UPI, Pix, QRIS, SPEI: the instant payment systems that changed emerging markets
In a decade, emerging markets skipped the card era online. National instant payment systems became the default checkout — and the reason card-only merchants lose customers.
When people outside these markets think of online payments, they think of cards. But in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico, the most common way to pay online is a national instant payment system run by the central bank or a bank consortium — free or cheap for customers, available 24/7 and built into every banking app.
India: UPI (2016)
Launched by NPCI in 2016, UPI lets anyone pay by QR code or UPI ID from any bank app. Third-party apps like PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm turned it into the country's default payment method, from street vendors to online platforms. Every payment carries a 12-digit UTR that makes it traceable.
Mexico: SPEI (2004)
Banco de México's SPEI is the oldest of the group. It settles bank transfers in real time to an 18-digit CLABE, which makes it the backbone for online payments by banked customers — while cash at OXXO stores serves the rest.
Thailand: PromptPay (2017)
PromptPay links a bank account to a phone number or national ID and powers Thailand's common QR standard. Paying a PromptPay QR from a bank app is now how most Thais pay online.
Indonesia: QRIS (2019)
Bank Indonesia introduced QRIS to unify dozens of wallet-specific QR codes into one national standard. A single QRIS code can be paid from GoPay, OVO, DANA, ShopeePay or any bank app.
Brazil: Pix (2020)
The Central Bank of Brazil launched Pix in November 2020. Payments settle in seconds, around the clock, using a QR code or a Pix key such as a phone number or CPF. Pix quickly became the most used payment method in the country.
What it means for merchants
Customers in these markets expect to pay the way they pay everywhere else: from their banking or wallet app, in seconds, in local currency. A checkout that only offers international cards loses them at the last step. Supporting the national instant system — and paying out on the same rails — is now the baseline for any business that wants to grow there.