Pix lets anyone with a Brazilian bank or payment account send reais to anyone else in seconds, at any hour, by typing a short identifier instead of bank details. This guide explains who runs it, how the five kinds of Pix key and its QR codes work, the night-time limits and how to change them, the features added since 2024, how the MED mechanism handles fraud claims and how dollars from the US reach a Pix key, including the IOF tax on the way in. For every other part of sending money abroad, see the money transfer hub.
What is Pix and who runs it?
Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, built and run by the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), which writes its rules and settles every payment. It launched in November 2020 and works around the clock on every day of the year. A payment settles in seconds and is final once it lands, which is why the safeguards described below matter so much.
Adoption has been enormous. The BCB's latest management report counts almost 80 billion Pix transactions in 2025, up 25.7% on 2024, worth more than R$35 trillion. In December 2025 alone, 7.8 billion payments moved R$3.7 trillion. That month 148 million people, about 86% of Brazilian adults, and 12 million companies used Pix, and the busiest day on record, December 5, 2025, saw 313,339,328 transactions.
Pix sits alongside older bank transfers rather than replacing every other way to pay. Its advantage is that it needs only a key, works between any two participating institutions and does not stop for weekends or holidays.
How do Pix keys and QR codes work?
A Pix key is an alias for one account, so a payer can type a phone number or tax number instead of full bank details. The keys live in a central directory, the DICT, which the BCB operates. Before a payer confirms, the app shows who will receive the money, and since July 2025 the name linked to every key must match the federal tax register, which makes it harder for fraudsters to disguise an account.
| Key type | Format in the directory | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| CPF | 11 digits, without dots or dashes | The individual taxpayer number every account holder has |
| CNPJ | 14 characters, without punctuation | The company registration number |
| Mobile phone | Plus sign, country code 55, area code and number | The bank sends a code to the number before registering it |
| Email address | Up to 77 characters | Also confirmed with a code before registration |
| Random key | 32 letters and digits in five hyphenated groups, generated by the directory | Reveals no personal data; about half of all keys |
An individual can link up to five keys to each account and a company up to 20, but each key leads to a single account. By the end of 2025 more than 920 million keys were registered. Random keys made up about half, followed by phone numbers, CPFs and emails at roughly 15% to 17% each. A key can be moved to another institution, and a person who finds that someone else has registered their phone number or email can claim it back.
Shops and billers often skip the typing with a QR code. A static code carries the payee's key and, optionally, an amount and a short message, so it can be printed once and reused. A dynamic code holds a link that fetches the details of one particular charge, such as an invoice, and is normally used only once. When scanning is impossible, for instance when paying on the same phone that shows the code, the payee can share its text as Pix Copia e Cola for the payer to paste into the banking app. However a payment starts, the payer's bank looks the payee up in the directory and displays the name before asking for confirmation.
For a sender abroad, the practical point is that a key is enough. A provider paying out by Pix can find the account from the CPF or phone number the recipient supplies, so there is no need to collect a branch or account number.
What are the Pix night-time limits and how do you change them?
For individuals sending money to another person, Pix applies a lower limit at night, which is R$1,000 by default unless the account holder asks for something else. The rules come from BCB Normative Instruction 512. Night runs from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., in the payer's local time or Brasília time depending on the bank, and banks may let customers move the start to 10 p.m. Payments to companies are capped per day instead, and each bank sets limits according to the customer's risk profile and history.
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Night period | 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; some banks let you choose 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. |
| Default night limit when paying an individual | R$1,000 in total for the period, unless you ask for a different amount |
| Lowering a limit | Takes effect immediately |
| Raising a limit | At the bank's discretion, answered and applied within 24 to 48 hours |
| Changing when night starts | Takes effect within 24 to 48 hours |
| Trusted recipients | Accounts you register can get their own daily limit, effective within 24 to 48 hours |
| A phone or device you have not registered | R$200 per payment and R$1,000 a day |
| Cash at shops through Pix Saque or Pix Troco | Up to R$3,000 per withdrawal by day and R$1,000 at night |
All of these settings live in the Pix area of the bank's app, which every bank has to provide for its individual customers. A customer can also set a limit to zero, and banks may impose tighter limits when they cannot identify where the device is.
