Can a company outside Brazil accept Pix payments?

Yes, through a provider that holds the Brazilian side. The shopper pays a Pix code in their bank app in reais, and the provider converts the funds and settles the merchant in another currency. With BlindPay, the merchant receives USDC or USDT in its balance and can withdraw to a US bank account. The shopper never needs a foreign account or a card.

How fast is a Pix payment at checkout?

Pix runs 24/7 and moves money between banks instantly. At checkout the wait is mostly the shopper opening their bank app and approving. BlindPay's docs describe Pix payins as typically settling within minutes, and BlindPay waits up to 30 minutes before marking an unpaid Pix payin as failed. Plan the checkout around a short waiting screen.

Why does Pix checkout ask for my CPF?

The CPF or CNPJ tells the provider who is allowed to pay that Pix code, so the deposit can be matched and screened. On BlindPay the payer's tax id goes into payer_rules on the payin quote, and it is validated against Receita Federal check digits at quote time. A mistyped CPF fails right away instead of failing later at the bank.

How do refunds work when a shopper paid by Pix?

The merchant sends the money back. Under Banco Central do Brasil's rules, the receiver of a Pix can voluntarily return all or part of it within 90 days, in several partial returns if needed. On a cross-border checkout settled in dollars, the refund is a new payment back to the shopper's Brazilian account, so the exchange rate on refund day applies.

How to accept Pix payments from abroad at checkout (2026)

Q: Can a Pix payment be charged back?

Not the way a card can. Banco Central do Brasil's MED covers fraud, scams, and operational failures, and a recovery can be opened for a transaction up to 80 days old. Commercial disagreements, like late delivery or a product that isn't as expected, are not grounds for MED. The merchant decides refunds, and a receiver can return all or part of a Pix within 90 days.

A business outside Brazil accepts Pix by showing the shopper a Pix code at checkout, which they pay in reais from any Brazilian bank app, while a provider converts the funds and settles the merchant abroad. You need the shopper's CPF or CNPJ, a quote that holds the BRL amount for a few minutes, and a waiting screen. Pix runs 24/7 and has no card-style chargeback.

This guide is part of the global payments checkout series. For the conversion case, read do local payment methods raise checkout conversion?. For the payout side of Brazil, Pix vs SPEI compares the two rails.

Key takeaways

Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, created by Banco Central do Brasil, and it runs 24/7.
Banco Central do Brasil's MED covers fraud and operational failures for up to 80 days, but not commercial disagreements like late delivery.
A Pix receiver can voluntarily return all or part of a payment within 90 days, according to BCB's MED guide.
Stripe's Pix docs list limits of US$3,000 per day and US$10,000 per month per Brazilian customer per business abroad, and a 3.5% IOF on those purchases.
BlindPay validates the payer's CPF or CNPJ against Receita Federal check digits at quote time, so a typo fails before the shopper sees a code.

What is Pix, in one sentence?

Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, created and run by Banco Central do Brasil, that moves reais between accounts instantly, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

For a shopper, paying by Pix means opening a bank app, scanning a QR code or pasting a "copia e cola" code, checking the amount, and approving. No card number, no billing address, no 3-D Secure step.

Can a company outside Brazil accept Pix?

Yes, through a provider that holds the Brazilian end of the payment. The shopper pays in BRL to the provider, the provider converts, and the merchant is settled in its own currency.

There are two common routes:

A card gateway that also offers Pix. Stripe's Pix docs say businesses in the US, Canada, the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, and other countries can accept Pix from Brazilian customers, settled in their account currency, with settlement up to 2 business days. Those docs list limits of US$3,000 per day and US$10,000 per month per customer per business, and a 3.5% IOF tax on Brazilians paying international businesses.
A payments API that settles in stablecoins. BlindPay returns a Pix code from a payin quote, and the merchant receives USDC or USDT in its balance once the Pix lands. A stablecoin is a digital dollar token such as USDC or USDT.

Compare limits, timing, and who carries the tax disclosure before you pick one. Your average order size often decides it.

How does a Pix payment work at a cross-border checkout?

Five steps, and the shopper only sees two of them.

