One of the major challenges for e-commerce transactions and e-payments consolidation is related to micropayments. Due to their cost and ease of use, companies are reluctant to implement solutions focused on micropayments. To face this challenge and keep modernising the Brazilian financial sector and increase competition, Brazilian Central Bank has created PIX, a platform oriented to enable digital transfers 24/7 free for the user. The adoption of this platform has been a great success, especially among younger users, who popularise PIX with an unusual goal: flirting. Given that adaptive structuration theory (AST) states usages of technological artefacts diverse from the previously conceived, this chapter aims to discuss the adoption of micropayment platforms, remarking unplanned uses of the system by consumers. For this purpose, the authors analysed secondary data about the adoption of PIX and text mining focused on newspapers and magazine articles related to the use of PIX by the young.
TopIntroduction
Since the beginning of the e-commerce era, customers and companies have faced the challenge of implementing payment systems that support microtransactions. Classically, literature (Cellary & Rykowski, 2018) mentioned factors like cost of transactions, privacy and transaction time as major barriers to the effectiveness of micropayment systems. The emergence of blockchain payment solutions and their adoption by different kinds of businesses reinforced the challenges faced by micro e-payment transactions. The literature demonstrates a few different protocols that aim to increase micropayment blockchain efficiency, such as Randypay (Konashevych & Khovayko, 2020) or Lightning Network applications (Robert, Kubler, & Ghatpande, 2020).
Recently, as some companies decided to create their wallets and payment platforms, other barriers arise – the absence of interchangeability, for instance –, which makes customers’ experience more complex, and embarrasses adoption and spread of micropayment systems (Otoo et al., 2017).
A successful transition for a fully digital economy depends on the successful implementation of micropayment systems because customers’ daily demands are predominantly based on small amounts, especially in the offline market. Online markets also can be positively impacted due to the development of micropayment systems, given companies are increasing their offers of digital products and services, such as online games (Grzonkowski & Corcoran, 2009). In this perspective, companies and authorities of financial systems worldwide have created initiatives focused on the modernisation of their payment systems and the development of support for micropayments (McGrath, 2006).
The Brazilian financial system is recognised due to its capacity of implementing digital technologies focused on earning more efficiency and, consequently, reducing its costs. High standards of security, high levels of profitability of banking institutions and high spread and adoption of electronic payment transactions are some consequences of the embedment of digital technologies on the Brazilian financial system. However, one of the remaining challenges of the country is the financial exclusion of its poorest citizens.
In 2019, Brazil had 45 million citizens with no access to financial institutions (Agência Brasil, 2019). In 2021, this number decreased to 34 million, especially due to government initiatives focused on facing major pandemic outcomes (Carneiro, 2021). Indeed, it is an important advancement, but the exclusion of about 16% of the Brazilian population affects the country's capacity of reaction in terms of economic growth – due to the lack of credit offer – and affects the expansion of businesses, especially small and medium companies which are redirecting their operations to become online.
To face the challenge of financial exclusion, keep modernising the financial system, and increase competition among financial institutions, Brazilian Central Bank has launched, in November 2020, a platform called PIX. This platform is oriented to enable digital and instantaneous payments and transfers, working 24/7 totally free of charge for personal users, and embracing all members of the Brazilian financial system from an ecosystemic perspective. As a public infrastructure, PIX is not-profitable oriented, which implies low rates for participant institutions and, consequently, enables and stimulates the adoption of micropayments (Brazilian Central Bank, 2021).
Less than one year after the implementation of PIX, 103 million users are registered, of which 96 million are personal users (Brazilian Central Bank, 2021). Despite the faster adoption of PIX among customers of all ages and incomes, a curious behaviour was observed predominantly among youngsters: they are sending micropayments – cents, in the majority – and using the messenger service embedded on PIX to flirt with their crushes. This off-label usage of PIX is the main phenomenon observed in this chapter, that aims to demonstrate the level of adoption of micropayment platforms in Brazil, especially among youngsters, and their potential as a modernising platform for the Brazilian economy and payment market.