An online retailer based in Spain sells BRL 1 million a month to Brazilian shoppers, but only through international cards. Conversion lags, and the finance team wants a payment gateway in Brazil that accepts local methods and still settles the company in Europe.
A gateway for Brazil should accept the methods Brazilians use, mainly Pix, cards with installments and boletos, and settle the merchant abroad in the currency it needs. Fees, settlement time and how refunds and chargebacks are handled matter as much as the methods.
What does a payment gateway do in Brazil?
A payment gateway connects the merchant’s checkout to the payment methods and settles the money. In Brazil, it generates Pix charges, routes card transactions to acquirers and issues boletos.
For a foreign merchant, the gateway also handles the step that matters most: turning reais collected in Brazil into money the company can use abroad. That step is an FX operation under BCB Resolution No. 277, of December 31, 2022, which covers eFX providers from article 49 onward.
Payment institutions and arrangements in Brazil fall under Law No. 12,865, of October 9, 2013, supervised by the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB).
On the technical side, the gateway plugs into the checkout through an API or a plugin for the e-commerce platform. It sends payment confirmations back to the merchant’s system, usually by webhook, so orders are released as soon as the payment is confirmed.
Which payment methods should it support?
Three methods cover most online purchases in Brazil. A gateway that misses one of them leaves part of the market out.
Pix
Pix is the BCB’s instant payment system, and it processed 8.11 billion transactions in August 2026, a monthly record, according to BCB Pix statistics. Customers pay from a banking app with a QR code or a copy-and-paste code.
Its rules sit in BCB Resolution No. 1, of August 12, 2020, the Pix Regulation. Transfero’s guide on how Pix works covers keys and participants in detail.
Cards and installments
Credit cards remain important for higher-value purchases, and Brazilian shoppers often split them into monthly installments. The merchant either receives the installments over time or advances them through the acquirer.
Boleto
A boleto is a payment slip with a barcode, paid in a banking app or at authorized outlets. It settles in business days and still serves shoppers without cards or with low card limits.
How does a foreign merchant get settled?
Collecting in reais is only half of the job. The other half is getting the money to where the merchant runs its treasury.
BRL account in Brazil
The gateway pays out to a Brazilian account. This option only works for merchants that already have a local entity and local costs to pay.
Cross-border settlement in USD
The gateway converts the reais and transfers dollars, or another currency, to the merchant’s account abroad on an agreed cycle. For a merchant without a Brazilian entity, this is the setting that makes the operation work.
Settlement in stablecoins
The gateway converts reais into stablecoins and sends them to the merchant’s wallet. Since February 2, 2026, Resolution 277 also covers operations with virtual assets, so this route follows Brazil’s FX rules as well.
Take the Spanish retailer. Its BRL 1 million a month splits, as an example, into 70% Pix, 20% cards and 10% boletos: BRL 700,000, BRL 200,000 and BRL 100,000. The gateway collects all three in reais, converts the balance and settles the retailer in USD on the agreed cycle.
Selling to Brazil? See which methods our gateway supports.
What does it cost?
Each method has its own fee. Card transactions carry the merchant discount rate (MDR), a percentage charged per sale; Pix and boletos usually have a fixed or percentage fee per transaction.
Cross-border settlement adds an FX spread on the conversion. IOF, Brazil’s tax on FX operations, also applies, at a rate that depends on the nature of the operation.
Installments add a cost when the merchant chooses to receive early. Compare gateways on the total cost per BRL collected and settled abroad, not on the headline rate of one method.
How are refunds and chargebacks handled?
Each method works differently. Card payments can be disputed by the cardholder through the card network, which can lead to a chargeback after the sale.
Pix has no chargeback in the card sense. A refund is a new transfer to the payer, and fraud follows the Special Return Mechanism (MED), created by BCB Resolution No. 103/2021 and updated by BCB Resolution No. 493/2025.
Boleto payments are final once settled, and refunds are made by a separate transfer. The gateway’s reports should show every refund, return and chargeback so finance can reconcile them.
How to choose a payment gateway for Brazil?
Start with methods: Pix, cards with installments and boletos, or the subset your customers actually use. Then check settlement: currency, cycle and whether the gateway settles abroad without a Brazilian entity.
Next, look at cost as a whole, from MDR and per-transaction fees to FX spread and IOF. Finally, check the reports, the refund and chargeback flow, and the integration with your checkout platform.
Transfero’s analysis of Pix through Banking as a Service shows how platforms structure the Pix side of this setup.
How does Transfero’s payment gateway work for foreign merchants?
Transfero works on two fronts in this setup. Its Banking as a Service (BaaS) lets companies move money in Brazil without becoming a bank, on a licensed payment institution structure. Its Crypto Checkout lets merchants accept crypto and settle in local currency.
For card and boleto acceptance, merchants combine these services with an acquirer or a gateway that covers those methods.
Collect and send BRL funds through Pix, via Transfero’s banking infrastructure
Banking rails without setting up a local entity or obtaining a local license
Crypto Checkout to accept crypto and settle in local currency, with pricing starting at 1% and VTEX compatibility
Launch within a few weeks for most clients
The Zona Sul case shows a retailer using Crypto Checkout with a QR code and settlement in reais. The platform processed more than 9.8 million transactions in 2025.
Questions to ask before choosing a gateway for Brazil
Which methods do your Brazilian customers use: Pix, cards, boletos?
In which currency and on which cycle do you need to be settled?
Can the gateway settle abroad without a Brazilian entity?
What is the total cost per BRL collected, including FX spread and IOF?
How are refunds, MED returns and chargebacks reported?
Does the gateway integrate with your checkout platform?
Talk to our team about a payment gateway for Brazil.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Brazilian entity to use a gateway?
Not if the gateway settles abroad. A provider in Brazil collects reais from your customers, converts them and transfers the proceeds to your account outside Brazil. A local entity becomes relevant if you want to keep reais in Brazil to pay local costs.
How long does settlement abroad take?
It depends on the gateway’s settlement cycle, the method used by the customer and the conversion and transfer abroad. Pix confirms the payment in seconds, while cards and boletos follow their own cycles. Ask each gateway for the full timeline, from sale to credit in your account.
What is MDR?
MDR, or merchant discount rate, is the percentage the merchant pays on each card sale to the acquirer and the parties involved in the transaction. It varies with the card type, the number of installments and the merchant’s volume, so compare it along with the other fees.
Do Brazilians expect installments?
For higher-value purchases by card, often yes. Splitting the price into monthly installments, frequently without interest, is a common way for Brazilian shoppers to fit a purchase into their budget. Merchants that offer it should plan for receiving over time or advancing the receivables.
