Country hub / Brazil
Financial apps and digital money services in Brazil.
Seven approved records cover a direct bank, three prepaid payment-account models, one multicurrency payment institution, one electronic-money checkout wallet and one crypto route. The account, deposit or asset—not the app colour—determines the protection model.
Direct answer
Start by deciding whether you need a bank deposit, payment account or payment tool.
Inter is the direct bank account in this comparison. Nubank, Mercado Pago and PicPay use prepaid payment accounts for their core wallet function. Nubank can separately place chosen money in a Nu Financeira RDB, while PicPay can separately use a partner-issued CDB when its yield option is available. Those exact deposits—not every balance in the apps—can enter the FGC analysis.
Wise safeguards ordinary balances as a payment institution. PayPal is an electronic-money payment institution and says it is not a bank. Coinbase's Brazil terms separate foreign digital-asset services from a purpose-limited EBANX prepaid payment account for BRL and Pix. None becomes an FGC-covered bank deposit merely because it can use Pix.
Product classification
One app can contain four different legal products.
Brazil comparisons fail when payment accounts, demand deposits, CDB or RDB investments and digital assets are collapsed into one balance.
Bank deposit
Inter's eligible demand deposit and other exact eligible bank deposits can enter FGC scope.
Payment account
Nubank, Mercado Pago and PicPay core accounts store prepaid electronic money under payment rules.
CDB or RDB
Optional deposits have a named issuer, product contract, tax treatment and FGC aggregation.
Investment or crypto
Funds, securities and tokens retain market, custody and insolvency risks outside deposit protection.
Verified BR comparison
Change the job, not the evidence.
These controls only reorder approved market records. Legal entity, product class, protection wording, source date and confidence stay fixed.
Bank deposits: Prioritises direct and optional eligible deposits while keeping payment accounts separate.
| Provider | Product type | Market status | Legal entity | Protection model | Evidence | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InterA direct Brazilian digital current account with Pix, cards and separately contracted financial products. | brazilian multiple bank digital current account | available with identity acceptance account and product conditions | Banco Inter S.A. | Eligible demand deposits and eligible Banco Inter-issued deposits can fall within FGC rules.FGC applies only to listed eligible products and aggregates by CPF or CNPJ and institution or conglomerate; investments, cards, insurance and credit stay separate. | 4 source records | |
| NubankA low-fee prepaid payment account with Pix and an optional Nu Financeira RDB balance path. | brazilian prepaid payment account with optional rdb | available with identity acceptance balance choice and product conditions | Nu Pagamentos S.A. - Instituição de Pagamento for the account; Nu Financeira S.A. - Sociedade de Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento for cited RDBs | Only an eligible Nu Financeira RDB receives FGC treatment; the core account is prepaid.Confirm whether each balance is in the payment account or RDB. FGC follows the RDB issuer and conglomerate, not the purple app or unrelated products. | 4 source records | |
| PicPayA prepaid wallet with Pix, payments and an optional balance-to-partner-CDB yield feature. | brazilian prepaid payment account with optional partner cdb | available with identity acceptance yield issuer and product conditions | PicPay Instituição de Pagamento S.A. | An eligible partner-issued CDB can receive FGC treatment; the payment account itself is distinct.The CDB issuer must be checked at investment time. Wallet money, crypto, credit and other products do not inherit the CDB's protection. | 3 source records | |
| Mercado PagoA prepaid payment account for everyday payments, marketplace activity, Pix and merchant collection. | brazilian prepaid payment account and merchant wallet | available with identity account yield card credit and merchant conditions | Mercado Pago Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. | The core payment-account balance is segregated under payment rules and is not FGC-covered.Optional CDBs have separate bank issuers and may receive FGC treatment only under their exact terms; promoted yield tiers can change. | 3 source records | |
