Foreign Exchange for Companies in Brazil: How It Works

A US company collecting from a client in São Paulo, or a UK company paying a supplier in Rio de Janeiro, quickly learns that the Brazilian real does not move like the currencies they are used to. Behind every transaction sits a câmbio contract, an institution authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, and a federal tax that changes by decree.

At Soulbit Academy we explain how foreign exchange works for companies operating with Brazil, seen from outside the country: the câmbio contract, Law 14,286/2021, the real cost of each transaction, and the foreign currency account that becomes accessible to more Brazilian companies from October 2026. This article also compares those routes with holding a stablecoin balance, without claiming it replaces regulated foreign exchange. If your company already works with digital dollars, see Brazil's central bank stablecoin regulation.

How foreign exchange works for a company operating with Brazil

Foreign exchange for a company in Brazil runs through a câmbio contract, always signed with an institution authorized by the central bank, never directly with the counterparty abroad. Every time a Brazilian legal entity receives payment from a foreign client or pays a supplier outside the country, the transaction passes through that contract, with few exceptions.

Commercial banks are the most common authorized institution. The list also includes foreign exchange brokers and, within limits set by Brazil's National Monetary Council, payment institutions. The Brazilian company chooses the institution, states the amount and the purpose, whether import, export or a transfer of funds held abroad, and receives a quote for that specific contract. The rate is not fixed by regulation: each institution sets its own spread over the day's reference rate.

Can a foreign company collect from Brazil without going through Brazil's foreign exchange market?

No. Even though the party collecting is based abroad, the Brazilian side of the transaction always runs through an institution authorized by the central bank, which reports the operation. The foreign company only receives the outcome of that conversion; it cannot bypass the process from outside Brazil.

Brazil's Foreign Exchange Law and its regulation: what changed

Law 14,286/2021, the new legal framework for foreign exchange, governs transactions contracted from 2 January 2023 and replaced legislation dating back to 1935. It kept the requirement of an authorized institution, but widened the freedom to negotiate terms between institution and client, with no fixed amount limit, inside the guidelines set by the National Monetary Council.

Among the practical changes, the law raised the limit for carrying cash on international travel from 10,000 reais to the equivalent of $10,000. It also gave banks more room to invest abroad resources raised either inside or outside Brazil, a detail that matters less to a foreign counterparty than the reporting obligations that came with it.

The operational rules arrived through BCB Resolution 277 of 2022, which details how a câmbio contract is formalized and how the inflow and outflow of funds gets registered. Since then, the central bank has kept adjusting that regime, including the rule on foreign currency accounts covered further below.

What a foreign exchange transaction with Brazil really costs

A câmbio transaction adds up three components: the institution's spread, the federal IOF tax, and, in some contracts, a separate administrative fee.

The spread is the difference between the quoted rate and the interbank reference rate for that day. Each institution sets its own spread, and it tends to be wider on smaller transactions, because fixed costs get diluted across larger ones.

IOF on foreign exchange is regulated by Decree 6,306 of 2007, amended by Decree 12,499 of 2025. The rate depends on the purpose: 1.10 percent for a transfer for investment purposes; 3.5 percent for cash, international card use and funds kept available abroad. Commercial import and export operations follow their own rate inside the same decree, worth confirming with the institution before closing the transaction, because IOF rates change by decree fairly often.

Cost component	What it covers	Reference value (August 2026)
Foreign exchange spread	Margin the institution adds to the day's reference rate	Set freely by each institution, wider on small transactions
IOF for transfer for investment purposes	Federal tax on the settlement of the transaction	1.10% (Decree 6,306/2007, amended by Decree 12,499/2025)
IOF for cash, international card and funds held abroad	Same tax, specific rate for those purposes	3.5% (same legal basis)
IOF for commercial operations (import and export)	Its own rate inside the same decree	Varies by transaction code; confirm with your institution
Administrative contract fee	Service cost some institutions charge separately	Fixed or percentage, set in the contract

Beyond the spread and IOF, some institutions charge a fixed or percentage fee per contract closed. Comparing all three lines, not just the advertised rate, reveals the real cost of a transaction.

The foreign currency account for legal entities: what it is and who qualifies

A foreign currency account for a legal entity is a deposit account in foreign currency held inside Brazil, which keeps a balance without converting it automatically into reais. It differs from an account abroad: the funds stay with an authorized institution inside the country.

Until 2026, access was restricted to a few cases, such as exporters operating under financing lines. BCB Resolution 575, announced on 18 June 2026 and effective from 1 October, extends access to four groups. The first is the exporter of goods. The second is the company with debt contracted abroad. The third is the company with a non-resident partner in its capital. The fourth is the non-resident legal entity that holds foreign credit or a stake in a Brazilian company.

The rule also waives the need to contract a new câmbio operation for transfers between those accounts inside Brazil, even when they involve conversion between two different foreign currencies.

Does the foreign currency account replace the câmbio contract?

