Nikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right licence scope and leads the file all the way to the Banco Central do Brasil authorisation, including banking and payment rails.
Get a payment license in Brazil.
The largest payments market in Latin America licenses through the Banco Central do Brasil: an instituição de pagamento in one of four modalities - e-money issuer, acquirer, post-paid issuer or payment initiator - with R$ 2 million of capital per modality, authorisation now mandatory for all of them, and the prize at the end of the file: direct participation in Pix, the instant rail 215 million people use every day.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Brazil in brief
Four modalities, one central bank, and Pix at the end of the file.
Brazil's payments law is Lei 12.865 of 2013, which put payment arrangements and payment institutions under the Banco Central do Brasil, and the BCB's own resolutions fill in the rest: Resolution BCB 80 of March 2021 on authorisation, Resolution 81 on operation, Resolutions 197 to 201 of 2022 on prudential rules for three types of conglomerate, and Resolution 494 of 5 September 2025, which closed the last exemption. An instituição de pagamento is licensed in four modalities - emissor de moeda eletrônica for prepaid accounts and wallets, credenciador for acquiring, emissor de instrumento pós-pago for credit-type instruments, and iniciador de transação de pagamento for open-finance initiation. The capital floor has been R$ 2,000,000 for each of the first three modalities and R$ 1,000,000 for an initiator since Circular 3.885, with risk-based own-funds requirements layered on top by conglomerate type since 2023.
Until 2025, acquirers and post-paid issuers below a volume threshold could operate without authorisation; Resolution 494 ended that. Every modality now needs the BCB's prior authorisation, institutions already operating on 5 September 2025 must file between 1 and 31 May 2026 or cease within thirty days, and the descending thresholds for older e-money issuers run out on 31 March 2029. The BCB counted eighty-one authorised payment institutions at the end of 2023 and the queue has grown since. What the licence opens is 215 million people, Pix - the instant system launched in 2020 that authorised institutions join directly - the deepest card-acquiring market in the region and a consumption-tax reform phasing in to 2033. Tax runs about 34% on profit with a 10% withholding on dividends abroad from 2026. The BCB sets no statutory clock; plan on twelve to eighteen months. We build the file from our Americas desk, in Portuguese.
The BCB authorises payment institutions under Lei 12.865/2013 and Res. BCB 80 in four modalities. Capital floor R$ 2M each for e-money, acquiring and post-paid, R$ 1M for initiation; risk-based own funds by conglomerate type (Res. 197). Since Res. 494/2025 every modality is authorised before operating; existing acquirers and post-paid issuers file 1-31 May 2026.
215 million people, Pix with direct participation, the region's deepest acquiring market. ≈ 34% tax, 10% on dividends from 2026. Twelve to eighteen months realistic. We build in Portuguese from our Americas desk.
The routes
E-money issuer or acquirer - post-paid issuer or initiator.
One authorisation, four modalities, held singly or combined: the e-money issuer and acquirer carry the market, the post-paid issuer and initiator complete it. Since Resolution 494 every one of them is licensed before it operates. We fix the modality first, then build once.
E-money and acquiring - post-paid and initiation.
01 - E-MONEY ISSUER · ACQUIRER
Emissor de moeda eletrônica · credenciador
The modalities behind Brazil's wallets, prepaid accounts and card acceptance - R$ 2,000,000 of capital each, risk-based own funds by conglomerate type, direct Pix participation once authorised, and since 2025 no exemption threshold for acquirers.
The modalities behind Brazil's wallets, prepaid accounts and card acceptance - R$ 2,000,000 of capital each, risk-based own funds by conglomerate type, direct Pix participation once authorised, and since 2025 no exemption threshold for acquirers.
- ✓Prepaid accounts, wallets and e-money issuance
- ✓Acquiring and merchant settlement
- ✓Capital R$ 2,000,000 per modality
- ✓Own funds by conglomerate type (Res. 197)
- ✓Direct participation in Pix
- ✓Authorisation before operating - Res. 494/2025
02 - POST-PAID ISSUER · INITIATOR
Credit instruments and open finance - BCBEmissor pós-pago · iniciador (ITP)
The post-paid issuer for credit-type instruments, now authorised before launch like the rest, and the payment initiator for open-finance flows at R$ 1,000,000 of capital - the lightest door into the BCB's perimeter.
Post-paid issuer R$ 2M; initiator R$ 1M; existing post-paid issuers file 1-31 May 2026; combinable.