| WiseHolding, receiving, converting and spending supported currencies with conditional Brazil Pix access. | brazilian payment institution multicurrency account | available with residency currency card pix route and product conditions | Wise Brasil Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. for cited account safeguarding; Wise Brasil Corretora de Câmbio Ltda. for cited exchange and card functions | Wise Brasil safeguards ordinary customer balances rather than treating them as bank deposits.Ordinary balances are not FGC-insured deposits. Rende+ is a separate investment with capital risk, and route prices remain transaction-specific. | 3 source records | |
| PayPalOnline checkout and merchant payment workflows for eligible Brazilian personal and business accounts. | brazilian electronic money payment wallet | available with residency account type balance and transaction conditions | PayPal do Brasil Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. | PayPal Brazil segregates eligible electronic-money resources as a payment institution.PayPal is not a bank, and balance functionality is narrower than the global brand suggests; FGC does not cover electronic money on that basis. | 2 source records | |
| CoinbaseBuying and selling supported digital assets using a purpose-limited EBANX BRL payment path and Pix. | foreign crypto platform with brazilian payment facilitator | available with identity asset pix payment account and transaction conditions | Coinbase Ascending Markets Kenya Limited or applicable foreign Coinbase affiliate for exchange services; EBANX Serviços Digitais Ltda. and EBANX Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. for cited BRL payment services | Coinbase exchange services, EBANX electronic money and digital-asset custody remain separate.The purpose-limited BRL payment account and digital assets are not FGC-insured deposits; fees, custody, asset and transaction support remain conditional. | 1 source records |
Inter
brazilian multiple bank digital current account- Market status
- available with identity acceptance account and product conditions
- Legal entity
- Banco Inter S.A.
- Product note
- Inter offers a digital current account through Banco Inter S.A. Eligible demand deposits and separately eligible bank-issued products can receive FGC treatment, subject to product scope and aggregation; investments, cards, insurance and credit remain separate.
- Protection model
- Eligible demand deposits and eligible Banco Inter-issued deposits can fall within FGC rules.FGC applies only to listed eligible products and aggregates by CPF or CNPJ and institution or conglomerate; investments, cards, insurance and credit stay separate.
View legal and product sources
Nubank
brazilian prepaid payment account with optional rdb- Market status
- available with identity acceptance balance choice and product conditions
- Legal entity
- Nu Pagamentos S.A. - Instituição de Pagamento for the account; Nu Financeira S.A. - Sociedade de Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento for cited RDBs
- Product note
- The Nubank account is a prepaid payment account. Customers may keep eligible money in that account or opt into an immediately liquid Nu Financeira RDB; only the exact eligible RDB receives FGC treatment and aggregates at its issuer or financial conglomerate.
- Protection model
- Only an eligible Nu Financeira RDB receives FGC treatment; the core account is prepaid.Confirm whether each balance is in the payment account or RDB. FGC follows the RDB issuer and conglomerate, not the purple app or unrelated products.
View legal and product sources
PicPay
brazilian prepaid payment account with optional partner cdb- Market status
- available with identity acceptance yield issuer and product conditions
- Legal entity
- PicPay Instituição de Pagamento S.A.
- Product note
- PicPay is a prepaid payment account. When the yield option is available, its terms allow the balance to be directed to a partner-issued CDB; FGC protection follows that exact CDB issuer and conglomerate, not the PicPay wallet or unrelated assets.
- Protection model
- An eligible partner-issued CDB can receive FGC treatment; the payment account itself is distinct.The CDB issuer must be checked at investment time. Wallet money, crypto, credit and other products do not inherit the CDB's protection.
View legal and product sources
Mercado Pago
brazilian prepaid payment account and merchant wallet- Market status
- available with identity account yield card credit and merchant conditions
- Legal entity
- Mercado Pago Instituição de Pagamento Ltda.
- Product note
- The core Mercado Pago balance is a prepaid payment account and is not FGC-covered. The cited disclosure says account resources follow payment-account segregation rules; any optional partner CDB has its own issuer, eligibility and FGC aggregation.