No. The foreign currency account holds the balance in foreign currency and reduces repeated conversions in recurring flows tied to foreign trade or foreign debt. But the real remains Brazil's legal tender: wages, taxes and local suppliers are still paid in reais, and conversion still runs through a câmbio contract. The long-standing restriction on obligations in foreign currency inside the country, in place since Decree-Law 857 of 1969, does not change with the new resolution.

Outside the four eligible groups, the alternative remains foreign exchange transaction by transaction: the company converts at the moment it receives or pays, without holding a balance in foreign currency inside Brazil's financial system.

Criteria	Foreign currency account in Brazil	Transaction-by-transaction foreign exchange
Who can hold it	Only the four groups eligible under BCB Resolution 575/2026	Any company, through a câmbio contract on each transaction
When it converts to reais	Only when the company decides, with no fixed deadline	At the closing of each câmbio contract
Exposure to exchange rate movement	Stays in foreign currency until conversion	Ends at the settlement of each transaction
Local payments (wages, taxes, suppliers in Brazil)	Still require reais; the account does not replace a reais cash position	Same
Typical use	Recurring foreign trade or foreign debt flow	One-off payment or collection with no eligible profile for the account

Alternatives for collecting and paying with Brazil

Beyond traditional bank foreign exchange, a company operating with Brazil can use an exchange brokerage with tighter spreads or hold a balance in stablecoins such as USDC and USDT and convert through an OTC quote requested on demand. The right choice depends on volume, urgency and profile: there is no single correct alternative.

A foreign exchange broker often offers narrower spreads on mid-size transactions, but still follows the same contract and the same requirement of an authorized institution. For a company closing many small transactions, comparing quotes across institutions is worth more than searching for an entirely different rail.

Is a stablecoin balance a substitute for Brazil's câmbio contract?

No, and treating it as one creates real regulatory risk for both sides. A stablecoin balance moves value internationally without depending on correspondent banks, which tends to shorten timelines compared with a traditional transfer, as compared in SWIFT versus stablecoin for international payments. But when the Brazilian counterparty needs reais for local spending, it still converts through an authorized institution.

A different alternative is holding part of a company's treasury in stablecoins such as USDC and USDT and converting to local currency only when needed, through an OTC quote requested on demand, detailed in what OTC in crypto is and how it works for treasury. According to the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide report, the global average cost of a cross-border payment reaches 6.36 percent, rising to close to 15 percent through a traditional banking channel. A practical example of paying from that kind of balance is covered in paying international contractors in USDC from Brazil.

The central bank is also testing another rail for digital payments, Drex, its central bank digital currency, explained in Drex: Brazil's digital currency for companies. It remains in pilot phase and does not replace commercial foreign exchange today.

What Soulbit's V1 does and does not do in Brazil's foreign exchange market

Soulbit's V1 is not a Brazilian foreign exchange house and does not operate Brazil's câmbio market. No quote, balance or transaction inside Soulbit replaces the câmbio contract required under Law 14,286/2021, and the platform has no local banking rail in Brazil.

What V1 offers is a balance in stablecoins, USDC and USDT, and in fiat, US dollar, euro and pound, converted through an OTC quote requested on demand, after KYB verification. A company operating with Brazil can use that balance to collect or pay outside the country, holding value in digital dollars until it decides to move it. The crypto payments in Brazil guide details what Brazilian law already covers on this rail.

Soulbit's local banking rail exists only in Colombia, in Colombian pesos. In Brazil, the final conversion into reais still depends on an institution authorized outside Soulbit. The platform does not offer yield on balances, cards, a proprietary token or a native app today.

No stablecoin balance excuses either party from its foreign exchange and tax obligations in Brazil. Collecting in USDC from a Brazilian client does not remove the need to declare the transaction to the competent regulator.

Regulatory oversight: what compliance requires from a company

Foreign exchange for companies in Brazil sits under the central bank, the Receita Federal, the Coaf and, when securities are involved, the CVM. The central bank authorizes and supervises the institutions operating in the foreign exchange market, and issues the resolutions that regulate Law 14,286/2021.

Brazil's federal tax authority, the Receita Federal, oversees the tax side: a poorly declared transaction can trigger a penalty regardless of the IOF already collected. Coaf, the financial intelligence unit, receives reports of atypical transactions inside the financial system as part of anti-money-laundering controls. When a transaction involves securities or funds, the securities regulator, the CVM, also enters the picture.

For a company weighing digital assets in its treasury, the central bank designed a specific regime for virtual asset service providers, detailed in Brazil's central bank stablecoin regulation. That regime is distinct from the traditional foreign exchange market, though both routes converge on the same destination: reais landing in a Brazilian company's account.

No quote, foreign currency account or stablecoin balance excuses a company from reporting each transaction to the competent regulator: foreign exchange for companies is, above all, a reporting obligation, not only a matter of price.

Foreign exchange for companies in Brazil combines three layers: the câmbio contract with an authorized institution, the real cost made up of spread and IOF, and, for a growing group of companies, the foreign currency account. Before choosing between transaction-by-transaction conversion or holding a balance in an account, confirm your Brazilian counterparty's profile against the four groups under BCB Resolution 575/2026 and compare the total cost, not just the advertised rate.