Brazilian Federal Revenue Service proposes debate on the oversight of fintech companies.
Special Secretary Robinson Barreirinhas warns about the use of payment institutions in illicit activities and highlights the need for regulation.
247 - The Special Secretary of the Federal Revenue, Robinson Barreirinhas, defended the resumption of discussions on the supervision of fintechs — financial technology companies. He highlighted that there are "strong indications" that smaller payment institutions are being used for money laundering. The statement occurred during testimony to the Bets CPI this Tuesday (11).
The secretary highlighted the lack of transparency of fintechs, especially smaller ones, which often do not provide information to any regulatory body. "Many of them don't provide information to anyone. At some point, we're going to have to discuss what we're going to do, whether it will be a sector that remains separate from monitoring. It's an open debate that we're going to have to discuss," stated Barreirinhas.
Last September, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service issued a normative instruction requiring institutions and credit card operators to report their clients' transactions semi-annually, in cases of transactions exceeding R$ 5 for individuals or R$ 15 for legal entities.
However, the rule was revoked in January of this year after the spread of false information linking it to an alleged tax on transactions via Pix. Barreirinhas described the episode as an "avalanche of fake news" during his testimony at the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry). "We had to backtrack because it was already impacting the use of Pix, which had nothing to do with this story," he added.
thriving market
Brazil has emerged as one of the leading fintech markets in the world. According to data from Fincatch, a platform that maps and categorizes fintechs in the country, there were 1.844 registered fintechs in 2023, a number that increased to 2.048 in 2024.
The rapid growth of fintechs in Brazil has promoted financial inclusion and increased competitiveness in the banking sector. However, this expansion also presents regulatory and oversight challenges, especially regarding the prevention of illicit activities such as money laundering.