- ✓Post-paid instruments: R$ 2,000,000 capital
- ✓Payment initiation (ITP): R$ 1,000,000
- ✓Open-finance initiation flows
- ✓Existing post-paid issuers file 1-31 May 2026
- ✓Combinable with the other modalities
- ✓Same BCB supervision and reporting
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. Capital floors sit in the BCB's payment-institution rules and the risk-based requirements in Resolutions 197 to 201; the file cost, Pix onboarding and substance are itemised in your quote.
Why Brazil
Pix, 215 million people, and a regulator that publishes everything.
Brazil is the largest destination market in the region and the one whose central bank built the rail everyone uses.
✓
Pix
The BCB's instant system, launched in 2020, is now the most used payment method in the country - and authorised payment institutions participate in it directly, without a bank in between.Direct participation, no bank in between.
✓
A low capital floor
R$ 2,000,000 per modality and R$ 1,000,000 for an initiator - a floor well below a bank's, with risk-based own funds growing only as the business does.R$ 2M · R$ 1M ITP.
✓
Everything in resolutions
The BCB legislates in numbered resolutions published on its site - authorisation, operation, prudential rules, Pix - so expectations are readable, not rumoured.Readable, not rumoured.
✓
215 million people
The region's largest consumer market, its deepest acquiring industry and a banking system that has absorbed a decade of fintech - demand a licence serves is present, not projected.The region's largest market.
✓
One perimeter since 2025
Resolution 494 licensed every modality - the unlicensed competitor in acquiring and post-paid issuance is gone, and a licence is the price of admission for everyone.Res. 494 licensed everyone.
✓
Open finance
The BCB's open-finance framework and the initiator modality let a licensee move money from accounts it does not hold - a product line few markets in the world offer at scale.Initiation from accounts you don't hold.
How it compares
How Brazil differs from other routes.
Brazil trades a slow, clockless authorisation for the largest market and the best rail in the region. The honest comparison is below.
Brazil vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  Brazil | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Instant rail | Pix - direct participation | Bank-sponsored access |
| Capital | R$ 2M per modality · R$ 1M ITP | Fixed local sums |
| Decision | No statutory clock - 12-18 months | Three-month clocks |
| Market | 215M - the region's largest | Smaller or passport-based |
Instant rail
BrazilPix - direct participation
Other jurisdictionsBank-sponsored access
Capital
BrazilR$ 2M per modality · R$ 1M ITP
Other jurisdictionsFixed local sums
Decision
BrazilNo statutory clock - 12-18 months
Other jurisdictionsThree-month clocks
Market
Brazil215M - the region's largest
Other jurisdictionsSmaller or passport-based
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Instituição de pagamento (BCB) | ≈34% | R$ 2M per modality · R$ 1M ITP |
 Mexico | IFPE (CNBV) | 30% + PTU 10% | 500k / 700k UDIs · segregation |
 Colombia | SEDPE (SFC) | 35% | COP 5,846M indexed · Fogafín |
 Portugal | PI / EMI (Banco de Portugal) | 20% · SME 16% | €125k PI · €350k EMI · EU passport |
BrazilLicense typeInstituição de pagamento (BCB)
Taxation≈34%
RequirementsR$ 2M per modality · R$ 1M ITP
MexicoLicense typeIFPE (CNBV)
Taxation30% + PTU 10%
Requirements500k / 700k UDIs · segregation
ColombiaLicense typeSEDPE (SFC)
Taxation35%
RequirementsCOP 5,846M indexed · Fogafín
PortugalLicense typePI / EMI (Banco de Portugal)
Taxation20% · SME 16%
Requirements€125k PI · €350k EMI · EU passport
Before you apply
Requirements for the BCB authorisation.Requirements for the authorisation.
Resolution BCB 80 lists what the request must contain and the BCB reads it as a supervisor; the craft is a file that answers it in order. The checklist below is what a passing application contains.
01
A Brazilian company - LTDA or S.A. - with its head office in Brazil and payment services as its object, in the modality or modalities requested.
02
Capital at the floor: R$ 2,000,000 for each of e-money issuance, acquiring and post-paid issuance, R$ 1,000,000 for payment initiation - paid in and evidenced, with the risk-based own-funds requirement of Resolution 197 modelled for the conglomerate type.
03
Controllers and beneficial owners identified with source of funds and financial capacity, and administrators of good repute with the technical qualification the BCB assesses - with a statutory director resident in Brazil.
04
A business plan with projections the BCB can stress: products, volumes, revenue, own funds against the risk-based requirement and the capital plan behind them.
05
Governance and risk management: internal controls, compliance, risk and internal audit functions, an ombudsman and the reporting the BCB expects from a supervised institution.
06
Safeguarding of e-money balances in the form the BCB's rules prescribe - held apart from the institution's own resources and applied only as the regulation allows.
