Nixes

Resolution 561 ends stablecoin cross-border settlements, cutting fintech efficiency and margins.

Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) has banned fintech and payment providers from settling overseas payments in stablecoins or crypto. With Resolution 561, the BCB is implementing new rules regarding its electronic foreign exchange (eFX) policy, which governs how payment institutions and e-money issuers provide cross-border services. 

Its immediate effects, when the new rules go into effect on Oct. 1, will be the return of bank spreads, correspondent fees, and settlements in days rather than minutes, while the cost of international transactions, especially remittances, will increase for businesses and consumers. 

Resolution 561 updates Brazil’s eFX framework, which regulates digital cross-border payments settled through traditional foreign-exchange channels. It will restrict companies from collecting reals in Brazil, converting them into stablecoins like USDT or USDC, and then using them for fiat remittances.

The resolution does not prohibit stablecoins in Brazil, Thiago Amaral, partner at Barcellos Tucunduva Advogados, told online publication Migalhas. “What it does is prevent eFX providers from using virtual assets to settle payments or receipts with their counterparts abroad.”

Companies can still use non-resident real accounts to settle international payments, and for individuals, this will not affect their ability to trade crypto. Brazil’s crypto market is worth between $6 billion and $8 billion a month, with stablecoins accounting for roughly 90% of its volume.

Resolution 561 also mandates stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. According to BCB officials, the resolution aims to ensure traceability, supervision, and compliance with exchange rate regulations while strengthening anti-money laundering efforts.

Remittances Affected

Remittances are likely to be most affected by the changes. Cross-border payment “plumbing” helped many navigate the 1% tax on cash remittance transfers and the further 3.5% tax on remittances and foreign currency purchases, which went into effect in May 2025. In 2024, remittance inflows totaled $4.7 billion, accounting for 0.2% of Brazil’s GDP.

“With the ban on the use of stablecoins in eFX settlements, operators involved in international remittances, overseas purchases, cash withdrawals while traveling, and digital transfers to other countries lose the main advantage they had over traditional banks,” José Artur Ribeiro, CEO of Brazilian crypto exchange operator Coinext, told Brazil’s Money Times.

This article appears in the June 2026 issue of Global Finance Magazine.