Paying a team in Brazil from a Portuguese company: Pix, reais and IOF

A Lisbon product company has five developers in Brazil: two in Recife, two in Florianópolis, one in São Paulo. Each invoices about R$18,000 a month. The company used to pay them in euros by SWIFT. The developers' banks converted the euros on arrival, applied IOF, charged a receiving fee, and the amounts varied month to month in ways nobody could explain.

What happens to a euro wire in Brazil

Foreign currency cannot sit in an ordinary Brazilian account. When a euro transfer arrives, a Brazilian bank or exchange institution converts it into reais. Three things come off along the way:

• the bank's exchange margin,
• IOF, Brazil's tax on financial operations, charged on the exchange,
• a receiving fee, at some banks.

IOF rates on foreign exchange are set by decree and changed several times in 2025. The contractor's bank can confirm what applies today. The point for the Portuguese company is that the contractor bears all three, so a €3,200 invoice arrives as a figure the contractor cannot predict.

Paying in reais instead

Paying in reais, delivered locally to the contractor's account, moves the conversion to your side, where you see the rate before you pay. The contractor receives the agreed amount in reais, much as they would receive money from a Brazilian client by Pix.

Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, run by the central bank. Most Brazilians use it daily. Payments settle in seconds using a key such as a tax number (CPF or CNPJ), email or phone number.

Paperwork on both sides

On the Portuguese side, keep the contract, each invoice and proof of payment. Brazil and Portugal have a double taxation treaty. A Brazilian contractor working from Brazil is generally taxed there.

On the Brazilian side, many contractors invoice through their own small company, such as an MEI or ME, and issue a nota fiscal for exported services. Some invoice as individuals. Ask each one and record it.

Fix the exchange rule

If you agree prices in euros and pay in reais, write down which rate applies and on which day. If you agree prices in reais, the contractor knows exactly what arrives, and you carry the currency movement. Either works; ambiguity is what causes disputes.

Paying into Portugal: the local rail

Source: European Payments Council: SEPA Instant Credit Transfer. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

A Rivet business account pays contractors in 120+ countries, including Brazil, on local rails where they exist, from euro, dollar and other balances. Bulk payouts send all five invoices at once, the rate shows before you confirm, and from the Growth plan a second person can approve each run. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds.

For Brazil in more depth, see our BRL business payments guide.