By Gabriel Diniz Tavares.
Banks are using generative artificial intelligence to make sending money to anyone in Brazil as easy as sending a text, an advance that’s helping cement the nation’s place among global leaders in AI-powered financial services.
PicPay, Itaú Unibanco Holding SA and Nu Holdings Ltd.’s Nubank are among the first firms that used GenAI to allow clients to transfer money in a chat with their official accounts — with no need to launch special payment apps — directly in Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp, the messaging app used by more than 90% of Brazilians.
The technology builds on a foundation laid in 2020, when Brazil’s central bank launched Pix, a free, instant-transfer system that quickly became the nation’s payments backbone. Brazilians made 56 billion Pix transfers with their smartphones last year, but the tool also changed how they interacted with their banks: Mobile-banking use soared to 90% in 2024 from 56% four years earlier, surpassing the US in 2021. Americans’ mobile-banking usage was 75% last year.
Services like this are building Brazil’s reputation as a cradle of AI innovation, said Guilherme Horn, WhatsApp’s head of strategic markets.
“With embedded AI, instant payments — such as with Pix — have increasingly moved the market, and banks have understood that WhatsApp is a powerful business platform in users ‘hands every day – bringing together two products people like and trust,” Horn said in an emailed statement.
The WhatsApp executive said Brazil has established itself “as a cradle of innovative solutions using AI as a fundamental technology and WhatsApp as its main business platform.”
Using Pix on WhatsApp differs from regular Pix transfers, which require logging into a banking app. Customers can simply ask for the transfer via text, voice or even an image in a chat using the bank’s verified account. The messages must contain the amount and a Pix key — a phone number, an email address, a taxpayer identification number or a randomly generated code — linked to the recipient’s account.
If in a store, the customer can send the amount alongside a photo of the seller’s own Pix QR code.
The system confirms the details, momentarily redirects the user to their bank’s app for password or biometric authentication, and then delivers a receipt back in the WhatsApp chat. To the customer, the interaction appears never to have left the messaging app.
That convenience is what made the difference for Alvaro Lima, a 31-year-old biomedical researcher who often forgot to settle small debts — like the lunch he orders on WhatsApp from a cook near his office. Now, right after Lima messages her, he texts Nubank asking for the Pix transfer.
“Paying on WhatsApp is easier,” Lima said, adding that he likes being able to send the money right away, without leaving the app.
Fábio Licere, KPMG’s financial risk-management lead partner in Brazil, said that while China, the US and Europe still lead in certain areas of GenAI for finance, such as financial planning and integration with wearables, Brazil is leading the world in other areas.
“Brazil has created a highly favourable environment for innovation, with strong consumer adoption, fierce competition between digital players and modern regulation that encourages technological development,” Licere said. “We’re not merely trying to catch up — we’re forging our own path, and in some cases, becoming a reference point for others.”
And as Brazil expands Pix’s services, some of the world’s biggest financial companies are getting rattled. Pix has long been the bane of Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and Big Tech, which argue that it has an unfair advantage and benefits from an uneven playing field. When President Donald Trump turned his tariff ire on Brazil in July, the platform became a target of US probes over allegations of unfair trade practices.
The launch of Pix on WhatsApp also shook up local rivals. Traditional lenders such as Banco BTG Pactual SA, focused on high-income clients, launched Pix via WhatsApp in February, and expanded GenAI to include more services. Banco Bradesco SA started offering the service in July, and Banco do Brasil SA has been using GenAI to process Pix requests with images on WhatsApp since September. Data from the Febraban banking association found GenAI exploration is a top priority for banks.
Digital firms are stepping up their game to stay ahead. Mercado Pago, MercadoLibre Inc.’s fintech arm, is launching an AI-powered personal assistant in Brazil to advise users with daily financial decisions, using data from their accounts and connected banks. The tool will debut in Brazil before expanding to other markets.
PicPay said its user satisfaction rate has jumped 45% since the launch of its GenAI tools.
Despite the buzz, Brazil still faces challenges in scaling AI-powered financial solutions. Mariana Pimenta, financial services senior manager at PwC’s consultancy unit, Strategy&, said for example that the country’s technological infrastructure is still under development.
Brazil also faces a specialized AI talent shortage — especially outside of its major urban centers, KPMG’s Licere said.
Security remains a concern, as many scams in Brazil spread through social media. But banks say Pix via WhatsApp is protected by fraud-prevention systems and requires authentication through the banking app. So far, none have reported security breaches with the feature.
Joana Henklein, Accenture Brazil’s director of customer experience in financial services, said Brazilian institutions are skilled at advancing technology while maintaining safeguards that don’t compromise services.
The biggest obstacle may be that GenAI hasn’t yet been fully adopted by midsize institutions. Carlos Daltozo, Bridgewise’s product specialist for Latin America, said AI is growing so fast that it’s crucial for banks to understand that they need to move quickly.
“In previous cycles of technological change, you could let the first mover make mistakes, learn from them and catch up later, “Daltozo said. “Now, if you wait, you’ll fall behind.”