Brazilians who receive a legitimate Pix and later see that money pulled from their account by a fake refund claim now have more time to fight back. As of Tuesday, September 1, the Banco Central extended from 30 to 80 days the deadline to contest a refund processed through the MED, the Special Refund Mechanism of Pix, Brazil's dominant instant payment system. The change, set by BCB Normative Instruction 766, was laid out in reports by BBC News Brasil and G1.

To understand the rule, think of the MED as the system's emergency undo button: someone deceived by a scam, or who paid by mistake, can use it to try to recover the money. That path already gave fraud victims up to 80 days, counted from the moment the Pix was sent. The new rule creates a mirror clock: a person who received a payment in good faith and later had that amount refunded because the other side filed a fraudulent claim now has 80 days to complain to their bank, counted from the date of the refund. Before, they had only 30.

The fake-refund scam

The measure targets a scam that has hit shopkeepers, service providers and small business owners. It usually starts with a message saying a Pix was sent by mistake, for more than intended, followed by a request to return the difference, often as a fresh transfer to a key chosen by the supposed customer. While the merchant sends the money back, believing they are fixing an honest error, the other person also files a MED claim with their own bank, alleging fraud. If the claim is accepted and funds remain available, the scammer can collect twice: once from the merchant, once from the mechanism meant to protect victims. The longer window matters because many merchants do not check their statements daily; often an accountant, an employee or the bank itself is the first to notice, the reports note.

Following the money, and what we still do not know

The deadline change rides alongside a quieter upgrade known as MED 2.0, in production since May 2026, which lets the system track stolen funds across successive layers of transfers, the way one might trace a package passed from hand to hand. Previously, recovery was limited to the original account used in the fraud; once the money moved on, there was often no balance left to refund. An additional operational layer, which would tell institutions at which level of the tracking chain a transaction sits, was scheduled for August and has been postponed to October 26, 2026, according to the Banco Central.

Neither report includes figures on how many merchants have been hit by the scam or how much MED 2.0 has recovered, and a longer deadline does not guarantee a refund: if the money has already been withdrawn, there is nothing to return. The central bank's incentive is plain. Pix only underpins Brazil's digital economy while people trust it, and scams that punish those who accept payments erode exactly that trust.

The practical advice is simple: if someone asks you to return a Pix "sent by mistake", use the refund function attached to that transaction inside your bank app, and avoid making a new transfer to a key provided by the other person. If money has already vanished through a suspicious refund, the clock now runs for 80 days.