Brazil’s Finance Minister pushes the Central Bank to tighten fintech supervision as illegal bets and money laundering move through the system

Dario Durigan says the Banco Central do Brasil needs to move faster on fintechs being used by organized crime to launder money and process funds from illegal betting. For PSPs and payment operators, the point is straightforward: Brazil is now pairing tougher supervision with a capital reset that will force weaker players out or into consolidation.

1. Speaking on Rádio Gaúcha on Thursday (9/7), Durigan said he sees “many fintechs” being used by organized crime to launder money and receive funds from bet ilegal (illegal betting). He also said the Banco Central had not been scheduled to look at these fintechs in time.
2. Durigan attributed the problem to the period under former Central Bank president Roberto Campos Neto, accusing that management of creating “anarchy” by allowing these companies to operate without adequate supervision mechanisms. Campos Neto did not respond when contacted by the report.
3. The Central Bank’s response is already in motion. New minimum capital requirements will be phased in through December 2027, with the first effects arriving in 2026. In the May Relatório de Estabilidade Financeira (REF), the authority said 19% of institutions — 339 out of 1,751 — will already fail to meet the new requirements this year.
4. The pressure rises further over time: the Central Bank estimates that 679 companies will be out of compliance in January 2028, when the rule fully takes effect. Those firms will have two options: leave the Sistema Financeiro Nacional (SFN) after a transition period meant to protect customers, or merge with other players to reach the required capital level.
5. The capital floor itself is moving up sharply. For instituições de pagamento (payment institutions), the previous minimum ranged from R$ 1 million to R$ 9 million; under the new framework it will range from R$ 9.2 million to R$ 32.8 million. Cooperativas de crédito, sociedades de crédito direto (SCDs), multiple banks, consórcio administrators and DTVMs are also in scope.

The regulatory context matters for high-risk PSPs because Brazil’s crackdown is not just about bad actors. It is also about operational cleanup: the Central Bank has spent the last 11 months building measures to close loopholes that criminal groups have been using, including contas-bolsão (pooled accounts opened by intermediary institutions in their own name to concentrate funds from multiple clients).