Payment institutions gain ground by offering a safer model for customer funds
Recent cases fuel the debate over the differences between banks and payment institutions and draw market attention to the safety of deposited funds
Brazil, June 1, 2026 – Discussions about safety in the Brazilian financial system have gained momentum in recent weeks after two developments relevant to the sector. On one side, the agreement between the federal government, the Federal District government and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to enable a bailout worth billions of reais for Banco de Brasília (BRB), following the controversial acquisition of assets from Banco Master. On the other, the Central Bank of Brazil’s decision to expand regulatory requirements for fintechs and payment institutions (PIs) through 2028.
The episodes rekindled a common question among consumers and businesses: what exactly is the difference between a traditional bank and a payment institution? And which model offers greater protection for deposited funds? According to experts at Trio Grupo Financeiro, a company specializing in financial infrastructure, payments, credit and investments, the answer lies mainly in how each type of institution can use its customers’ money.
Although banks and payment institutions are both regulated and supervised by the Central Bank, the way they operate is quite different. According to Guilherme Fernandes, Trio’s Marketing Director, banks are authorized to take deposits and use them in lending operations. “A bank can use customer deposits to grant loans, finance operations and acquire financial assets. It’s precisely this capacity for financial intermediation that defines the banking model,” he explains.
Payment institutions, on the other hand, operate under a different logic. “PIs cannot use the funds deposited by customers to lend money or take on credit risk. The balance must remain fully safeguarded, usually in federal government bonds or at the Central Bank itself,” says Fernandes.
In practice, this means the money deposited in a payment account must be available in full. “If a payment institution holds R$1 million deposited by customers, it has to prove to the Central Bank every day that the same R$1 million remains in custody. These funds cannot be used to finance third parties,” Fernandes adds.
In the experts’ view, it is precisely this feature that makes payment institutions structurally safer when it comes to protecting deposited funds. “From the perspective of someone keeping money in an account, PIs have an important advantage: customer funds don’t mix with the company’s operations. They remain segregated and protected,” says Fernandes. The executive stresses that this doesn’t mean banks are unsafe, but rather that the risks involved are different. “Banks operate on a credit-based model. That works very well most of the time, but it requires protection mechanisms such as the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC), precisely because deposits are part of the institution’s funding structure,” he explains. According to him, the existence of the FGC shows that the system itself recognizes the need for coverage against this type of risk.
The BRB case illustrates the structural difference
For experts, the BRB case helps clarify this difference. The bank came under scrutiny after acquiring a loan portfolio worth billions of reais from Banco Master, a transaction that raised technical questions and led to the need for an agreement to guarantee financial support for the institution. According to Fernandes, an operation of this kind simply could not take place within a payment institution. “The BRB case involves a decision to allocate capital to credit assets. A PI has no regulatory authorization to buy and carry this type of asset on its balance sheet. The business model doesn’t allow that kind of exposure,” he explains.
He notes, however, that this doesn’t mean PIs are immune to risk. “There are important challenges involving anti-money laundering, digital fraud and operational controls. But those are completely different from the risks related to financial intermediation and bank lending.”
The Central Bank reinforces the separation between models
The perception that banks and payment institutions need to be clearly distinguished is also behind recent regulatory measures. One of them is the Central Bank’s decision to bar payment institutions from using terms such as “bank” or “banco” in their brand names. For Andressa Lipski, Trio’s Governance Director, the measure seeks to increase transparency for consumers and businesses. “The goal is to eliminate confusion about the nature of these institutions. A PI is not a bank: it has a different license, a different regulatory framework and a different risk model. Consumers need to understand this difference to make more informed decisions,” she says.
According to her, the measure also contributes to the sector’s maturity. “Fintechs will need to communicate their real benefits — technology, efficiency and user experience — without relying on an automatic association with the banking world,” she says.
For Luiz Fernando Ferreira, Trio’s CFO, the decision goes far beyond a question of naming. “The main point is the regulatory signal behind the measure. The Central Bank is reinforcing a clearer separation between institutions that operate as banks and payment institutions, which have a different regulatory framework and a different risk profile,” he says. According to him, the change is likely to benefit the market itself by making the nature of each institution more transparent to consumers. “A payment institution is not a bank. It doesn’t use customer balances for lending, doesn’t carry the same kind of balance sheet risk and operates under a different regulatory logic. When the regulator requires this difference to be explicit, it strengthens the market’s understanding of how each model works,” he explains.
Ferreira believes the measure also marks a maturing of the Brazilian financial ecosystem. “For a long time, some fintechs used the term ‘bank’ as a positioning shortcut. Now the sector is entering a phase in which trust will have to be built through the quality of the technology, operational efficiency and transparency about the services provided. That’s positive for the whole market,” the CFO concludes.
Beyond the differences in the safety of funds, payment institutions have also taken center stage for their capacity to innovate. Because they operate with leaner, more specialized structures, PIs have been able to accelerate digitization and expand access to financial services. “Much of the financial inclusion seen in recent years happened through payment institutions. They managed to offer fee-free digital accounts, simplified account opening and fully digital experiences to millions of Brazilians,” says Fernandes.
Fintechs and payment institutions played a major part in expanding access to banking in the country, especially among groups historically excluded from the traditional financial system. For businesses, especially small and midsize ones, the impact has also been significant. “PIs democratized access to solutions that used to be available only to large companies, such as digital payment methods, streamlined reconciliation, integrated financial management and advanced technology infrastructure,” Fernandes concludes.
As the Central Bank steps up its supervision of the sector and reinforces the regulatory distinction between banks and payment institutions, experts believe the market will move toward an environment with more transparency, greater safety for consumers and a clearer understanding of the role each type of institution plays within the Brazilian financial system.
About Trio Grupo Financeiro
Founded in 2020 by Peterson Ferreira dos Santos and Manoel de Oliveira Souza, entrepreneurs with deep experience in technology and the financial market, Trio Grupo Financeiro was conceived to offer financial infrastructure capable of keeping pace with companies’ growth. Among its differentiators is a strong commitment to proprietary technology and advanced financial infrastructure. Trio develops solutions designed especially for the corporate environment, notably financial management tools, API integration, streamlined reconciliation systems and solutions built on Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system. For more information, visit www.trio.com.br or the official Instagram profile: @trio.fin.