- Protection model
- The core payment-account balance is segregated under payment rules and is not FGC-covered.Optional CDBs have separate bank issuers and may receive FGC treatment only under their exact terms; promoted yield tiers can change.
View legal and product sources
Wise
brazilian payment institution multicurrency account- Market status
- available with residency currency card pix route and product conditions
- Legal entity
- Wise Brasil Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. for cited account safeguarding; Wise Brasil Corretora de Câmbio Ltda. for cited exchange and card functions
- Product note
- Brazil residents can hold BRL and supported currencies, use conditional card and Pix functions and pay transaction-specific fees. Ordinary Wise balances are safeguarded rather than FGC-insured deposits; Rende+ is a separate capital-at-risk investment.
- Protection model
- Wise Brasil safeguards ordinary customer balances rather than treating them as bank deposits.Ordinary balances are not FGC-insured deposits. Rende+ is a separate investment with capital risk, and route prices remain transaction-specific.
View legal and product sources
PayPal
brazilian electronic money payment wallet- Market status
- available with residency account type balance and transaction conditions
- Legal entity
- PayPal do Brasil Instituição de Pagamento Ltda.
- Product note
- PayPal Brazil is a payment institution, not a bank. Its cited agreement limits balance functionality mainly to eligible commercial accounts and segregates electronic-money resources; those resources are not FGC-insured bank deposits.
- Protection model
- PayPal Brazil segregates eligible electronic-money resources as a payment institution.PayPal is not a bank, and balance functionality is narrower than the global brand suggests; FGC does not cover electronic money on that basis.
View legal and product sources
Coinbase
foreign crypto platform with brazilian payment facilitator- Market status
- available with identity asset pix payment account and transaction conditions
- Legal entity
- Coinbase Ascending Markets Kenya Limited or applicable foreign Coinbase affiliate for exchange services; EBANX Serviços Digitais Ltda. and EBANX Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. for cited BRL payment services
- Product note
- The Brazil terms separate Coinbase digital-asset exchange services from EBANX's purpose-limited prepaid BRL payment account and Pix facilitation. Neither electronic money nor digital assets are FGC-insured Brazilian bank deposits.
- Protection model
- Coinbase exchange services, EBANX electronic money and digital-asset custody remain separate.The purpose-limited BRL payment account and digital assets are not FGC-insured deposits; fees, custody, asset and transaction support remain conditional.
View legal and product sources
0 selected locally.No matching comparison is published
Protection boundary
R$ 250,000 follows the eligible product, customer and financial conglomerate.
FGC lists eligible demand deposits, savings deposits, CDBs and RDBs among its covered products. The ordinary ceiling is R$ 250,000 per CPF or CNPJ and institution or financial conglomerate. Guarantees paid also face an overall R$ 1 million cap over a four-year period. Multiple eligible products in the same conglomerate therefore do not create a new limit for each app screen.
For Nubank, first determine whether the money remains electronic money in the Nu Pagamentos account or is an RDB issued by Nu Financeira. For PicPay, determine whether the optional partner CDB is active and which institution issued it. For Mercado Pago, do not attach FGC to its core payment-account balance; a separately offered bank CDB needs its own issuer check.
Wise safeguarding, PayPal segregation and EBANX electronic-money rules are different legal protections. They do not promise the FGC payout process. Funds, securities, Rende+, crypto, rewards, credit and insurance remain separate even when shown beside a covered deposit.
Inter deposit
Confirm the exact deposit is eligible and aggregate all covered balances at the bank or conglomerate.
Nubank RDB
Confirm the money is actually invested in a Nu Financeira RDB rather than left in the payment account.
PicPay or marketplace CDB
Read the instrument screen for issuer, maturity, liquidity, rate, tax and FGC aggregation.
