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Foreign currency accounts in Brazil: who may hold dollars onshore from October 2026 and what they can be used for

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Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Since 1 October 2026 exporters, companies with direct foreign shareholders, companies that owe external credit, and their foreign parents and lenders may hold foreign currency deposit accounts at Brazilian banks. Money can move into and out of these accounts without an FX contract, but each type of account is ring fenced: exporters' accounts take export and foreign receipts, while investor and borrower accounts move only direct investment and external credit funds. Cash and cheques are barred, and converting into reais still needs an FX contract.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.5007 per US dollar for 26 October 2026, the last rate published before verification. Conversions are for orientation only; the rate on the day of each FX contract will differ.

Key facts

Foreign currency accounts for companies with direct non resident equity	Allowed from 1 October 2026 Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 70 XIV, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Foreign currency accounts for exporters of goods	Allowed from 1 October 2026 Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 70 XII, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Foreign currency accounts in Brazil for non resident parents and lenders	Allowed from 1 October 2026 Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 70 XV and XVI, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
FX contract needed to move foreign currency into or out of these accounts	No Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 70 sole paragraph, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate, reais per US dollar	5.5007 BRLBanco Central do Brasil PTAX, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Foreign currency deposit accounts in Brazil may be opened and kept by banks authorized for FX, and the funds may be freely invested in the international market, unless special law or a regulator restricts it.Resolução BCB nº 277, Art. 69 § 1, 2022-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Eligible holders now include exporters of goods (item XII), private resident companies that owe external credit (XIII), companies in Brazil with direct non resident equity (XIV), non resident companies that lend to residents (XV) and non resident companies with direct equity in a Brazilian company (XVI), alongside earlier categories such as tourism, insurers and reinsurers, energy and oil and gas projects, non resident carriers, embassies and FX institutions. No FX contract is needed to move foreign currency into or out of these accounts, including conversions between foreign currencies.Resolução BCB nº 277, art. 70 items XII to XVI and sole paragraph, inserted by Resolução BCB nº 575 of 18 June 2026, Art. 70, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Resolução BCB nº 575 of 18 June 2026, in force from 1 October 2026, added items XII to XVI and the FX contract waiver.

3. Exporters' accounts may be credited only with export revenue and other amounts from abroad. Conversion into reais needs an FX contract, and cash withdrawals and deposits and cheques are prohibited.
Example: An exporter can keep US$3,000,000 of sales receipts onshore (R$16,502,100 at PTAX) and pay a foreign supplier from the same account without an FX contract. / No minimum or maximum balance is set in the rule.Resolução BCB nº 277, art. 75-A inserted by Resolução BCB nº 575/2026, Art. 75-A, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Accounts of external debtors, foreign invested companies, foreign lenders and foreign parents are also subject to the foreign capital rules: credits and debits must come only from external credit or direct investment operations; conversion into reais needs an FX contract; cash and cheques are prohibited.Resolução BCB nº 277, art. 75-B inserted by Resolução BCB nº 575/2026, Art. 75-B, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Holders under items XIII to XVI must prove they have live external credit or direct investment operations subject to SCE-Crédito or SCE-IED reporting. Brazilian debtors and investee companies must also attest to their bank that this information is declared and up to date.
Cost to do it: No regulatory fee; bank account fees are set by each bank.Resolução BCB nº 278, art. 3-A inserted by Resolução BCB nº 575/2026, Art. 3-A, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Banks keeping foreign currency accounts report their information to the Central Bank through the FX system by the fifth day of the following month.Resolução BCB nº 277, art. 80-A inserted by Resolução BCB nº 575/2026, Art. 80-A, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Payment in foreign currency of obligations enforceable in Brazil is valid only in the cases listed in law, such as foreign trade, obligations with a non resident party and others set by the National Monetary Council; other foreign currency clauses are null. An onshore dollar account does not by itself allow dollar pricing between residents.Lei nº 14.286, Art. 13 and sole paragraph, 2021-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Holder	Item	What may go in and out
Exporter of goods	XII	Export revenue and other funds from abroad
Private resident company owing external credit	XIII	External credit funds only
Company in Brazil with direct non resident equity	XIV	Direct investment and external credit funds only
Non resident company lending to residents	XV	External credit funds only
Non resident company with direct equity in a Brazilian company	XVI	Direct investment funds only

New foreign currency account holders from 1 October 2026 (Resolução BCB nº 277 arts. 70, 75-A and 75-B).

Worked example

A foreign parent with a Brazilian subsidiary opens a dollar account in its own name at a Brazilian bank and the subsidiary opens another. The parent moves US$1,000,000 of new capital (R$5,500,700) into the subsidiary's dollar account with no FX contract (Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 70 sole paragraph). The subsidiary converts only what it needs into reais through FX contracts, so IOF of 0.38 percent arises only on the converted amount (Decreto nº 6.306 art. 15-B XXV). The capital is still reported in SCE-IED (Resolução BCB nº 278 arts. 3-A and 32).

Step by step

1. Check eligibility: exporter, external debtor, company with direct foreign equity, or the foreign parent or lender (Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 70).
2. Bring SCE-IED and SCE-Crédito records up to date and be ready to attest it to the bank (Resolução BCB nº 278 art. 3-A).
3. Ask banks authorized for FX whether they offer the accounts and at what fees.
4. Keep each account within its permitted flows; route other payments through ordinary FX contracts (arts. 75-A and 75-B).
5. Convert to reais only through FX contracts and check the IOF rate for the purpose.

Common traps

Using an investor account as a general treasury account. Only direct investment and external credit funds may move through it (Resolução BCB nº 277 art. 75-B).
Opening an account with stale SCE-IED or SCE-Crédito data. Eligibility depends on live, reported operations (Resolução BCB nº 278 art. 3-A).
Expecting to pay local suppliers in dollars. Foreign currency obligations between residents are void outside the legal exceptions (Lei nº 14.286 art. 13).
Depositing cash or cheques. Both are prohibited in the new accounts (arts. 75-A and 75-B).

Sources

Related: Brazil country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

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