Travel money
Travel money in Brazil: cash or card?
Cards work almost everywhere, which is just as well because Pix — how Brazil actually pays — needs a workaround for visitors. A few apps now open it up without a Brazilian tax number, and cash has become close to unnecessary.
Brazilian real (BRL, R$) · figures checked against the sources at the foot of this page
Beach vendors, some feiras, small towns, and a reserve for the places a card reader has not reached.
Nearly everything else, contactless included — Brazil took to cards and QR faster than most of Europe.
A small float in reais. Carrying a lot of cash is neither necessary nor a good idea here.
Withdrawing at night. Machines cap low after dark for safety reasons, and street machines are best avoided then.
The money itself
- 2 R$Blue
- 5 R$Violet
- 10 R$Red
- 20 R$Yellow
- 50 R$Beige-brown
- 100 R$Blue-green
- 200 R$Grey
5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos, and 1 real. Small change rounds away in most places, and a country this card-heavy gives you few chances to accumulate them.
The 200 real note is recent and rarely seen; the 100 is the practical top. Machines dispense 50s and 100s, and a beach vendor or a feira stall will struggle with either, so break them at a supermarket before you need small notes.
Every way to pay, and whether it works for a visitor
Whether a payment method exists in Brazil and whether you can use it are different questions. This table answers the second one: no local bank account, no local SIM, no residency.
Visa / Mastercard
WorksAccepted almost everywhere, contactless included and down to very small amounts — cafés, kiosks, market stalls, beach kiosks with a portable reader. Brazil's card and QR infrastructure is genuinely world-class.
Apple Pay / Google Pay
WorksWorks anywhere contactless does, which is nearly everywhere in the cities. Nothing to register locally.
Pix, via a visitor app
Works, with a catchPix is how the country pays — instant, free, on every counter as a QR code — and it normally needs a CPF and a Brazilian account. A handful of travel apps now bridge that: verify with a passport, load from a foreign card, and scan Pix QRs like a local. It is the exception to the pattern everywhere else in this set, though it is a third-party route rather than something your own bank offers.
Cash (reais)
WorksAlways accepted and useful for beach vendors, some feiras and small towns. Carrying a lot of it is not the norm here and is not a good idea in the cities.
Brazilian bank apps and wallets
Residents onlyNubank, Mercado Pago and the rest sit on a CPF and a Brazilian account. They are what the Pix QR on the counter is usually scanned with, and they are not open to a visitor directly.
Cash
Brazil is further into cashless payment than most of Europe, and from an unexpected direction: both cards and Pix are near-universal, including at the small end. A coconut seller on the beach or a stall at a feira may well have a card reader or a printed QR code.
What cash still buys you is the last few percent — a vendor with neither, a small town, a favela tour, a tip in an envelope. A modest float covers it, and there is a safety argument for keeping it modest as well as a practical one.
Withdraw during the day, from machines inside bank branches, shopping centres or airports. Many machines reduce their limits sharply after 10pm, a security measure rather than an inconvenience, and a street machine at night is the situation to avoid.
Cards
Card acceptance is excellent and terminals are everywhere, including handheld ones carried by beach and street vendors. Contactless is standard, and paying in two or three interest-free instalments — parcelado — is offered constantly, which is a domestic credit habit rather than something a visitor needs.
Debit and credit are treated as distinct choices at the terminal and you will be asked which; either works with a foreign card. Chip and PIN is the norm.
Decline dynamic currency conversion at terminals and machines. The real is volatile, which makes a quoted home-currency amount feel reassuring and makes it no cheaper.
ATMs
Banco24Horas machines are the widest network for foreign cards and are found in shopping centres, petrol stations and airports; Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and Santander machines also work with varying reliability. Expect a fixed fee of about twenty reais and check the screen before confirming.
Night limits are the country-specific quirk: many machines cut the maximum withdrawal sharply after about 10pm as an anti-robbery measure. If you need cash for an evening, take it out in daylight.
