Brazil's central bank has drawn a firm line around how regulated international remittance providers can move money: they may offer digital foreign-exchange services, but they may not use stablecoins or other crypto assets as the settlement rail with overseas counterparties.

What changed

On April 30, the Banco Central do Brasil published Resolution BCB No. 561, updating the rules for eFX, the country's regulated channel for digital cross-border payments, transfers, purchases, and withdrawals. Multiple reports citing the text say that when an eFX provider pays or receives funds with a foreign counterparty, that settlement must now happen through a traditional foreign-exchange transaction or a non-resident real account in Brazil. The rule takes effect on October 1.

That is narrower than a general crypto ban. Verified reports say Brazilian users and authorized virtual asset service providers can still buy, hold, and transfer crypto under the country's separate virtual-asset rules. The restriction is aimed at the back-end settlement leg used by regulated remittance and payments firms.

Why it matters

This matters because stablecoins had become an obvious tool for speeding up cross-border settlement and lowering costs for fintechs. Brazil is not outlawing stablecoins as an asset class, but it is keeping official eFX infrastructure tied to supervised fiat rails.

Resolution 561 also reportedly limits eFX activity to BCB-authorized institutions, while giving existing unauthorised operators until May 31, 2027 to seek authorisation. The conservative takeaway is that Brazil still wants digital payments innovation, but not blockchain-based settlement inside its regulated remittance stack.