The four options
- A Pix app for foreigners, like Liminal. Pix itself, scan, paste or key, paid from a balance in your own currency.
- A Brazilian bank account. A digital or high-street bank in Brazil, with Pix built in.
- An international transfer app. A money transfer or multi-currency app from home that can send reais to a Brazilian Pix key.
- A foreign card, plus cash. Your card from home, used wherever it is accepted.
Liminal: Pix for foreigners and gringos
This is what we built. Liminal gives you Pix itself, not a transfer to Pix, paid straight from a USD balance you fill from home.
- Eligibility: verify your identity with your passport or national ID. No CPF, no Brazilian bank account, no Brazilian phone number.
- Funding: bank transfer in US dollars, euros or pounds, or top up by Pix from a Brazilian account. Pounds and Pix top-ups land in your USD balance.
- Total cost: Pix is completely free, with no fees. The exchange rate and total are shown before you confirm.
- Everyday payments: scan a QR code at a till, paste Copia e Cola, or pay a Pix key, from $5 up to R$10,000 a payment.
- Rewards: earn LIL Bits when you pay by Pix at partner cafés and bars.
Why Liminal is cheaper than Wise
Wise is the name most people reach for when they move money abroad. Liminal is built to beat it on the part that costs you most: the exchange.
- Cheaper FX than Wise. Converting between currencies in Liminal costs a flat 0.24%, with no spread hidden in the rate.
- Checked live, not claimed. Our currency converter prices every amount against Wise’s live quote for the same transfer, fees included, and shows how much more you get with Liminal.
- Pix is completely free. Paying a café, a landlord or a taxi by Pix costs no fees at all.
And unlike a transfer app, Liminal is built for paying in Brazil day to day: the café counter, the beach kiosk and the taxi, not just the monthly rent.
Earn rewards every time you pay with Pix
With Liminal, Pix gives something back. Pay by Pix at partner cafés, bars and restaurants in Brazil and you earn LIL Bits, Liminal’s rewards. Each partner shows in the app how much you earn per dollar you spend.
Then you choose: keep your LIL Bits, or use them to pay at partners. Your coffee, on us.
A Brazilian bank account
The full local setup: Pix, a debit card, boletos, and a Brazilian account number.
- Eligibility: the hardest. Almost always a CPF, often proof of residence or an RNM, and a Brazilian phone number.
- Funding: an international transfer in, or a Brazilian salary.
- Total cost: Pix is free for individuals at Brazilian banks. Getting money in from abroad is where the cost sits.
- Everyday payments: everything, once you have the account.
An international transfer app
Many transfer apps can send reais to a Pix key, which is fine for paying a landlord or a supplier from a bank account at home.
- Eligibility: easy, you sign up in your home country.
- Funding: from your home bank, in your currency.
- Total cost: a transfer fee plus the exchange rate. Compare both, not just the fee.
- Everyday payments: usually limited to sending to a key, so check before you rely on one at a till.
A foreign card, plus cash
Card acceptance in Brazilian cities is good, and a card is the easiest thing to have on day one.
- Eligibility: nothing to set up.
- Funding: your existing account at home.
- Total cost: card network FX markups and foreign transaction fees, plus ATM fees for cash.
- Everyday payments: no Pix at all, and you miss the discounts many shops give for paying by Pix.
Which one should you choose?
- On holiday: Liminal. Set up Pix before you fly and scan from your first taxi.
- A digital nomad on a visa: Liminal, from day one, with no CPF or Brazilian SIM to sort out first.
- Moving for good: Liminal for bringing money in with cheaper FX than Wise, and for paying by Pix while you get settled.
- Paying rent from home: Liminal. Pay your landlord’s Pix key straight from your USD balance, with no fees.
New to Pix? Start with our guide to Pix for foreigners, or the Pix for gringos guide for every route a foreigner can take to Pix.