DREX

Article I published in the Correio Catarinense newspaper in September 2023.

The financial market has been transforming at an accelerated rate. Do you remember the last time you opened a credit card or heard about a post-dated and crossed check? With the advancement of fully digital financial institutions, the physical instruments used to make payments are migrating, day after day, to digital formats. However, the famous question we hear at cashiers and payment terminals will be part of our routine for an indefinite period of time.

It is possible to notice that after the question: “Is it by approach?”, instead of removing a magnetic card from the wallet, the cell phone is removed from the pocket and brought closer to the reading device, which completes the process in moments. The fact is due to the NFC technology implemented in smartphones, which is the same technology used in magnetic cards, which I dare say have their days numbered. We cannot forget payment via Pix, which in a short time became so common, making us forget that before we needed to wait 24 hours for the deposit or transfer to reach our account.

At a global level, the impact of technology on the financial market was marked by the advent of another digital structure: cryptocurrencies. The pioneering crypto in this segment, Bitcoin, gained such notoriety that it is now a parameter for currency conversion. The new movement acquired a significant share of investors and users, causing the world's large Central Banks to enter the game to minimize the effects of a decentralized market, with costs and fees lower than traditional ones and accessible at any time, from anywhere.

The revolution in this scenario has no end date. Now, it's Brazil and Real's turn to mark territory with a mechanism that has a name and date of birth. Previously called Real Digital, the Brazilian cryptocurrency “Drex” was created by the Central Bank and will be launched in May 2024.