On October 1, 2026, BCB Resolution No. 561 takes effect, redesigning important parts of Brazil's international payment or transfer service framework known as eFX. The most visible effect is regulatory: the Central Bank of Brazil will, as a permanent rule, restrict eFX provision to a defined group of authorized institutions, strengthen the segregation of customer funds, expand information and control obligations, and add new permitted uses, including transfers related to investments of up to US$10,000.
This does not mean that every international payment will change format on the same day or that every provider currently outside the authorized group must shut down on October 1. The regulation created a specific transition for providers already operating. For customers, the main consequence is a more closely supervised environment with more clearly delimited financial flows; for fintechs, the impact involves authorization, registration, contracts, accounts, monitoring, and regulatory reporting.
What eFX is and why the rule matters
Under Central Bank regulation, eFX is the service used to enable certain international payments or transfers, such as purchases of goods and services, unilateral transfers, transfers between accounts with the same holder, cash withdrawals and, under the new rule, transfers related to investments in financial and securities markets. Depending on the case, it can operate through a foreign-exchange transaction or a movement in a Brazilian-real account held by a nonresident, as allowed by the regulation.
For that reason, eFX is not synonymous with every international remittance. The new framework specifically affects providers and flows that fall within this service.
What changes on October 1, 2026
| Issue | Through September 30 | From October 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Who may provide eFX | The previous rule allowed, in specific cases, unauthorized payment institutions and other legal entities to provide the service. | The permanent rule concentrates eFX provision in institutions listed and authorized by the Central Bank, with a transition for providers already operating outside that group. |
| Settlement with the overseas counterparty | The previous regime did not contain the same new prohibitions and definitions introduced in 2026. | Payments or receipts between the eFX provider and its overseas counterparty must occur exclusively through a foreign-exchange transaction or movement in a nonresident Brazilian-real account; virtual assets are prohibited at this stage. |
| Netting of amounts | The previous regime already contained restrictions on netting. | The new wording reinforces that payments and receipts with the overseas counterparty cannot be netted, nor can Brazilian reais received from users be offset against Brazilian reais delivered to users. |
| Relationship with customers and counterparties | Identification and disclosure duties already existed. | The sender in Brazil must be a customer of the eFX provider; the provider must have a contractual relationship with the overseas counterparty and apply know-your-counterparty procedures under financial-crime prevention rules. |
| Brazilian-real funds | Flows followed the mechanisms then provided for in BCB Resolution No. 277. | If the provider does not hold a reserve or settlement account at the Central Bank, customer reais must transit through an account in the provider's own name, held at an institution authorized to operate in foreign exchange and used solely for eFX. |
| New transactions | There was no specific new category for investment-related transfers. | Transfers related to investments in financial and securities markets in Brazil or abroad are permitted up to US$10,000 or the equivalent in other currencies. |
| Regulatory reporting | The Central Bank already received eFX information through existing reporting layouts. | New procedures and documents apply, including C225 and C230, with monthly information and submission deadlines defined by the Central Bank. |
Who may provide eFX under the new permanent regime
BCB Resolution No. 561 lists banks, Caixa Econômica Federal, development agencies, credit, financing and investment companies, securities brokers and dealers, foreign-exchange brokers, and payment institutions authorized by the Central Bank that operate as electronic-money issuers, post-paid payment-instrument issuers, or acquirers.
These institutions do not need a separate foreign-exchange-market authorization merely to provide eFX; however, they remain subject to other Central Bank rules that apply to their activities.
What about a provider that already operates but is not on the list?
The change includes a transition rule. An eFX provider outside the new permanent group may continue offering the service if it applies to the Central Bank by May 31, 2027 for authorization to operate as a payment institution in one of the modalities specified by the resolution: electronic-money issuer, post-paid payment-instrument issuer, or acquirer.
While the application is pending, the company does not receive unrestricted permission to conduct every type of eFX transaction: the resolution itself limits which operations may be maintained during the transition. If the provider does not file an application by the deadline, it must stop providing eFX within 30 days after the deadline. The same 30-day period applies after a final denial or dismissal of the application when no further appeal is available.
Therefore, October 1, 2026 is not an automatic shutdown date for every unauthorized provider. It is the effective date of the new regime, combined with a specific adaptation calendar.
The timeline customers and fintechs should understand
| Date or deadline | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2026 | BCB Resolution No. 561 takes effect and the new eFX rules begin to apply. |
| October 30, 2026 | Institutions already authorized by the Central Bank and providing eFX must have registered this activity in Unicad. |
| 5 business days after Unicad registration | An institution seeking to start providing eFX may begin after the minimum waiting period established by the rule. |
| May 31, 2027 | Deadline for providers outside the new permanent group to apply for payment-institution authorization if they want to remain within the transition framework. |
| Within 30 days after losing transition status | Deadline to stop eFX if no timely application was filed or after a final denial or dismissal of the authorization request. |
What changes for customers in practice
1. Providers are more clearly brought within Central Bank supervision
The new architecture narrows the permanent space for unauthorized companies to provide eFX. During the transition, providers may still be operating while their authorization is pending, but the regulatory destination is a structure supervised by the Central Bank.
