Summary
- Bradesco will stop issuing checks to individual customers and MEIs from December, maintaining issuance for corporate accounts.
- The use of checks in Brazil has fallen 95.8% since 1995, with just 137.6 million issued in 2024, according to Febraban.
- The adoption of Pix and other electronic payment methods led to the discontinuation of checks due to efficiency and lower costs.
The check, which was once one of the most popular payment methods in Brazil, will no longer be issued by Bradesco to individual customers (PF) and individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEI) from December. The financial institution reported that the initiative “follows the change in customer behavior, who have opted for digital solutions such as Pix, transfers and electronic payments”.
Customers in the affected segments were notified about the change through the bank’s application. In a statement, Bradesco clarified that it is “gradually discontinuing” the issuance of checkbooks. He recommended using Pix, highlighting the convenience of the tool, which is available 24 hours a day.
Use of checks in Brazil plummeted
Bradesco’s decision is in line with an already known trend. Still in circulation, the check represents a minimal fraction of the volume of financial transactions in the country. Its peak was in 1995, with 3.3 billion documents, and fell to 137.6 million in 2024. The drop was 95.8% in the period, according to the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban).
The financial volume handled in 2024 was R$523.19 billion, a drop of 14.2% compared to the previous year.
Data from the first half of the year shows that the downward trend intensified: 50 million checks were moved, a decrease of 21.9% compared to the same period in 2024.
Pix Domain
The main factor for the discontinuation of checks is the rapid and massive adoption of electronic payment methods, particularly Pix. Launched by the Central Bank in November 2020, it surpassed checks in a few months and, later, it also managed to surpass debit and credit cards in the number of operations.
Furthermore, the cost of processing a check — which involves security printing, physical or image clearing logistics, and fraud management — has become high compared to the efficiency of digital transactions.
According to CNN Brazilcheckbooks will continue to be available for issuance and use by corporate clients, who still use the instrument for specific financial transactions.
Source: https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/bradesco-da-adeus-ao-cheque-nos-proximos-meses/
