Pix, SPEI and FAST: how local instant payments reach your clinic

Three systems, one idea

Pix in Brazil, SPEI in Mexico and FAST in Turkey are domestic payment systems run or overseen by each country's central bank. They let a person or business send money from one bank account to another within the country, usually in seconds.

Why this matters for a clinic with foreign patients

When a clinic is paid over a domestic instant rail, the money arrives in a regular local bank account in local currency. There is no foreign wire to wait for and no correspondent bank in the middle on the last leg.

The part before that last leg still takes whatever time the patient's own bank needs. A patient in the UK paying by Faster Payments is usually quick. A patient in the US paying by ACH can take up to two business days. A SWIFT payment can take one to four.

What to ask before you rely on one

Ask about limits per transfer, because each country sets its own. Ask about cut-off times for the slower rails, such as TED in Brazil or EFT in Turkey. Ask how and when the exchange rate is fixed.

MedFX shares limits and cut-off times for each rail when you onboard, and shows the rate before each transaction is confirmed.