Worked example: Paying R$2,500 of rent at 9:30 p.m.
Marina receives money from her brother in the US on a Thursday evening and, at 9:30 p.m., tries to send R$2,500 by Pix to her landlord, who is an individual. Her bank uses the default night period and limit.
- The app accepts at most R$1,000 in total before 6 a.m., so splitting the payment into smaller ones does not get the full amount through.
- Asking for a higher night limit now does not help either, because an increase can take 24 to 48 hours.
- She can send R$1,000 now and the remaining R$1,500 after 6 a.m., or send all R$2,500 in the morning.
- If she pays rent at night every month, she can ask once for a higher night limit or a 10 p.m. start and wait up to two days for it to apply.
What newer Pix features should you know?
Since 2024 the BCB has added recurring and automatic payments, contactless Pix and an in-app fraud claim button, all running on the same instant system.
| Feature | Since | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring Pix Agendado | Mandatory for all banks from October 2024 | Repeats a fixed scheduled payment, such as rent or an allowance |
| Pix por aproximação (contactless) | February 2025 | Pays by tapping a phone on a card terminal, through a digital wallet or a bank app |
| Pix Automático | June 16, 2025 | One authorization lets a company collect recurring bills, such as utilities or subscriptions |
| MED self-service button | October 1, 2025 | Lets a customer dispute a suspected fraud inside the bank's app |
| MED 2.0 fund tracing | Mandatory from February 2, 2026 | Follows stolen money beyond the first account that received it |
Older add-ons are still growing. Pix Saque and Pix Troco let people take cash at participating shops and kiosks, and Pix Saque handled 19.5 million withdrawals worth R$5.5 billion in 2025. Scheduled payments reached 204 million in the same year, though they remain a small share of all Pix traffic.
How does the MED refund mechanism work?
MED, the Mecanismo Especial de Devolução, is the Pix procedure for recovering money taken through fraud, scams or coercion. It does not cover a disagreement with a genuine seller or a payment sent to the wrong key by mistake.
- The victim files a claim. Since October 1, 2025, every bank's app has had a button for contesting a Pix, and the claim must come within 80 days of the payment.
- The payer's bank opens a recovery at once. It may not insist on a police report before starting, and the BCB recommends acting within 10 minutes of the complaint.
- The money is traced and frozen. Under MED 2.0, mandatory since February 2, 2026, the directory maps where the money went beyond the first account, and receiving banks block what remains. A bank that suspects fraud can also hold an incoming Pix for up to 72 hours.
- Confirmed fraud is refunded. Whatever could be blocked goes back to the victim, and the BCB expects returns within 11 days of the claim.
The safeguards help, but they are not insurance. In September 2026, according to the BCB's open data, 3.75 million Pix payments were contested and 274,932 claims were accepted, worth R$733 million. Only 14.5% of that value came back through full or partial returns, and R$311.7 million could not be returned because the accounts no longer held enough money. Speed is the biggest factor a victim controls, and money transfer scams covers the common tricks to avoid in the first place.
How does money from the US reach a Pix key?
Pix only moves reais inside Brazil, so dollars must first be converted by an institution authorized to deal in foreign exchange, which then credits the recipient's account.
There are two ways in. A wire to the recipient's Brazilian bank account arrives in dollars, and the recipient's bank converts it under an exchange contract, sometimes after asking the recipient about the purpose. Unlike the US and Mexico, Brazil has an IBAN format, 29 characters long, and IBAN explained shows how to read one. A remittance provider instead works with a Brazilian exchange institution or an international payment provider, known locally as an eFX, which converts the dollars and credits the recipient, often directly to a Pix key.