07
AML/CFT framework under Law 9.613 and BCB Circular 3.978: customer due diligence, monitoring, reporting to COAF and a resident compliance officer.
08
Technology and cybersecurity policy under the BCB's rules, business continuity and incident reporting, and the systems to join Pix and other arrangements directly.
09
For acquirers and post-paid issuers already operating on 5 September 2025: the authorisation request filed between 1 and 31 May 2026, or operations cease within thirty days.
10
For e-money issuers that began before March 2021: the descending volume thresholds tracked, with authorisation obtained before 31 March 2029 in any case.
01
Brazilian LTDA/S.A., head office in Brazil.
02
Capital R$ 2M per modality; R$ 1M ITP; Res. 197 own funds.
03
Controllers and administrators assessed; resident director.
04
Plan the BCB can stress.
05
Governance, compliance, audit, ombudsman.
06
E-money balances held apart.
07
AML per Law 9.613 / Circular 3.978 (COAF).
08
Cybersecurity, continuity, Pix systems.
09
Existing acquirers/post-paid: file 1-31 May 2026.
10
Older e-money issuers: authorised by 31.03.2029.
Reflects Lei 12.865/2013, Resolutions BCB 80/2021, 81/2021, 197-201/2022 and 494-495/2025, the capital floors carried from Circular 3.885 (Article 30) and the BCB's Votos 206/2022 and 111/2025, as of 2026.Lei 12.865/2013; Res. BCB 80, 81, 197-201, 494-495; Circular 3.885 Art. 30; Votos 206/2022, 111/2025.
How it works
From first call to the BCB register.
01
Modality and strategy
E-money, acquiring, post-paid or initiation - singly or combined - with Pix and arrangement participation planned; the route and budget fixed in writing.Which modalities, Pix plan - in writing.
02
Brazilian company and people
Incorporation, capital evidence at the floor and the controllers and administrators the BCB assesses.Incorporation, capital, assessed controllers.
03
The application file
Every item of Resolution 80 answered before filing, with the risk-based own-funds model attached - because the BCB's questions start where the file is thin.Res. 80 plus own-funds model.
04
BCB review
No statutory clock - question rounds answered, the BCB's assessment of controllers and administrators completed; plan on twelve to eighteen months end to end.No clock; 12-18 months.
05
Authorisation and launch
Authorisation published, Pix participation live, arrangements joined - and the reporting calendar running.Published, Pix live, arrangements joined.
Quick facts
RegulatorBanco Central do Brasil
LawLei 12.865/2013 · Res. BCB 80
ModalitiesE-money · acquirer · post-paid · ITP
Capital floorR$ 2M each · R$ 1M ITP
PrudentialRes. 197 · conglomerate types
AuthorisationAll modalities · Res. 494/2025
Timeline12-18 months realistic
Corporate tax≈ 34% · dividends 10%
The BCB publishes its rules and sets no clock. The file that answers Resolution 80 in order - with the own-funds model attached - is what keeps the review to a year, and our job.
Your Brazil desk
Run from our Americas desk, in Portuguese.
Prifinance - Americas desk
Madeira (Portugal) · coordinating Brazilian mandates in Portuguese
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F, Madeira
01
Brazilian company formation
LTDA or S.A. incorporation, capital to the modality floor and the corporate layer the BCB expects - structured for the authorisation from day one.LTDA/S.A., capital, corporate layer.
02
The BCB file
Business plan, own-funds model by conglomerate type, governance, safeguarding and AML documentation to Resolution 80 - drafted by us and defended through the question rounds.Resolution 80 answered in order.
03
Pix and arrangements
Direct Pix participation and the card-arrangement memberships scoped with the licence so the institution launches on the rails it needs.Rails scoped with the licence.
04
Substance in Brazil
A resident statutory director, compliance officer and ombudsman, and premises in São Paulo - the presence the BCB supervises, recruited from the region's deepest payments talent pool.Resident director, São Paulo premises.
We also have offices in
Tallinn
Estonia
Roseni 13
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
London
United Kingdom
7 Bell Yard
Dubai
UAE
33 Level, Al Saqr Business Tower
Budapest
Hungary
Korányi Sándor u. 4
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Taxation of payment companies in Brazil.
A headline near 34%, a 10% withholding on dividends abroad from 2026, revenue-based social contributions and a consumption-tax reform phasing in to 2033 - a stack to plan around.
Corporate tax ≈ 34%
IRPJ at 15% plus a 10% surtax above the threshold and CSLL at 9% - about 34% on a payment institution's profit under the real-profit regime.IRPJ + surtax + CSLL.
