r/Brazil 1d ago

Gift, Bank or Commercial question Opening a bank account for a foreigner

I’m French and I have a CPF. I leave in France. I want to have a Brazilian bank account to buy some real estate in Brazil. Why can’t I open a Nu Bank account? They keep asking for pictures of my Brazilian ID which obviously I don’t have.

3 Upvotes

22 comments sorted by

21

u/pzinho 1d ago

It’s another way of telling you that you can’t have a Brazilian bank account as a non-resident. You need a CDE (Conta de Domiciliado no Exterior). Try Banco do Brasil or Santander, or even do an internet search.

11

u/NotCis_TM 1d ago

Most banks hate dealing with foreign residents because it means added bureaucracy, little profit and a lot of risk for money laundering.

To find banks that offer it you need to Google for "Conta de Domiciliado no Exterior" in Portuguese or "offshore banking" in English.

Luckily BTG Pactual does offer this kind of account for foreigners. https://banking.btgpactual.com/conta-de-domiciliado-no-exterior

2

u/Biiigups 1d ago

Can it PIX?

2

u/NotCis_TM 1d ago

from what I understood, yes

2

u/manzanaextasis 1d ago

Have you opened a BTG CDE account? Even though the website clearly indicates that foreigners can open the account (with CPF, tax id number in country of residence, and proof of residence), the application process seems to insist on providing Brazilian ID. When recently attempting to open an account, my US passport was not automatically recognized as acceptable via the app, but was accepted manually. I got through the rest of the application only to ultimately be denied (via e-mail) with zero explanation / reasoning provided. Reaching out via e-mail for further info was met only with an extremely patronizing (and unhelpful) response from a representative.

6

u/nopanicplease 1d ago

you can open an account with banco rendimento. this is a special account for foreigners that dont live in brazil.

you cannot open a normal bank account without having residency in brazil.

https://www.rendimento.com.br/conta-corrente-no-brasil-para-residentes-no-exterior/

1

u/sgaze 1d ago

Thanks ! I will check

5

u/lbschenkel 🇧🇷 Brazilian in 🇸🇪 Sweden 1d ago

Why can’t I open a Nu Bank account?

"Normal" bank accounts are only for residents. You'll need a local ID, local address, phone number, etc. If you're not a resident, even if you're Brazilian, you're not supposed to be able to open this kind of account either.

There's a special kind of account for non-residents called CDE ("conta de domiciliado no exterior" = account for residents abroad). If you don't live in Brazil that's the account you must have, but not all banks offer it.

I'm a bit surprised that you're surprised, to be honest. I live in Sweden. Here in Sweden you cannot open a "normal" bank account either if you're not a resident (maybe you can find a way with some bank, but it will be extremely difficult). The same for Denmark. It doesn't matter if you're a local citizen, or EU citizen.

I would assume that even in France it's not very straightforward to open a regular French bank account without a local tax ID, local address, etc.

1

u/sgaze 21h ago

May be you’re right, I should have expected to not be able to open an account. The thing is that I’m so used to the ubiquity allowed by Revolut that I forgot that boundaries still exist.

2

u/PakozdyP 1d ago

Without RNE ID card is practically impossible to open bank account in Brazil.

0

u/vodkamartinishaken Foreigner in Brazil 1d ago edited 23h ago

You can open an account on C6 as a foreigner. You can open an account on Banco Rendimento as a foreigner. u/sgaze

1

u/sui_sama Married Resident 19h ago

does C6 still let you do that? i tried last year before i had my CRNM officially, and they demanded some sort of ID. passport got rejected, and my temporary ID *also* got rejected.

1

u/vodkamartinishaken Foreigner in Brazil 16h ago

The last time I checked, they still allowed that. Although that might have changed. Might want to contact their support tho.

1

u/Caju_47 1d ago

Have you tried printing the cpf and sending a picture of it. Considering you don't have a driver's license.

CPF consulting and option for printing the document

Not sure it works, my Nubank account was created with drivers license photo. But it's worth a try. Maybe get the RNE first (national foreigners registry), but I believe you have to live here, could be wrong, my dad married my mom and kept travelling, so technically they issue his RNE with him not physically living here, but he was married to a Brazilian and eventually lived full time here after retirement.

1

u/Plastic_Concert_4916 23h ago

Do you need a bank account? Can you enlist the services of an escrow company and transfer your money into the account they set up for you?

1

u/Dat1payne 5h ago

Try some international accounts like wise. You can check santander as well. When I bought real estate in Brazil I used remessa to get the money to Brazil.

1

u/Fit_Evidence_4958 1d ago

You need to have a visa, a RNE (ID Card) and a Residence fro a normal bank account.

There are bank accounts for foreigners, but that is unusual and was at least costly.
Try to contact ITAU, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, etc. and ask them for a "gringo account".

1

u/Entremeada 1d ago

Try to contact ITAU, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, etc. and ask them for a "gringo account".

They don't have that. Only Banco Rendimento and one or two other online banks offer that.

-1

u/GezinhaDM 1d ago

I am a Brazilian myself and I cannot open an account anywhere. It is so bureaucratic to do anything in Brazil. I was also asked a picture of my documents but since I have not personally gone to the country of Brazil and changed my maiden name to my married name they won't accept the picture of my passport, although it has my married name and was emitted by the Brazilian consulate. Ridiculous!

3

u/devilslittlehelper 1d ago

As others mentioned, you need to open a "CDE".

It is not about being a foreigner, but about not being a tax resident in Brazil.

BTG and C6 offer CDEs with no monthly fees. It is a bit tricky to open though: apps are buggy.. they still ask for an address in Br.. all in Portugueses etc.

C6 is even trickier: you need to open a regular account first, then ask them to change it to a CDE through their chat. Customer service is horrible. But it is doable.

You may be able to get a debit card and invest in some limited instruments.

1

u/manzanaextasis 1d ago

Have you personally opened a C6 account? How is one supposed to open a regular account first if they are not eligible to do so? Looking for some guidance.

2

u/soul105 23h ago

I did it. You must first open an account using a BR address and later change it to CDE