Collect the recipient's details
Ask for the recipient's full name, CPF and Pix key, or their bank account if the provider cannot pay keys. Brazilian rules require the converting institution to identify who receives the money.
Compare quotes in reais
Ask each provider how many reais will arrive after its fee, its exchange rate and the IOF, and compare that single number rather than the fee alone.
Fund the transfer and enter the key
Pay from a US bank account or debit card and type the key exactly as the recipient gave it. A key received in a forwarded message deserves a phone call to check.
Confirm arrival
Once the exchange is done, the Pix credit lands in seconds. Ask the recipient to check the amount against the quote and keep the receipt.
Brazilian exchange rules add two protections. Before converting, the institution must give its customer the VET, the total effective value in reais per unit of foreign currency, which folds the exchange rate, taxes and fees into one figure. And above R$10,000 the reais must be credited to an account rather than paid out in cash.
How much IOF tax applies to money sent to Brazil?
Money arriving from abroad and converted into reais pays IOF, Brazil's tax on financial operations, at 0.38% of the amount exchanged. That rate survived the 2025 overhaul. Decrees issued in May and June 2025 raised the IOF on most outgoing exchange to 3.5%; Congress voted to suspend them, and in July 2025 the Supreme Court restored most of the increase.
| Operation | IOF rate |
|---|---|
| Money arriving from abroad and converted into reais | 0.38% |
| Spending abroad with a Brazilian credit, debit or prepaid card | 3.5% |
| Buying foreign cash in Brazil | 3.5% |
| Sending money to one's own or a relative's account abroad | 3.5%, or 1.1% if it is for investment |
| Spending in Brazil with a card issued abroad | Zero |
The tax applies to the exchange operation in Brazil, so the institution that converts the dollars withholds it from the reais. Some providers list it on its own line and others fold it into their rate; either way it belongs in the VET.
Worked example: $1,000 to a Pix key in São Paulo
Take a mid-market rate of 1 USD = 5.40 BRL, an illustrative figure rather than today's rate. The provider charges a $5 fee and converts at 1.2% below mid-market.
- Dollars converted: $1,000 − $5 = $995
- Provider's rate: 5.40 × 0.988 = 5.3352
- Reais before tax: $995 × 5.3352 = R$5,308.52
- IOF at 0.38%: R$20.17
- Credited to the Pix key: R$5,288.35
At the mid-market rate, $1,000 would be R$5,400.00, so the recipient gets R$111.65 less, a total cost of 2.07%. Per dollar paid, the effective rate is about R$5.29, which is the number to compare across providers.
The live table below shows what dollar amounts would become at today's mid-market rate and at 1% and 3% markups, before any flat fee and the 0.38% IOF.
| You send | At the mid-market rate | With a 1% markup | With a 3% markup |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | R$1,087 | R$1,077 | R$1,055 |
| $500 | R$2,718 | R$2,691 | R$2,637 |
| $1,000 | R$5,437 | R$5,383 | R$5,274 |
To find the markup hidden in a quote, compare the provider's rate with the mid-market rate; exchange rate markups walks through the formula. The money transfer cost calculator does the same arithmetic, and although its labels use pounds and rupees, the steps are identical for dollars and reais.
What should US senders check before paying a Pix key?
A few checks before paying prevent most failed or misdirected transfers to Brazil.
Before sending dollars to a Pix key
- The key came from the recipient directly, not from a forwarded message or a new email
- The name shown for the key matches the person you mean to pay
- The quote states the reais that will arrive after the fee, the rate and the IOF
- Amounts above R$10,000 will go into an account rather than be paid in cash
- The recipient knows their night limit applies only to their own onward payments
Pix is Brazil's version of the national instant systems that make a transfer's last leg fast; Europe's equivalent is covered in SEPA transfers explained, Mexico's in SPEI explained and phone-based wallets in mobile money explained. For the full route from a US account to Brazil, including timing and provider types, see sending money from the US to Brazil.