Dividends 10%
The old zero on dividends is gone - 10% withholding on dividends paid abroad from 2026, planned into the group structure rather than discovered.Abroad, from 2026.
PIS/COFINS on revenue
Social contributions on gross revenue, cumulative or non-cumulative by regime - the fee model is built with them in mind.On gross revenue.
IBS/CBS reform
Brazil's dual VAT replaces the old consumption taxes in stages to 2033 - a licensee launching now plans for both systems.Reform to 2033.
ISS on services
The municipal service tax on fee income at the city's rate - São Paulo's is the one most licensees pay.Municipal, on services.
Payroll
The thirteenth salary, FGTS and INSS make Brazilian payroll cost well above headline salaries - the operating budget prices it in.13th salary, FGTS, INSS.
Tax summary
Corporate tax≈ 34% (IRPJ + CSLL)
Dividend withholding10% abroad from 2026
PIS/COFINSOn gross revenue
Consumption taxIBS/CBS · transition to 2033
ISSMunicipal · on services
Tax treaties35+
*Figures as of 2026 per the Receita Federal. Regime choice and reform transition are assessed per structure.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: Brazilian LTDA or S.A., AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live, licensed institution.
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Brazil · Banco Central
Launch your payment project in Brazil with expert support.
Full-service assistance - from incorporation to the BCB authorisation, Pix participation, own-funds modelling and ongoing compliance.
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Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days
Request a free conclusion →FAQ
The Brazilian payment licence, answered.
What licence does a payment business need in Brazil?+
Authorisation by the Banco Central do Brasil as an instituição de pagamento under Lei 12.865/2013 and Resolution BCB 80, in one or more of four modalities: e-money issuer, acquirer, post-paid instrument issuer or payment transaction initiator. Since Resolution 494 of September 2025, every modality needs authorisation before it operates.
How much capital is required?+
The floor is R$ 2,000,000 for each of e-money issuance, acquiring and post-paid issuance, and R$ 1,000,000 for payment initiation. On top sits the risk-based own-funds requirement of Resolution 197, which grows with the business by conglomerate type.
How long does the BCB take?+
The BCB sets no statutory decision period for payment institutions. With the assessment of controllers and administrators and question rounds, plan on twelve to eighteen months end to end; a file that answers Resolution 80 in order is the lever.
What changed in 2025?+
Resolution 494 removed the volume exemption for acquirers and post-paid issuers. Every modality is now authorised before operating; institutions already running on 5 September 2025 file between 1 and 31 May 2026 or cease within thirty days. Older e-money issuers keep descending thresholds until mandatory authorisation by 31 March 2029.
Can a payment institution join Pix?+
Yes - authorised payment institutions participate in Pix directly, alongside banks, which is the commercial reason most groups license here rather than ride a bank's access.
How are client funds protected?+
E-money balances are held apart from the institution's own resources and applied only as the BCB's rules allow, with prudential own-funds requirements by conglomerate type under Resolutions 197 to 201 on top.
How are payment companies taxed?+
About 34% on profit (IRPJ plus CSLL), PIS/COFINS on gross revenue, municipal ISS on services, and 10% withholding on dividends paid abroad from 2026 - with the IBS/CBS consumption-tax reform phasing in to 2033.
What substance does the BCB expect?+
A Brazilian company run from Brazil: a resident statutory director, compliance officer and ombudsman, real premises, controllers and administrators who pass the BCB's assessment, and the licensed activity performed in the country.
Does the licence passport anywhere?+
No - Brazil is a destination licence for its own market. Portuguese-speaking groups often pair it with a Portuguese EU licence; Spanish-speaking ones with Mexico or Colombia. We sequence them.
Why Brazil rather than Mexico?+
Brazil is the larger market with the better rail - Pix - and a regulator that publishes every rule; Mexico is the US remittance corridor with a statute written for fintech. Groups serving both hold both, and the Americas desk builds each in its own language.
Which licence?+
BCB instituição de pagamento in one of four modalities.
Capital?+
R$ 2M per modality; R$ 1M ITP; plus Res. 197.
How long?+
No clock; 12-18 months.
2025 change?+
Res. 494: all modalities authorised; file May 2026.
Pix?+
Direct participation once authorised.
Client funds?+
Held apart per BCB rules; own funds by type.
Taxes?+
≈ 34%, PIS/COFINS, ISS, dividends 10%.
Substance?+
Resident director, compliance, ombudsman.
Passport?+
No - destination licence.
vs Mexico?+
Bigger market, Pix, published rules.
Client notes
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Get a free legal opinion on your project - our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.Free legal opinion: which Brazilian modality fits your project and what it will cost.
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Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Banco Central do Brasil or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.