Brazil’s Central Bank Seeks Supreme Court Ruling to Block Flood of Fintech Lawsuits

Overview

• The central bank has asked the Supremo Tribunal Federal for a binding position after a federal court granted a preliminary injunction that let a denied fintech, Corpag, keep operating on the Pix, creating a risk of scattered rulings by lower courts.
• Senate leaders are preparing a vote in the CCJ on PEC 65 to grant constitutional financial autonomy to the Banco Central and enshrine exclusive BC control and free access rules for the Pix, driven by recent U.S. trade pressure and cuts to the BC budget.
• In November 2025 the BC raised minimum capital for payment institutions from R$1 million to R$9.2 million on a phased schedule, and the bank now estimates roughly 63% of the roughly 200 payment firms will fail to meet the new rules by full implementation in 2028.
• The BC has moved to liquidate firms tied to organized crime after hacks and police operations exposed weak governance, and the authority says it lacks enough skilled staff, qualified liquidators and legal tools to complete the sector cleanup safely.
• If the STF does not issue a binding ruling, the bank warns that a wave of injunctions could fragment enforcement, threaten Pix stability and complicate responses to possible U.S. trade measures, making approval of the PEC and a new resolution law key items to watch.