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.

 

 

Practicality, security and a touch of modernity mean that cash is being chosen less and less as a payment method for purchases in physical retail and in the ecommerce. Cross border or local, stores need to be aware of trends such as cashless payment methods to guarantee the conversion. Next, find out what is cashless, the importance of adapting your store to this type of payment and what is needed to accept pix and other methods that fall into the cashless category.

 

What is cashless?

 

In free translation, cashless means “cashless payment”. In practice, the term cashless has been used to designate payments that are not made in ways other than cash or credit or debit cards, even if the approximation payment using cards falls under this definition. This type of transaction is possible thanks to the increasing digitization of payments and the development of technologies such as NFC and RFID.

 

How does the cashless system work?

 

Just bring a card, smartphone or even a wearable such as a bracelet or watch to complete a cashless payment. Digital wallets that work from smartphones – such as Apple Pay and Android Pay – and credit and debit cards that are activated by approximation use NFC technology, created in 2002. From an internet connection, the transacted amount is sent from the payer’s bank account to the receiver’s account without having to enter passwords. Just access the application, authorize the purchase and bring the device closer to a machine to complete the payment.

 

Another cashless method used in physical commerce and also in events is RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification). Using radio waves to promote identification between a card or an accessory – wristbands are quite common – cashless payments via RFID do not require an internet connection to complete. It is a very safe and efficient way to manage prepaid amounts.

 

The QR Code is a cashless payment alternative which can be used both offline and online. Just use the smartphone camera to read the code and direct the user to choose the payment method he wants to use. Bank transfer, credit, debit, bank slip or prepaid credits can be used for payments via QR Code, in addition to the Brazilian instant payment method, the Pix.

 

Pix: the fastest growing type of cashless payment in Brazil

 

One of the biggest exponents not only in cashless, but among all forms of payment currently valid in Brazil, is Pix. Since its launch in November 2020, Pix has been setting records and making life easier for millions of Brazilians who just need to access their bank’s app to make free and instant transfers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

To get an idea of Pix’s reach, by March 31, 2022, more than 590 million Pix keys had been registered. The total number of registered users surpassed 146 million in the same period and more than 2.5 billion transactions had already been carried out. Young adults, between 20 and 29 years old, are the part of the population that performs the most payments via Pix.

Choose a payment API ready for the cashless era

 

The most modern payment solutions can be added to your cross-border e-commerce as long as a payment API that offers Pix and QR Code as a means of payment, in addition to other solutions such as the payment link, for example. Investing in a payment provider capable of meeting the demands of an audience that is increasingly open to news, such as the Brazilian one, is an attitude that will help you boost conversion by more than 200 million consumers.

 

Get to know Bexs Pay and sell on Brazilian e-commerce without having to open a local entity and, later, receiving the sales value already converted, in the bank of your choice, anywhere in the world. Contact us and learn more!