Brazil’s central bank has banned fintech and payment provider cross border services from using stablecoins or crypto to settle with overseas counterparties. Resolution BCB 561, published last Thursday and effective from October 2026, states that settlement between an eFX provider and its overseas counterparty must occur exclusively through traditional FX operations or non-resident BRL accounts. The eFX framework governs how payment institutions, e-money issuers and acquirers provide cross border payment services.
However, licensed virtual asset service providers (VASPs) can still use stablecoins for international payments under a separate framework that took full effect today. Resolution BCB 521, published in November 2025 and largely in effect since February 2026, created a supervised channel for cross border crypto and stablecoin activity by bringing virtual asset services inside Brazil’s FX market, as highligted by a lawyer’s Linkedin post and explored in more detail below. Banks authorized as VASPs can use stablecoins for cross border payments without the restrictions imposed on eFX providers.
FX specialist Braza Group illustrates the direction of travel. As a fully licensed bank ranked sixth in the BCB’s interbank FX market, Braza Bank can operate under the VASP framework rather than the eFX pathway. Its BBRL stablecoin, a real pegged token with a market capitalization of R$61.6 million (US$12.3m), is already being used for cross border payments and has expanded to multiple blockchain networks.
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