Colombia has officially launched its instant payment system, Bre-B, on October 6, designed to mirror the success of Brazil’s Pix network. From its nationwide rollout, global businesses can offer Bre-B as a payment method through EBANX, a FinTech specializing in cross-border payments for emerging markets. To facilitate this access, EBANX has partnered with MOVii, described as Latin America’s first Banktech, which provides a full issuing and acquiring payment infrastructure for individuals and enterprises.\n\nAccording to Colombia’s central bank, more than 30 million people, representing 76% of the adult population, have already registered to use Bre-B. This contrasts with credit card access in Colombia, where only 18% of the population holds credit cards, one of the lowest rates in the region, as reported by the World Bank. This disparity highlights a growing preference for electronic transfers and alternative payment methods in e-commerce and digital transactions.\n\nEduardo de Abreu, EBANX VP of Product, stated, “Bre-B is a game-changer for Colombia’s digital economy, just like Pix was for Brazil. That is why bringing it to our platform from day one was so important to us. We want Colombian consumers and businesses to be part of this transformation right from the start.” Katherine Roa, MOVii CCO, added, “Colombians can shop with global brands using the same instant, secure payment method they use locally. It is about bringing world-class e-commerce right at their fingertips without any barriers.”\n\nColombia’s digital economy has expanded at double-digit rates since 2019 and is projected to exceed $52 billion in 2025, according to data from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI). By 2028, the market could reach $73 billion, with Bre-B expected to accelerate this growth by enabling faster, more inclusive transactions for consumers and businesses.\n\nEBANX played a role in the development of Bre-B as one of two FinTechs invited by the central bank to join the Interdisciplinary Committee for Interoperable Payments. The committee leveraged Brazil’s experience with Pix to shape Bre-B’s features, including QR code payments, user identification via keys such as ID or phone number, and mandatory interoperability between financial institutions. De Abreu explained, “We process more real-time payments in Brazil than almost anyone else and handle transactions for 20% of all Pix users. Being able to share that experience and know-how with Colombian regulators and help them sidestep some of the bumps we hit early on with Pix was really rewarding.”\n\nUnlike Pix, which relies on a single infrastructure connecting all financial institutions, Colombia built Bre-B atop its existing systems. This approach links previously separate services like Transfiya and EntreCuentas with newer platforms such as Credibanco and Visionamos. This modular design allows the network to expand over time, accommodating future integrations and features.\n\nThrough MOVii’s Smart Router technology, EBANX enables merchants to connect to Bre-B via a single integration. The Smart Router provides access to all Bre-B nodes and optimizes routing based on transaction type and fees. MOVii has also become the first “sponsor bank” to connect across all Bre-B nodes. Currently, Bre-B supports person-to-person (P2P) and consumer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, with future plans to expand to government payments (P2G and G2P) and recurring services like payroll and subscription payments.