Starting this Friday (1st), new rules for Pix come into force to combat fraud. The main one includes stricter limits for transactions via Pix on cell phones that have not yet been registered.
Now, on a device where the customer accesses their bank account for the first time, each transaction will have a limit of up to R$200. The same goes for computers.
The user will be able to carry out repeated transactions in this case, but with a limit of R$1,000 per day.
According to the Central Bank, the objective of the change is to combat fraud, specifically those involving so-called “social engineering”, when scammers use tricks such as false links sent by email or instant message to capture customers’ login and password – starting to make transfers from their own devices.
READ MORE: Complete guide to Pix
What to do in case of a scam
Have you been the victim of a scam on Pix? According to the BC, you must follow these steps here:
- Contact the bank, report the case and request a refund;
- At the same time, the Central Bank recommends registering a police report at the police station;
- Upon report, your bank must immediately register the infraction notification
- Next, the institution must establish the Pix Special Return Mechanism (MED).
As a result, the alleged scammer’s bank must block the amounts. Your bank and his bank then have a period of up to seven calendar days to evaluate the case and check for signs of fraud or scam. If fraud is proven, his bank must return the amount to you.
The deadline is up to 96 hours (four calendar days) after the assessment is completed.
If the problem is not resolved by both banks, the BC says you can make an official complaint to Procon in your state, take legal action or report to the Central Bank itself. In the latter case, the BC will notify the alleged scammer’s bank to monitor the account and try to identify suspicious transactions.
Anyone who made a Pix, but later gave up after some “commercial disagreement” or delivery error, for example, is not covered by the return mechanism.
According to the BC, in this case, the mechanism only works if payment goes through, but the product is not sent.
Anyone who received messages saying that a Pix was made by mistake for their account must first check whether the transaction actually took place. If it actually happened, the Central Bank recommends returning it via your bank’s app, directly to the account where the money came from.
This is because one of the scams monitored by the government involves people demanding duplicate returns. First they actually send you the Pix. Then they ask:
- So that you can return it – but to another bank account.
- Why for another? To “release” the original account. The scammer pretends that you haven’t returned anything and demands that the bank make the refund, using the Special Return Mechanism. In this, he has the original Pix back; and doubles the “investment” using the Special Mechanism.
Changes for banks
Banks will also have new rules, including a biannual check of the database where the BC registers users with some fraud flag.
In these cases, the Central Bank expects institutions to take measures in relation to these customers, such as a precautionary block to receive transactions, a longer time limit for authorizing new transactions or even closing the account.
In addition to this differentiated treatment, financial companies must adopt security and risk analysis tools capable of identifying whether a transaction via Pix is “atypical” or “not compatible” with that customer’s profile, in addition to widely disseminating information about precautions to avoid scams and fraud.
READ MORE: How Drex can become the ‘self-driving car’ of your finances
Expansion and future of Pix
This year, Pix’s rules have already been put into practice, this time to expand the range of institutions that participate in the instant payments system.
In July, the Central Bank and the National Monetary Council (CMN) created new rules, which reduced the number of steps in the payment journey. This allowed instant transfers to be carried out without the need to access financial institutions’ applications.
The change allows for contactless payment and the offer of Pix in digital wallets – the wallets of the cell phone.
At the end of the month, Google announced: will allow Brazilian users to make Pix through Google Paythe company’s digital wallet that is embedded in Android devices and the Google Chrome browser. The connection is made through Open Finance.
Other future changes have already been announced. One of them is Pix Automatic, which was scheduled for October this year, but its release was postponed to June 16, 2025.
The idea is that you can give prior authorization on your cell phone or computer to allow periodic debits, without the need to authenticate each transaction. This would apply to scheduling payments of monthly fees and subscriptions – in the image and similarity of what happens with a credit card.
