Prefunding BRL payouts in Brazil
Prefunding payouts in Brazil means holding BRL with a payout partner or a local settlement account before transfers are paid, so recipients are paid without waiting for funds to arrive. Payouts run over Pix and STR (Sistema de Transferencia de Reservas) and TED. There are 11 weekday bank closures in Brazil in the next 12 months to fund around. The rules and timings below are the ones that decide how much to hold and when to top up.
Funding rules and timing in Brazil
- Pix pays out on weekends and holidays, but STR and TED run only on business days (STR interbank 06:30 to 18:30 Brasilia time), so reais moved through STR for weekend payouts have to arrive before Friday's close. source
- STR closes early at year end: on 24 December (when a business day) interbank transfers close at 13:00 and TED at 12:30, and on the last business day of the year at 13:00 and 12:00. source
- An eFX provider without a BCB reserve or settlement account must receive reais from senders and deliver reais to recipients only through a single-purpose account at an FX-authorised institution, and it cannot net reais received against reais delivered. source
- From 1 October 2026 the eFX settlement leg with the foreign counterparty cannot use virtual assets and cannot be netted, so the foreign side has to be funded through an FX operation or a non-resident real account. source
- Personal transfers peaked in December in 2025 (US$437.2 million, against a low of US$304.4 million in February); the highest month so far in 2026 is March (US$411.6 million). source
The rails that spend the prefund
| Rail | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pix | Instant payment system created by the BCB that moves money between current, savings and prepaid accounts in seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; free for individuals and low cost for companies. | source |
| STR (Sistema de Transferencia de Reservas) and TED | Business days only, Brasilia time: STR interbank transfers 06:30 to 18:30 and customer transfers (TED) 06:30 to 17:30. On 24 December (when a business day) STR interbank closes at 13:00 and TED at 12:30; on the last business day of the year they close at 13:00 and 12:00. Not available on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. | source |
Where the prefund sits
Money for Brazil payouts is usually held with one or more of these, each a balance to watch. The full shortlist, with sources, is on the Brazil payments stack page.
| Payout partners | dLocal, EBANX, Nium, Thunes |
| Local banking and settlement accounts | Ebury Bank (Ebury Banco de Cambio S.A.), Celcoin |
| Stablecoin ramps | Bitso Business (BRL1), Transfero |
Bank closures to fund around
Weekdays in the next 12 months when banks in Brazil are closed. Top up before each one.
| Date | Holiday | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | Dia de Finados (All Souls' Day) | confirmed |
| Fri 20 Nov 2026 | Dia da Consciencia Negra | confirmed |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Natal (Christmas Day) | confirmed |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | Confraternizacao Universal (New Year's Day) | expected |
| Mon 8 Feb 2027 | Carnaval (Monday) | expected |
| Tue 9 Feb 2027 | Carnaval (Tuesday) | expected |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Sexta-feira da Paixao (Good Friday) | expected |
| Wed 21 Apr 2027 | Tiradentes | expected |
| Thu 27 May 2027 | Corpus Christi | expected |
| Tue 7 Sep 2027 | Independencia do Brasil | expected |
| Tue 12 Oct 2027 | Nossa Senhora Aparecida | expected |
Full list and notes: Brazil bank holidays.
Corridors into Brazil
| Corridor | Average cost to send | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Italy to Brazil | 6.51% | Q3 2025 |
| Portugal to Brazil | 5.3% | Q3 2025 |
| Spain to Brazil | 4.18% | Q3 2025 |
| United Kingdom to Brazil | 3.86% | Q3 2025 |
| United States to Brazil | 5.63% | Q3 2025 |
Costs are World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide averages for sending the equivalent of US$200.
Size the prefund
Hold enough BRL to cover payouts for your lead time plus every closure in that window, then top up when runway drops below target. The corridor runway calculator does the arithmetic; the glossary explains prefunding, corridor runway and liquidity buffers.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis shows the BRL balance at every partner and account that funds Brazil payouts, next to the payouts expected against it and the top-ups already in flight, and warns before the corridor runs dry, including ahead of Brazil bank holidays.
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator