Samsung Wallet launched PIX por Aproximacao on April 17, 2026, with a gradual rollout through April 22 covering 101 Galaxy smartphone models from the S9 through the S26 Ultra. The integration uses Itau as Iniciador de Transacoes de Pagamento through the Central Bank's Open Finance APIs, allowing users of any Open Finance-participating bank to link their accounts and pay by tapping their phone on a merchant terminal. Samsung joins Google Wallet, which has offered PIX NFC since February 2025, as the only digital wallets providing the feature.
The timing aligns with a regulatory milestone. BCB Resolution 541, published December 18, 2025, established a two-phase rollout for PIX por Aproximacao's Jornada Sem Redirecionamento framework. Phase 1 required all mandatory PIX participating institutions to complete production testing by February 6, 2026. Phase 2, effective April 22, requires those institutions to make NFC payments available to their entire customer base. Bank apps from Itau, Bradesco, Nubank, PicPay, C6 Bank, and Banco Inter already offer the feature directly. However, iPhones remain excluded because Apple restricts third-party access to NFC payment APIs, a practice under formal CADE investigation since March 2026.
First-year adoption numbers underscore the distance between regulatory ambition and consumer behavior. In January 2026, PIX por Aproximacao processed 1.057 million transactions worth R$46.5 million, according to BCB data reported by Finsiders Brasil. That same month, total PIX volumes exceeded 6.33 billion transactions worth R$2.69 trillion, making NFC's share less than 0.02% by count. The R$500 per-transaction limit under JSR rules, consumer unfamiliarity, and the Apple barrier all constrain growth. The BCB is evaluating raising the transaction cap but has set no timeline. Accenture estimates that approximately 15% of conventional PIX retail volume could eventually migrate to proximity-based payments, though the path from mandate to mass adoption will depend on whether the ecosystem resolves its iPhone gap and consumer awareness deficit.