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Pix key or just PIX is an instant payment solution created by Brazil’s Central Bank. It is free to use, instantaneous, and most importantly, secure. It was created to facilitate debit transfers in a way that, once the receiver is confirmed, the money is immediately debited from your bank and credited to the receiver’s account, regardless of time, place, or bank of destination.
There are several ways to use PIX. The main one is to fill in the receiver’s personal details, such as their full name, CPF (personal identification number), and account details. A simpler alternative to that method is to use a shortcut by registering a PIX key.
A PIX key is a way to simplify how a bank identifies your account. They are unique, like digital fingerprints, and ensures agility and safety during transactions by providing the sender with a token to automatically fill in your details instead of manually typing them one by one.
You can possess up to 5 PIX keys, and each key you register needs to be associated with a financial account, such as a checking account or a payment account. Below, you will find a few examples of valid forms of PIX keys:
- Your CPF;
- Your personal phone number;
- A valid e-mail address;
- Or an EVP or Endereço Virtual de Pagamento (Virtual Payment Address), a randomly generated sequence of numbers and letters.
Each key you register can be shared with anyone from whom you intend to receive money. It does not compromise the safety of your personal details or account information.
To set up a PIX key, you will need to associate it to a financial institution of choice. Each financial institution decides how the registration happens. In this example, we will see how the procedure is done on the Inter app, because it is popular and intuitive.
Below, you will find a few examples of how to set up a PIX key in other financial institutions:
| Banco do Brasil | Caixa Econômica | Santander | Itaú | Bradesco | Nubank |
- Open the Inter app (If you do not already have it on your mobile device, download it from the App Store or Play Store.);
- On the index page, tap on the PIX icon located in the center of the page;
- On the next page, choose the option “Cadastrar Chave”;
- You will be redirected to a new page, where you can select which type of key you want to use;
- On the pop-up, the available options will be displayed on the screen. Select the key you wish to associate to this account;
- Confirm the requested data;
- Validate the registration using i-safe;
- Confirm the registration;
- Ready!
Note: Remember that you can link up to 5 Pix keys to your Inter account.