to have a market share of 44% by the end of 2025 [Source]. Now, the new Pix flows built upon Brazil's Open Finance framework, take this further by introducing innovative, frictionless payment flows that significantly enhance user experience and merchant conversion rates.
Pix Open Finance Flows
The recent announcement of Pix Biometric by the central government on February 28, 2025, introduces new payment methods under the Open Finance framework, enabling deeper integrations, greater convenience, and heightened security:
1. Pix Biometric / Journey Without Redirection (JSR): Payments authorized instantly using biometrics, eliminating repeated redirects and enabling seamless, one-tap Pix transactions directly within third-party apps after a single initial setup.
2. Pix por Aproximação (NFC Tap Payments): Allows payments via NFC without opening the bank's app.
Value Proposition for Merchants
1. Improved Conversions (Higher Sales and Revenue)
Pix 1-Click eliminates traditional friction in checkout, removing the need for QR scanning or bank app redirects. Merchants integrating Pix 1-Click experience:
- One-tap payments: Customers simply select their linked bank account and tap "Pay with Pix." Transactions complete instantly via stored biometric credentials, similar to popular wallet experiences like Apple Pay or Google Wallet.
- Dramatically improved checkout conversions: Pilot studies show checkout completion rates around 90% with Pix 1-Click, compared to ~38% with traditional QR-based redirection flows. This means merchants capture significantly more sales, directly increasing revenue. [Source]
- Reduced cart abandonment: Eliminating cumbersome steps (QR code scanning, bank app redirects) prevents customers from abandoning carts, converting previously lost sales into successful transactions.
2. Boosted Pix Adoption (More Repeat Customers, Lower Cost)
Offering Pix Biometric makes paying with Pix smoother than cards or traditional Pix flows. This encourages customers to choose Pix more often, directly benefiting merchants through:
- Lower Payment Processing Costs: Pix transactions are cheaper than card transactions, directly boosting profitability.
- Higher Repeat Purchases: The ease of Pix Biometric incentivizes consumers to return frequently, increasing customer lifetime value.
- Expanded Customer Base: As consumers increasingly prefer frictionless payments, merchants early to offer Pix Biometric are likely to attract and retain tech-savvy customers who seek convenience.
3. Instant Settlement (Improved Cash Flow)
Funds from Pix payments settle instantly into merchant accounts without any intermediate stops (unlike card payments). Merchants benefit directly from:
- Enhanced Liquidity: Immediate access to funds ensures better management of working capital and cash flow.
- Reduced Anticipation Costs: Eliminates the need for anticipation fees typically associated with accelerating card-based payment settlements.
4. Support for NFC Tap Payments (Seamless In-Store Experience)
Pix por Aproximação extends the frictionless benefits of Pix Biometric to in-store shopping, enabling customers to pay simply by tapping their phones on NFC-enabled terminals:
- Fast, Contactless Transactions: Customers authenticate instantly via biometrics on their device, removing the need for opening banking apps (after the initial setup) or scanning QR codes.
- Unified Customer Experience: Merchants can provide consistent convenience across online and offline shopping experiences, enhancing overall brand perception and loyalty.
- Compliance with Standards: Pix NFC payments adhere to robust BCB Open Finance APIs and security regulations, offering merchants a trusted, secure method for accepting payments.
5. Enhanced Security & Consumer Trust (Reduced Fraud Risk)
The Pix Biometric framework emphasizes stringent security protocols, strengthening consumer trust:
- Strong Biometric Authentication: Every payment ties directly to the user's biometric credentials and device, drastically reducing fraud risks compared to traditional methods.
- Robust Consumer Protection: Built-in fraud prevention, consent validation, and easy device unlinking in case of loss ensure both merchants and consumers are protected.
- Pilot-Proven Security: Pilot testing (Nov 2024–Feb 2025) showed significantly higher conversions without sacrificing security, demonstrating that upfront secure setup results in sustained, secure, frictionless payment experiences.
How does this work?
Pix Biometric leverages the Journey Without Redirection (JSR) model to streamline transactions. Here's how it works in detail:
1. Account Linking
- Consent & Authentication: Users link their bank account to a payment initiator (e.g., wallet or merchant app) through a secure one-time redirect to their bank’s environment for authentication, to confirm they trust the initiator with payment access.
- Device Binding: Post-authentication, a public-private key pair is generated. The private key is securely stored in the device’s secure element (SE), while the public key is sent to the bank. For future payments, the bank verifies the transaction by validating a biometric-signed challenge using the stored public key— ensuring that only that specific device can initiate transactions without redirection.
- Biometric Setup: The user sets up device biometrics (fingerprint, facial recognition) or a PIN for future payment approvals.
- Security Management: In case of device loss or compromise, credentials can be remotely revoked immediately either through the merchant or user's bank app.
Payment Initiation & Authentication
- Direct Initiation: User initiates Pix payment directly from the merchant or wallet app by selecting "Pay with Pix" at checkout or tapping their device on a POS terminal—no redirects or QR scans involved.
- Local Biometric Authentication: Payment is authorized instantly within the initiator’s app using the stored biometric credential or device PIN, validated locally by the initiator.
- Real-time Bank Validation: The initiator securely requests the transaction from the bank using Pix APIs. The bank trusts this request due to the previously established secure device linking and verifies it with real-time fraud checks.
- Instant Completion: Upon validation, the bank immediately executes the transfer, settling funds directly to the merchant, with the user receiving real-time confirmation—all seamlessly within the initiator’s interface.
This entire payment flow happens securely and instantly, without the need to leave the merchant’s or initiator’s app environment, significantly enhancing user convenience and transaction speed.
Juspay’s Offering
1. Branded Customer Experience
White-labeled Plug & Play SDK: Merchants offer Pix Biometric payments under their own brand, enhancing customer loyalty and trust through fully customized interfaces powered by Juspay.
2. Lower Costs & Early Access to Features
Direct Rails to Open Finance: Comprehensive ownership of payment infrastructure ensures cost-effective scaling and immediate availability of the latest Pix Open Finance features.
3. Flexible Integration & Superior UX
Headless SDK: Merchants can embed biometric payments directly within their existing app or web interface, providing frictionless checkout with maximum UI flexibility.
4. Higher Payment Success Rate
Intelligent Fallbacks: Automatic fallback to traditional Pix or alternative methods if biometric authentication encounters issues, ensuring uninterrupted transactions and greater conversion reliability.
5. Operational Simplicity
Unified Payment Orchestration: A single integration for all payment methods (Pix, cards, wallets), simplifying merchant payment operations and reducing technical overhead.
6. Enhanced Customer Retention
Advanced Value-Added Services (VAS): Instant refunds, streamlined chargebacks, customizable payment links, and rich data visibility help merchants manage payments proactively, improve customer satisfaction, and strengthen relationships.
For more technical details, visit Juspay Docs (to be linked)
Experience Juspay's Pix Biometric Today
Explore how Juspay’s frictionless biometric payment experience works in real-time. Visit our interactive demo playground to experience seamless Pix Biometric payments.