2. The sender in Brazil must be a customer of the provider
The rule expressly states that the sending user in Brazil must be a customer of the eFX provider. At the same time, the provider must have a contractual relationship with the overseas counterparty and apply know-your-counterparty procedures. In practice, this strengthens identification across the payment chain and may lead some companies to adjust onboarding, documentation, and internal flows.
3. The entry and exit of Brazilian reais are more tightly defined
To deliver reais to the provider, the regulation allows, among other routes, a deposit or payment account held by the sender, a boleto in which the sender is the payer and the eFX provider is the beneficiary, or a payment instrument capped at R$1,000, with no reload or withdrawal feature, subject to the conditions in the resolution. For a recipient in Brazil, delivery of reais generally occurs through a credit to a deposit or prepaid payment account held by that recipient.
When the provider does not hold a reserve or settlement account at the Central Bank, the account used to receive and deliver customer reais must be in the provider's name, held at an institution authorized to operate in foreign exchange, and dedicated exclusively to eFX. This segregation reduces the mixing of customer funds with other company flows.
4. The rule does not set fees, spreads, or transfer times
The new rules increase control, disclosure, and supervision requirements, but they do not determine that transfers will automatically become cheaper, more expensive, faster, or slower. Pricing, foreign-exchange spreads, timing, geographic coverage, and app experience still depend on each provider's business model and the conditions of each transaction.
What changes for fintechs and providers
- Authorization: providers outside the permanent list must assess their status and, where applicable, file by May 31, 2027 to remain within the transition.
- Unicad: authorized institutions already providing eFX must register the activity by October 30, 2026; new providers can only begin five business days after registration.
- Overseas counterparty: there must be a contractual relationship and know-your-counterparty procedures consistent with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing rules.
- Dedicated-purpose account: when the provider does not have a reserve or settlement account at the Central Bank, customer reais must move through the specific account required by the regulation.
- Record retention: authorized institutions providing eFX must keep service-related information for ten years, counted from the end of the fiscal year in which the transaction occurred.
- Reporting: the Resolution and BCB Normative Instruction No. 747 allocate reporting duties among the provider and institutions participating in the flow. Reporting is monthly, generally by the 10th day of the following month, depending on the information type.
What C225 and C230 are
The Central Bank has already published operational layouts for the change. Document C225 replaces C220 for “other purchases and transfers” from October 1, 2026. C230 reports the total amounts moved in the Brazilian-real account used exclusively by the eFX provider. According to the published layout, this is a monthly report due by the 10th day of the following month from the institution authorized to operate in foreign exchange that maintains the reported account.
This matters to customers because it shows that the segregated account is not merely an operational concept: it also generates specific regulatory information. For fintechs, it means product design, financial reconciliation, and integration with banking partners must align with the new data flow.
The new possibility: investment transfers up to US$10,000
The resolution adds transfers related to investments in financial and securities markets in Brazil or abroad to the eFX framework, capped at US$10,000 or the equivalent in other currencies. It also retains a US$10,000 limit for certain digital-payment solutions used to purchase goods and services when there is no integration with an e-commerce platform.
The regulatory cap does not remove other requirements that may apply to the investment, customer onboarding, financial institution, foreign exchange, or international-capital rules. In other words, eFX becomes a possible channel for this purpose within the threshold; it is not a general regulatory exemption.
What should not be confused with the change
- It is not a new Central Bank tax on international payments.
- It is not a general ban on fintechs in international payments; the issue is their regulatory status and authorization to provide eFX.
- It is not an automatic October 1 shutdown of every provider that is currently unauthorized; the regulation includes a transition up to the authorization-application deadline.
- It does not guarantee price, speed, or service availability in every country.
- It does not permit virtual assets to settle payments between the eFX provider and the overseas counterparty; BCB Resolution No. 561 expressly prohibits them at that stage.
In summary
October 1 marks a structural change in eFX: more providers become dependent on Central Bank authorization, Brazilian-real flows become more segregated, the relationship with the international counterparty gains explicit requirements, and regulatory reporting becomes more detailed. For users, the difference is more likely to appear in which institution offers the service and how the transaction is identified and processed than in a single universal change to interface or price.
For fintechs, the key is to separate three clocks: the new rules taking effect on October 1, 2026, the Unicad registration deadline of October 30 for already-authorized institutions providing eFX, and the May 31, 2027 deadline for authorization applications by providers covered by the transition.