Collect the CPF or CNPJ. Brazilian individuals have an 11-digit CPF and companies a 14-digit CNPJ. Validate the check digits in the browser.
Quote. Your backend requests a payin quote for Pix with the cart total. The quote returns the exact BRL amount and expires in 5 minutes.
Create the payin. Create it from the quote with an Idempotency-Key, so a double click never creates two payments.
Show the code. The shopper sees the Pix code as a QR code and as copyable text, with the BRL amount and a countdown.
Confirm. Your backend receives payin webhooks and reads the payin status. When it reaches completed, the page shows success and redirects.

On desktop, show the QR code large, because the shopper scans it with a phone. On mobile, put the copy button first, because the shopper pastes the code into a bank app on the same phone.

How does Pix compare with TED and Boleto?

Brazil has three bank payment methods a foreign business will hear about. For online orders, Pix is the one most shoppers expect.

Method	What it is	Speed	Hours	Typical use at checkout
Pix	Instant transfer by QR code or key	Instant	24/7	Default for consumers and most online orders
TED	Bank-to-bank wire style transfer	Same banking day before the cut-off	Brazilian banking days	Larger business payments
Boleto	Payable bank slip with a due date	Clears on banking days	Banking hours	Shoppers who prefer to pay later, or without a Pix-enabled account

For a cross-border checkout in 2026, Pix is the method to launch first. Add others only if your own data shows shoppers asking for them.

Can a Pix payment be charged back?

Not like a card. Pix has a special return mechanism for fraud, and refunds the merchant chooses to make.

Banco Central do Brasil's MED guide (version 4.3) sets the rules:

MED (Mecanismo Especial de Devolução) covers fraud, scams, and operational failures. A recovery can be opened for a transaction up to 80 days old.
Commercial disagreements are excluded. Late delivery, a product that isn't as expected, or the wrong model are not grounds for MED. The guide sends those disputes to the courts.
Voluntary returns. Any receiver can return all or part of a Pix within 90 days of the original payment, in multiple partial returns.

That changes your risk model. Friendly fraud through chargebacks mostly disappears, and your refund policy becomes the main way shoppers get money back. Write it clearly and honor it fast.

How do refunds work on a Pix checkout settled abroad?

A refund is a new payment back to the shopper, in reais. If you were settled in dollars, the refund needs a fresh conversion at that day's rate.

Decide which amount stays fixed, the BRL the shopper paid or the USD you received, and put it in your terms. How to refund a cross-border payment after the exchange rate moved walks through the math and the policy wording.

What should you check before showing a Pix code?

Most failed Pix checkouts trace back to bad input or an expired quote. A short pre-check list prevents them:

The CPF or CNPJ passes its check digits.
The cart total is inside the rail's minimum and maximum for BRL.
The quote hasn't expired. If it has, quote again on the next click.
The payin was created with an idempotency key tied to the session.
The page shows the exact BRL amount, with fees included.

How does BlindPay handle Pix at checkout?

BlindPay is the Pix collection and settlement layer behind the checkout you build. Your backend creates a payin quote with payment_method set to pix, the cart total, and the payer's CPF or CNPJ in payer_rules.pix_allowed_tax_ids. BlindPay validates that tax id against Receita Federal check digits at quote time.

A receiver-side quote with fees covered by the sender keeps your USD price fixed: the merchant receives exactly the requested amount in USDC or USDT, and the shopper pays an exact BRL amount that includes fees and exchange. The quote holds that amount for 5 minutes. Creating the payin returns the Pix code, which you show as a QR code and as copyable text.

Pix payins typically settle within minutes, and BlindPay waits up to 30 minutes before marking an unpaid one as failed. Payin webhooks report each change, and the payin status is the source of truth. The merchant can then withdraw to a US bank account over ACH, wire, or RTP, or pay Brazilian suppliers back over Pix. Keep your card gateway for cards; BlindPay handles the local bank rails and settlement.

Methodology and sources

Pix rules come from Banco Central do Brasil and its MED implementation guide, version 4.3. Card-gateway Pix limits and IOF come from Stripe's Pix documentation, read in October 2026. BlindPay facts come from the payins and payin quotes docs. Tax and consumer rules change, so confirm requirements with your compliance counsel.

What to do next

Add a Brazil option to your checkout's country picker, build the CPF field with check-digit validation, and run one Pix payin end to end on a BlindPay development instance. Then decide your Pix refund policy before launch, using local currency pricing at checkout to fix which amount you promise.