Under a pilot programme, users of the UnionPay app and of Chinese bank apps linked to its platform will be able to scan a merchant's code in Brazil and pay directly from the account they use at home. Chinese state media have reported that access will later extend to other digital wallets within UnionPay's global network. Neither UnionPay nor Brazil's central bank has named a Brazilian partner for the pilot, and no start date has been set. Pix has not previously been connected directly to a foreign payment system.
Pix, launched by Brazil's central bank in November 2020, has become the default method for moving money in the country. The system transfers funds between accounts within seconds, at any hour, at no cost to individual users. It now reaches approximately 15 million merchants, ranging from department stores to street vendors, and has pushed cash and cheques to the margins of the economy. Brazil's central bank both regulates the country's payment industry and operates Pix within it, a dual role that American card and payment companies have said puts them at a disadvantage.
US tariffs and the WTO dispute
The Office of the US Trade Representative closed a year-long investigation on 15 July 2025 and imposed a 25% tariff on Brazilian goods a week later, after finding that Brazilian policy favoured Pix over American card and payment companies. A separate US investigation covering 60 economies added a further 12.5% on Brazilian products from 24 July 2025. In around a quarter of affected product lines, the new duties stack on existing tariffs, taking the total to 50% and affecting steel, aluminium, machinery, footwear and wood products.
Brazil declined to change the system. A government statement issued the day of the announcement described 15 July as a regrettable milestone in relations with Washington and characterised Pix as public property and an international benchmark for digital infrastructure. Gabriel Galipolo, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, said the American case was 'a pretext dressed up as a technical argument', and noted that Brazil's credit card market had grown by around 150% since Pix launched. Brazil filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation on 27 July 2025, though the organisation's Appellate Body has been unable to hear appeals since 2019.
Financial cooperation between Brazil and China
The UnionPay announcement follows three years of financial cooperation between the two countries. Galipolo and Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China, signed a memorandum on financial cooperation in Beijing on 13 May 2025, during a state visit by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The visit also renewed a currency swap line worth 190 billion yuan (USD 27 billion) for five years. In January 2023, the two central banks had signed a separate agreement under which the Chinese side committed to naming a clearing bank for renminbi transactions in Brazil. When the two central banks met in June, discussions covered widening the swap line, direct yuan-real trading, a possible bilateral bond market link, and the prospect of connecting the two countries' payment systems.
UnionPay has built acceptance in Brazil over two decades, with its cards already used at major merchants in the country's main tourist destinations. Brazil received more than 100,000 Chinese tourists in 2025, an increase of 35% on the previous year, with arrivals up a further 30% in the first quarter of 2026, according to tourism board Embratur. A reciprocal visa waiver for stays of up to 30 days took effect on 11 May 2026 and runs until December. Transactions at Brazilian terminals using UnionPay cards issued in China rose by more than 30% year on year in the first half of 2026, according to figures cited by Chinese state media.