Payment or crypto balance
Apply the exact safeguarding, segregation, custody and insolvency terms—not a deposit guarantee.
Eligibility and consent
CPF, identity, residence, device and product approval still control access.
Published availability is not an approval promise. Each provider can require identity checks, an eligible Brazilian address or tax number, compatible device, account acceptance and transaction review. Personal and business account terms are not interchangeable. Cards, credit, balance yield, investments, crypto and cash access can require additional approval.
Open Finance is likewise not automatic access. BCB says only authorised institutions can participate, with mandatory and voluntary roles. Customer consent, participant directory status, supported APIs, data scope and payment journey still determine what can be shared or initiated.
Read the evidence methodologyFee snapshot
Zero maintenance does not make every withdrawal, conversion or product free.
Nubank currently lists R$ 0 for maintenance, Pix, TED, boleto deposit and debit-card issuance, but R$ 6.50 for a debit cash withdrawal. Inter lists core digital-account opening, maintenance, transfers, boleto issuance and card annual fee as free while publishing separate personal and business fee tables for other services.
Wise lists free account creation and holding, variable transfer or conversion pricing from 0.78% for eligible routes, and ATM conditions that change after one free monthly withdrawal. Mercado Pago and PicPay yield tiers, partner deposits, cards and credit can have conditional rates, taxes or fees. PayPal merchant and currency-conversion fees and Coinbase or EBANX charges depend on the final transaction. Always use the confirmation screen.
Payment rails
Pix is infrastructure, not a bank licence or blanket product promise.
BCB establishes the market rail. Exact participation, direction, key support, limits, fraud controls, availability and fees remain provider- and customer-specific.
Pix
Brazil market context only. Confirm the account type, provider participation, direction, identifiers, schedule, limits, screening and current price before relying on it.
TED
Brazil market context only. Confirm the account type, provider participation, direction, identifiers, schedule, limits, screening and current price before relying on it.
boleto
Brazil market context only. Confirm the account type, provider participation, direction, identifiers, schedule, limits, screening and current price before relying on it.
card
Brazil market context only. Confirm the account type, provider participation, direction, identifiers, schedule, limits, screening and current price before relying on it.
BCB describes Pix as usable from eligible current, savings and prepaid payment accounts, with transfers generally completed in seconds around the clock. Providers can participate directly or indirectly. That means a Pix key proves a payment capability—not that the provider is a bank, the balance is an eligible deposit, or every Pix feature is enabled. TED, boleto and card support also remain account- and transaction-specific.
Source ledger
Every material Brazil claim keeps its entity, product, source and date.
Sources were observed on 12 July 2026 and require launch-time reverification.
Nubank Brazil source drawer
Nubank is displayed as brazilian prepaid payment account with optional rdb in Brazil.
- The agreement effective 24 June 2026 identifies Nu Pagamentos S.A. and defines the core account as a prepaid payment account.
- It says deposited money may remain in the payment account or be applied in an immediately liquid RDB, depending on the customer's choice and product communication.
- The agreement establishes Pix, transfer, debit-card, fee, identity, blocking and acceptance conditions without treating every adjacent product as the same account.
- Nubank distinguishes money held in its payment account from optional RDB deposits issued by Nu Financeira.
- It states that eligible Nu Financeira RDBs receive FGC coverage, which remains subject to FGC product and conglomerate limits.
- The RDB protection statement cannot be copied to payment-account money, funds, securities, crypto, cards or credit.
- Nubank lists R$ 0 for account maintenance, TED, Pix, boleto deposit and debit-card issuance.
- It lists R$ 6.50 per debit-card cash withdrawal and separate credit, international and other product charges.
- Prices and eligibility are product-specific and require confirmation before the customer completes a transaction.
- FGC lists eligible demand deposits, savings deposits, CDBs and RDBs among covered products, subject to its rules.
- The ordinary limit is R$ 250,000 per CPF or CNPJ and financial institution or conglomerate, with a R$ 1 million overall cap in a four-year period for guarantees paid.
