Brazil’s Central Bank revises mandatory Pix participation rules and sets July 2027 for Pix Automático on salary accounts

The Banco Central do Brasil has changed several Pix rules at once: it can now waive mandatory participation for institutions with more than 500,000 active transactional accounts, and it has set new operational and security measures for Pix Automático and hybrid billing. For PSPs and banks in Brazil, the practical message is simple: the gateway to Pix is still open, but the regulator is tightening who must be in it and how flows are handled.

1. The new rule on Pix Automático allows it to be used from salary accounts starting on 1 July 2027. The central bank said this is the only way to send Pix from that type of account, and that other Pix transactions remain prohibited there, except for transfers sent by the Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional and refund-related transactions.
2. The Banco Central also regulated cobrança híbrida (hybrid billing), which combines the boleto barcode and the QR Code from Pix Cobrança in a single document. The market was already using this structure; the new framework sets specific Pix rules so the two payment schemes can coexist in an orderly way and to prevent improper or duplicate payments. This provision takes effect on 1 February 2027.
3. One of the more consequential changes for infrastructure players is the possibility of exemption from mandatory participation in Pix, effective immediately. The central bank said it may waive participation for institutions with more than 500,000 active transactional accounts when specific client characteristics or the business model do not justify access to Pix infrastructure.
4. The BC also tightened admission and retention procedures for institutions in Pix. Among the measures: approvals can be annulled if they were obtained through false information or material omissions during onboarding; institutions under extrajudicial liquidation are now immediately suspended, and the liquidator has up to 30 days to request an orderly exit process; and there are new rules for contract termination with a responsible participant, plus adjustments to rules on cancellation or revocation of operating authorization.

For high-risk PSPs and acquirers, the key detail is not the headline change itself but the shape of the perimeter. Brazil is keeping Pix central to retail payments while giving the regulator more room to remove institutions whose client base or model does not fit the scheme, and it is adding explicit handling for salary accounts, hybrid billing, and insolvent participants.