Use machines inside branches, malls or airports rather than on the street, and decline the conversion offer every time.
Changing money
Casas de câmbio in the cities and airports change dollars and euros, and the city ones are meaningfully better than the airport. Bring clean notes; older series get worse rates.
For most visitors an ATM or a card is simpler, and the amount of cash needed is small enough that the difference rarely justifies a special trip.
The real moves a good deal against major currencies, so treat a large cash balance held for weeks as a small unintended bet, and change in stages rather than all at once.
Costs that are not the price
The 10% service charge
Restaurants add a taxa de serviço of 10% to the bill. It is customary rather than legally compulsory — you may decline it — but it is how waiting staff are effectively paid, and declining without reason is unusual. Where it appears, no further tip is expected.
The couvert artístico
Bars and restaurants with live music add a per-person cover charge for the performance, separate from the food. It should be posted at the door or on the menu, and it is a normal part of a night out rather than a surprise fee — provided you noticed the sign.
Card instalments are for residents
You will constantly be asked how many instalments you want, sometimes for small amounts. It is a domestic credit feature that a foreign card does not use — answer one, or à vista, and move on.
Beach and street prices are agreed first
Beach chairs, umbrellas, coconuts and drinks are often unpriced. Asking before accepting anything is normal and removes the only common billing argument visitors have here.
Paying for transport
Some cities take a bank card at the gate
São Paulo's metro and CPTM accept contactless bank cards and phones directly at the turnstile, and Rio's metro and several other cities have followed. Where they have not, the local stored-value card is bought at a station.
Ride apps are the default
Uber and 99 cover the cities, quote in advance and take a foreign card in the app. In Rio and São Paulo they are how most visitors move, particularly at night.
Long-distance buses and flights
Intercity coaches are comfortable and sold online by card, and domestic flights are often cheaper than the distances suggest. Both are booked well in advance around holidays and Carnival.
What you may carry in and out
Declaring cash
More than R$10,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency must be declared to customs when entering or leaving Brazil.
The real does not travel well
Reais change back poorly outside Brazil, so spend down or convert before you fly rather than carrying a balance home.
Common questions about money in Brazil
Can tourists use Pix in Brazil?
Not directly through your own bank — Pix normally requires a CPF, Brazil's tax number, and a Brazilian account. A handful of travel apps now bridge the gap: verify with a passport, load from a foreign card and scan Pix QR codes like a local. That makes Brazil the exception in this set, where every other country's instant-payment system is closed to visitors outright.
Do I need cash in Brazil?
Very little. Cards and Pix reach further down the price scale here than in most of Europe — beach vendors carry readers. Keep a small float for the occasional vendor with neither, and for small towns.
Why do ATMs give me less money at night?
Many Brazilian machines cut their withdrawal limits sharply after around 10pm as an anti-robbery measure. It is deliberate, not a fault. Withdraw in daylight, from a machine inside a branch, mall or airport.
What is the 10% on my restaurant bill?
The taxa de serviço, the standard service charge. It is customary rather than legally mandatory and you may decline it, but it is effectively how waiting staff are paid, and where it appears no additional tip is expected.
Why does the card machine ask how many instalments I want?
Because paying in interest-free instalments is a normal domestic credit habit in Brazil, offered even on small amounts. It does not apply to a foreign card — answer one instalment, or à vista, and the payment goes through as usual.
Are there ATM fees in Brazil?
Around R$20 per withdrawal at Banco24Horas and similar networks, on top of your own bank's charges, with the amount shown before you confirm. Decline the offer to convert into your home currency and take reais.
Should I carry a lot of cash in Brazil?
No, and not only for cost reasons. Card and Pix acceptance is broad enough that a large cash balance is unnecessary, and carrying one in the big cities is not sensible. Withdraw modest amounts in daylight as you need them.
Where these figures come from
Checked against the following on . Fees and thresholds move; where a figure varies by bank or by machine, this page gives the range rather than inventing a single number.