- Payment-account electronic money, investment funds, securities and crypto assets do not become covered merely because the same app also offers an eligible deposit product.
Inter Brazil source drawer
Inter is displayed as brazilian multiple bank digital current account in Brazil.
- BCB provides the official directory for institutions authorised, regulated or supervised in Brazil and their permitted institution type.
- The register is used with exact provider contracts to distinguish banks, payment institutions, finance companies and payment partners.
- Authorisation does not establish FGC eligibility, a universal fee, account approval or product availability by itself.
- Inter describes its digital current account, Pix, card and additional banking products under the Banco Inter service.
- The product page is used with the BCB register and FGC guidance to classify the current account rather than every investment, insurance or credit feature.
- Account opening, limits, product access and transaction approval remain conditional.
- Inter lists account opening, maintenance, boleto issuance, Inter and other-bank transfers and card annual fee as free for the cited digital account.
- It links separate personal and business bank fee tables, so other services cannot be assumed free.
- Promotions, card variants, cash, exchange, credit and investment costs remain product-specific.
- FGC lists eligible demand deposits, savings deposits, CDBs and RDBs among covered products, subject to its rules.
- The ordinary limit is R$ 250,000 per CPF or CNPJ and financial institution or conglomerate, with a R$ 1 million overall cap in a four-year period for guarantees paid.
- Payment-account electronic money, investment funds, securities and crypto assets do not become covered merely because the same app also offers an eligible deposit product.
Mercado Pago Brazil source drawer
Mercado Pago is displayed as brazilian prepaid payment account and merchant wallet in Brazil.
- BCB provides the official directory for institutions authorised, regulated or supervised in Brazil and their permitted institution type.
- The register is used with exact provider contracts to distinguish banks, payment institutions, finance companies and payment partners.
- Authorisation does not establish FGC eligibility, a universal fee, account approval or product availability by itself.
- The agreement identifies Mercado Pago Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. and defines its core account as a prepaid payment account.
- Debit and credit functions, funding, reserve-backed credit and revolving credit retain separate conditions and counterparties.
- A payment-account or card contract is not evidence that the core balance is a bank deposit.
- Mercado Pago states that its payment account does not have FGC coverage and describes payment-account resource allocation under BCB rules.
- It separately says some partner-bank CDB investments in the app may receive FGC treatment under the exact issuer and applicable limits.
- Yield percentages, boosted tiers and tax treatment are conditional and are not used as a permanent ranking.
PicPay Brazil source drawer
PicPay is displayed as brazilian prepaid payment account with optional partner cdb in Brazil.
- BCB provides the official directory for institutions authorised, regulated or supervised in Brazil and their permitted institution type.
- The register is used with exact provider contracts to distinguish banks, payment institutions, finance companies and payment partners.
- Authorisation does not establish FGC eligibility, a universal fee, account approval or product availability by itself.
- The agreement effective 26 February 2026 identifies PicPay Instituição de Pagamento S.A. and its prepaid payment account.
- When the optional yield feature is available, PicPay may direct eligible balance to a separately issued partner CDB disclosed under its own terms.
- The agreement says eligible partner CDBs can receive FGC protection up to applicable limits; the wallet, crypto and unrelated products do not inherit that coverage.
- FGC lists eligible demand deposits, savings deposits, CDBs and RDBs among covered products, subject to its rules.
- The ordinary limit is R$ 250,000 per CPF or CNPJ and financial institution or conglomerate, with a R$ 1 million overall cap in a four-year period for guarantees paid.
- Payment-account electronic money, investment funds, securities and crypto assets do not become covered merely because the same app also offers an eligible deposit product.
Wise Brazil source drawer
Wise is displayed as brazilian payment institution multicurrency account in Brazil.
- Wise identifies Wise Brasil Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. for Brazil and describes safeguarding through separated cash, liquid assets or equivalent guarantees.
