Cashless: what it is and how it works

Pix, QR Code and more: find out what cashless is and what to do to accept it in your store.

Convenience, security and a touch of modernity make cash the increasingly less frequently used payment option for purchases in physical retail, as well as cross-border or local e-commerce. Stores must be aware of the trends, such as cashless payments, to guarantee conversion. Discover what cashless is, how important it is to adapt your store to this payment type and what is required to accept Pix and other methods that make up the “cashless” category.

What is cashless?

In practice, cashless is a term that has been used to denote payments involving methods other than paper money or which use debit or credit cards, even if the payment using contactless cards fits this definition. This type of transaction is possible due to the growing digitization of payments and the development of technologies such as NFC and RFID.

How does the cashless system work?

Simply hold a card, smartphone or a wearable such as a bracelet or watch close to the card reader to conclude the cashless payment. Digital wallets that work from smartphones – such as Apple Pay and Android Pay – as well as contactless debit and credit cards use the NFC technology created in 2002. Using an Internet connection, the transaction amount is sent from the bank account of the payer to the bank account of the receiver without the need to type passwords. Just access the app, authorize the purchase and hold the device close to a payment machine to conclude the payment.

Another cashless method used in brick-and-mortar stores and also in events is Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID). Using radio frequencies to identify a card or wearable – bracelets are quite common -, cashless payments via RFID do not need an Internet connection. It is a safe and efficient manner to manage prepaid amounts.

QR Code is a cashless payment option that can be used both offline and online. Just use the smartphone camera to scan the code and let the user to choose the payment method they wish to use. Bank transfer, credit, debit, boleto or prepaid credits can be used to make payments via QR Code, in addition to Brazil’s online instant payments system, Pix.

Pix: fastest growing cashless payment method in Brazil

Currently, one of the biggest choices – not only in cashless, but among all forms of payment – in Brazil is Pix. Since its launch in November 2020, Pix has been breaking records and facilitating the lives of millions of Brazilians who only need to access their bank app to make free and instant transfers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To have an idea of its popularity, by March 31, 2022, more than 590 million Pix keys had been registered. Total users registered surpassed 146 million in the period and more than 2.5 billion transactions had already been made. Youth aged between 20 and 29 are the segment of the population that makes the most payments via Pix.

Choose a payment API ready for the cashless era

The most modern payment solutions can be incorporated into your cross-border e-commerce, provided a payment API that offers Pix and QR Code as payment options is available, in addition to other solutions such as the payment link. Investing in a payment provider that can meet the demands of a public, like Brazilians, that increasingly welcomes new features, is a move that will help you boost conversion by more than 200 million consumers.

Explore Ebury Bank and sell in Brazilian e-commerce without the need to open a local business and receive the translated amount of your sales in the bank of your choice anywhere in the world. Contact us and learn more!