Latest Payments News: Brazil’s New Fraud Rule Creates Compliance Challenge For Payment Firms, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Brazil’s New Fraud Rule Creates Compliance Challenge For Payment Firms

The sweeping new regulation obligating banks and authorised payment institutions to reject transactions sent to accounts reasonably suspected of involvement in fraud will require rapid upgrades to processes and systems.

The resolution, approved on September 11, 2025, takes effect immediately, and means that financial institutions in the country have until October 13 to adapt their systems and processes to comply.

According to the resolution, institutions must use all available information, including data from electronic systems and public or private databases, to determine whether an account may be linked to fraudulent activity. They must also notify customers of any actions taken, including blocked transactions.

The measure forms part of a wider effort by the BCB to strengthen the security of Brazil’s National Financial System (SFN) following organised crime attacks on payment and financial institutions.

As covered by Vixio, the central bank last week unveiled a separate package of reforms to Pix and other payment channels. These imposed tighter deadlines, stricter authorisation and higher capital thresholds on payment institutions and the technology providers that connect them to the financial system.

In the attacks that prompted the rule changes, criminals reportedly stole around $130m from Brazil’s real-time payment system using valid credentials from an IT service provider.

One affected company, Sinqia, which operates a Pix connection platform used by 24 banks, suspended transaction processing after detecting the breach and called in external cybersecurity experts. Some of the stolen funds have since been recovered.

The new anti-fraud rules are aimed primarily at money mule accounts and accounts linked to organised crime groups, and the BCB cited recent attacks on financial and payment institutions as a driver for the measure.

The resolution is also designed to identify synthetic or compromised accounts created with stolen credentials or shell entities to move funds undetected.

Surcharge Ban Set To Reshape New Zealand’s Payments Landscape

New Zealand’s government decision to prohibit surcharges on most in-store card transactions should reduce consumer costs and improve price transparency, but may trigger disputes over fees between merchants, card schemes and regulators.

The Retail Payment System (Ban on Merchant Surcharges) Amendment Bill, introduced on September 16, amends the Retail Payment System Act 2022.

It will outlaw surcharges on Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS), as well as Visa and Mastercard debit and credit payments. The ban will cover both contactless and chip-and-PIN transactions.

According to the bill, consumers currently pay an estimated NZ$150m ($90m) per year in surcharges, with up to NZ$65m ($39m) of that likely exceeding merchants’ actual costs of accepting payments.

The country’s Commerce Commission has warned that charges are often disclosed only at the point of payment, making it more difficult for consumers to compare prices.

Under the bill, any surcharge imposed in breach of the ban would be unenforceable and must be refunded to the consumer.

The Commerce Commission would be empowered to enforce the prohibition through corrective notices and financial penalties. It would also retain the ability to set merchant-surcharging standards for payment types not covered by the ban.

The government would also have powers to extend the ban to other payment methods in future, such as online transactions or additional networks.

The proposal brings New Zealand into line with jurisdictions such as the EU, the UK and Malaysia that have already banned most card surcharges, and anticipates similar reforms under way in Australia.

If passed, the new rules would take effect one month after royal assent.

French, Austrian And Italian Regulators Push For Better Crypto Oversight

The call by three of the EU’s major financial supervisors for tighter and more harmonised oversight of crypto-asset markets, aimed at addressing flaws in the EU’s crypto regime, could create new compliance challenges for payments firms.

In a joint position document sent to the EU’s overseers, Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob), France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and Austria’s Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehörde (FMA) said they identified “major differences” in national supervision during the first months of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation’s application.

The regulation, which has been in force since December 30, 2024, introduced a bloc-wide licensing regime for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and was hailed as a global first, even by the industry.

Since its introduction, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has sought to coordinate the actions of national regulators across the EU.

However, the three authorities said that the disparities in implementation highlight the need “to quickly strengthen the supervisory architecture” to ensure the proper functioning of the European internal market.

Without changes, they warned, national regulators might have to use MiCA’s precautionary measures to protect investors in their countries from firms that are authorised in other EU states.

Adapting Sanctions Enforcement To Address Crypto-Based Evasion

Regulators need to boost their oversight and auditing of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions imposed on states such as Russia.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have highlighted the issue, urging the European Commission to act against a new cryptocurrency that they say is helping Moscow evade Western sanctions and fund political influence operations abroad.

In a written question to the Commission, Bart Groothuis, Anouk Van Brug, Ľubica Karvašová, Karin Karlsbro and Dan Barna highlighted the emergence of “A7A5”, a token allegedly launched by a fugitive Moldovan oligarch in partnership with a Russian defence-sector bank that is already under EU sanctions.

The MEPs, who all sit with the centrist Renew group, cite news reports indicating that around $9.3bn worth of A7A5 tokens have been traded on a dedicated exchange within just four months of its launch, making it one of Moscow’s most powerful tools for circumventing restrictions on cross-border capital flows.

The MEPs also warned that the token appears to be used to finance influence campaigns outside Russia, and cited earlier reports that cryptocurrencies are also facilitating Russia’s oil trade with China and India.

The parliamentarians asked whether, in light of this development, the Commission would follow the UK in sanctioning the A7 platform and its owners and backers. They also questioned whether operators of such exchanges could face criminal liability for sanctions evasion, and what additional steps Brussels might take with international partners to counter the use of crypto in evading sanctions.

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