- Wise explicitly contrasts safeguarding with bank deposit-insurance schemes and does not call the ordinary account a bank deposit.
- Rende+ and other invested money use separate product and risk treatment.
- Wise lists free account creation and holding and variable transfer or conversion pricing starting from 0.78% for eligible routes.
- The observed schedule lists one free ATM withdrawal per month followed by R$ 20 per withdrawal, plus product-specific card, SWIFT, external-wallet and investment charges.
- The transaction preview remains authoritative because currency, amount, route, customer and third-party fees can change the final price.
- Wise offers Pix functions to eligible personal and business customers with a registered Brazilian address.
- The guidance allows up to five Pix keys and retains account, identity, availability, limit and security conditions.
- Pix access does not make the Wise balance an FGC-insured deposit.
PayPal Brazil source drawer
PayPal is displayed as brazilian electronic money payment wallet in Brazil.
- BCB provides the official directory for institutions authorised, regulated or supervised in Brazil and their permitted institution type.
- The register is used with exact provider contracts to distinguish banks, payment institutions, finance companies and payment partners.
- Authorisation does not establish FGC eligibility, a universal fee, account approval or product availability by itself.
- The agreement identifies PayPal do Brasil Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. as an electronic-money issuer and explicitly states that PayPal is not a bank.
- It limits balance eligibility mainly to qualifying commercial accounts and states that customer electronic-money resources are segregated from PayPal's corporate assets.
- Funding, receiving, conversion, merchant fees, buyer or seller protection and account eligibility are transaction-specific.
Coinbase Brazil source drawer
Coinbase is displayed as foreign crypto platform with brazilian payment facilitator in Brazil.
- The Brazil terms separate Coinbase digital-asset exchange services from EBANX Serviços Digitais and EBANX Instituição de Pagamento BRL services.
- EBANX opens a purpose-limited prepaid payment account used for Coinbase digital-asset purchases and sales and supports Pix under conditional terms.
- Electronic money, foreign exchange services and digital assets are separate from Brazilian bank deposits and do not receive FGC coverage on that basis.
Brazil regulator, protection and rail sources
- BCB provides the official directory for institutions authorised, regulated or supervised in Brazil and their permitted institution type.
- The register is used with exact provider contracts to distinguish banks, payment institutions, finance companies and payment partners.
- Authorisation does not establish FGC eligibility, a universal fee, account approval or product availability by itself.
- FGC lists eligible demand deposits, savings deposits, CDBs and RDBs among covered products, subject to its rules.
- The ordinary limit is R$ 250,000 per CPF or CNPJ and financial institution or conglomerate, with a R$ 1 million overall cap in a four-year period for guarantees paid.
- Payment-account electronic money, investment funds, securities and crypto assets do not become covered merely because the same app also offers an eligible deposit product.
- BCB describes Pix as an open instant-payment system for eligible transactional accounts including demand, savings and prepaid payment accounts.
- The page distinguishes direct and indirect participation and publishes a participant list dated 1 July 2026.
- Market participation does not prove every function, direction, key type, limit, fee or device is available for every customer.
- BCB states that only authorised institutions such as banks, payment institutions, finance companies and credit cooperatives can participate in Open Finance.
- Some institutions are mandatory participants and others may participate voluntarily when regulatory and directory requirements are met.
- Open Finance participation does not grant access without customer consent or prove support for every data set, payment journey or provider product.
Unavailable or deliberately not inferred
- A universal winner, guaranteed account approval, permanent rate or permanent fee.
- FGC coverage for a payment account, Wise or PayPal balance, investment fund or crypto asset.
- A separate FGC limit for each brand or app inside the same financial conglomerate.
- Universal Pix, TED, boleto, Open Finance, ATM, card, credit or merchant support.
- Independent onboarding, transfer, yield, support, fraud-recovery or insolvency testing.