Shopify + Pix in Brazil: how to actually get paid

If you run a Shopify store in Brazil, your single biggest conversion lever is probably your payment mix. Brazilian shoppers expect Pix and installments, and offering them well is the difference between a checkout that converts and one that leaks. The catch is that Shopify Payments, the built-in gateway in many countries, isn't available in Brazil, so the local payment experience is something you assemble. This guide covers that assembly, then the part most guides skip: what happens when some of your money arrives from outside Brazil.

Details are current as of June 2026. Brazilian tax and FX rules in particular have moved recently, so treat specific rates as a starting point and confirm with a local contador before relying on them. For the broader gateway comparison, see our Shopify Payments alternatives guide.

Why Pix comes first

Pix, the Central Bank's instant-payment system, has become the default way Brazilians pay online. For you as a merchant, two things matter: it settles fast, and it's cheap. Pix transactions can cost a merchant many times less than a credit-card transaction, which goes straight to your margin. A store that buries Pix or doesn't offer it well is paying card fees it doesn't need to and losing buyers who simply prefer Pix. So the first rule of getting paid on Shopify in Brazil is: make Pix prominent and frictionless.

Wiring up the gateway

Because Shopify Payments isn't in Brazil, you connect a third-party gateway that brings Pix, boleto and card installments into your checkout. The two common choices:

• Mercado Pago integrates with Shopify and covers Pix, boleto and cards with installments. It's widely used and familiar to Brazilian shoppers, which helps approval and trust.
• PagBrasil built a Shopify app aimed specifically at cross-border and conversion, including enhancements like a faster boleto (confirmation within about a business hour, or instant via Pix) and multiple Pix flows.

Setup is broadly the same: install the gateway's Shopify app or add it under Settings → Payments, link it to your gateway account, complete the gateway's verification, and enable the methods you want. Then test a small live transaction end to end to confirm Pix and boleto actually appear and settle.

Pix, boleto and installments: the right mix

• Pix for speed and low cost; make it the prominent default.
• Boleto for buyers who pay by bank slip; it settles slower (the buyer pays later), so it affects cash-flow timing rather than just fees. Enhanced boleto products speed up confirmation.
• Cards with installments (parcelamento) because the ability to split a purchase drives conversion in Brazil, especially on higher-ticket items. Installments cost more in fees, so price them in.

The art is offering all three without cluttering checkout. Lead with Pix, keep installments available for bigger baskets, and treat boleto as a backstop for the bank-slip crowd.

Fees and settlement timing

Gateway pricing in Brazil varies by method and, especially by when you want the money. Faster settlement (immediate vs. 14 or 30 days) usually costs more. So your real cost isn't one number; it's a grid of method times settlement timeline. Pix is cheapest and fast; cards cost more and installments more again; quicker payout schedules add a premium.

When money comes from abroad

Everything above is domestic: a Brazilian buyer paying a Brazilian store in reais is not a foreign-exchange event, and IOF-câmbio doesn't apply to it. The picture changes the moment money enters Brazil from outside, for example if you sell internationally and collect USD, or receive a payout from a foreign platform.

To receive an international transfer in Brazil you generally need a valid CPF, a Brazilian bank account in your name, and documentation of the nature of the transfer (an invoice, a contract). The receiving institution classifies the transfer under a Central Bank nature code and may ask for supporting documents, and transfers above USD 10,000 typically attract extra scrutiny. If you'd rather hold foreign currency and convert deliberately, a transparent account like Wise or Payoneer can receive USD/EUR first; see our Wise vs Payoneer guide.

IOF and the contrato de câmbio

Two terms you'll meet the first time foreign money lands:

• Contrato de câmbio (exchange contract). For inbound foreign currency through a licensed institution, the bank creates an exchange contract recording the parties, amount, rate and nature code. It's the documented, legal way money converts into reais, and it's what gives your income a clean trail.
• IOF (Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras). A federal tax on financial operations. Inbound international transfers have commonly carried a low rate around 0.38%, but câmbio rates were increased and standardized by Decree 12,466/2025, unifying many operations at higher levels. The key point: IOF is charged because of how money enters or moves in Brazil, not because you earned it abroad, and rates have changed recently.

How to choose

• Selling to Brazilians? Lead with Pix on a local gateway (Mercado Pago or PagBrasil), keep installments for bigger orders, and set a settlement timeline your cash flow can live with.
• Selling abroad too? Collect foreign currency in a transparent account, then bring it in through a documented câmbio, budgeting IOF.
• Either way: keep your CPF and business name consistent, document every inbound transfer, and don't chase informal FX.

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