BC improves limit rules for Pix and discloses other operational changes

The Central Bank changed this Thursday (1th) the limits rules for Pix transactions and released other operational improvements to the instant payment tool.

As anticipated by Broadcast, BC relieved financial institutions participating in Pix from accepting customer requests to change the night period and eliminated the mandatory limit per transaction, maintaining only the limit per day period.

In August 2021, BC set a limit of BRL 1,000 for overnight transfers, to try to make it difficult for criminals, such as robberies and lightning kidnappings.

But it allowed users to change the start time of that period, as well as change the total amount allowed per operation for the entire day.

This flexibility, however, was considered little demanded by users, with low effectiveness to limit crimes and a lot of operational complexity for financial institutions.

Now, the request to increase the limit may be accepted at the discretion of the participating institution. As for the night period, it is defined from 8 pm to 6 am, but banks and other participants may offer, at their discretion, the possibility of changing it to between 10 pm and 6 am.

In addition, the BC determined that institutions will now be able to define the limits for legal entities. Another change was the alteration of the marker for defining transactional limits in operations with the purpose of purchase, which becomes the TED instead of the debit card.

“The Central Bank (BC) updated the rules on value limits for transactions within the scope of Pix, with the aim of simplifying the implementation rules and improving the user experience when managing limits through apps, maintaining the current level of security”, says the agency, in a newsletter on the subject.

According to the BC, the rules for requesting changes in limits have not changed. The requirement was maintained that requests to reduce limits – whether for withdrawal transactions, payments or transfers – be accepted immediately, while requests to increase limits are processed and take effect, if accepted by the participant, between 24 and 48 hours upon user request.

The change in limits was approved during a plenary meeting of the Pix Forum, which brings together the market and BC, at the end of September. As Broadcast showed, at the time, the municipality also approved changes to increase Pix’s security against fraud and leaks, but the editing of these measures should be for next year.

Another change in limits was the increase for cash withdrawals through Pix Loot and Pix Troco transactions. Currently, the withdrawal limit with Pix is ​​R$ 500.00 during the day and R$ 100.00 during the night.

The limits will be R$ 3,000.00 and R$ 1,000.00, respectively. “This measure aims to adapt the limits usually available at ATMs for traditional withdrawals. Thus, with Pix Saque, users will have access to the service with conditions similar to those of traditional withdrawal.”

The new rules come into force on January 2nd, except for the adjustments to the provisions related to making the limit management functionality available to customers through the institution’s application or digital channel, which are in effect from July 3rd, 2023.

The BC also made operational changes to Pix, to facilitate the receipt of funds by bank correspondents, as is already the case with lottery outlets, and to enable the payment of wages, retirements and pensions by the National Treasury through Pix.