'' CASH OR CARD? '' : BRAZIL'S ' FIN TECH ' ESSAY

BRAZIL loves its new way to pay. Not so, the U.S. Criticism of the digital system is taken by its users as an attack on sovereignty.

'' Cash or Card? '' For millions of Brazilians, the answer is neither. Instead, the payment of choice in Latin America's largest nation is often PIX, a fast and free digital system Brazilians use every day to shop, pay bills, settle bar tabs and buy snacks on the beach.

The payment method has become immensely popular, adopted by more than 80 percent of Brazil's population. Outside the country, it has drawn praise from leading economists, who have called it the future of money.

Yet its access has also set off blowback : The Trump administration, as part of its aggressive  economic and political campaign against Brazil, is investigating PIX, accusing the payment system of unfairly undercutting U.S. financial and technology companies like Visa and Apple.

The standoff over PIX has intensified the diplomatic crisis between Brazil and President Trump, who has also imposed steep tariffs and sanctions in an effort to prevent former President Jair Bolsonaro, his political ally, from being found guilty of plotting a coup.

U.S. criticism of the payment method has hit a nerve in Brazil, which has cast it as another attack on its sovereignty.

'' PIX belongs to Brazil and the Brazilian people ! '' the government declared in a social media campaign that has gone viral.

President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva of Brazil has dismissed U.S. claims that PIX hurts U.S. interests or locks American firms out. '' We cannot be penalized for creating a fast, free and secure mechanism that facilitates transactions and stimulates the economy,'' Mr. Lula wrote in a recent opinion essay in The New York Times.

In its speed and ease, PIX is similar to Zelle, the payment system run by a consortium of U.S. banks. But unlike other similar digital services, such as PayPal, PIX carries no fees for individuals and small businesses.

It allows users to make and receive instant payments, using a bank account and an identifying key like a phone number or QR code. Since February, many Brazilians can use PIX through contactless payments on their phones

SINCE, Brazil's central bank launched PIX in 2020, it has been adopted by 175 million people and now accounts for nearly half of the country's financial transactions.

It has even crept into the vernacular : '' What's your PIX?'' in Brazil is akin to '' I'll Venmo you.''

The World Students Society thanks Ana Ionova.