UnionPay International recently announced a pilot programme for cross-border QR-code payment interoperability between China and Brazil. During the trial phase, users of the UnionPay app and Chinese commercial-bank apps linked to the UnionPay network will be able to make direct payments at Brazilian merchants connected to Pix, Brazil’s instant payment network.

Launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2020, Pix currently covers about 15 million merchants. UnionPay plans to gradually extend the service to the digital wallets of its international partner institutions that use QR codes.

According to the company, the programme is expected to make it easier for Chinese visitors to make payments in Brazil and help local merchants attract international customers. In the first half of 2026, point-of-sale transactions in Brazil using UnionPay cards issued in China increased by more than 30% year on year.

Financial co-operation between China and Brazil has deepened in recent years. In May 2025, the two countries’ central banks signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic financial co-operation. In June 2026, they discussed payment and settlement services for bilateral trade at the fourth meeting of the China-Brazil Financial Strategic Co-operation Working Group. The initiative forms part of efforts to deepen bilateral financial co-operation.

(Source: People’s Daily Online, 4 August)