Banking and transferring money from the U.S.

Hi Rick,

This can be a lot I understand, I also went through this. I had my CPF and was waiting on my migration card but was not able to open my bank account. However, once I got my migration card I was able to open a NU bank account without a problem. Try NU bank, should be fine. The only problem is both NU bank and Inter have Portuguese as the only language in the app, that is something I'm struggling with but was able to open accounts easily.

You can also open a wise account and send money there and from Wise to your Nu/Inter bank account. So first you wire money from US to your wise and from your wise to your NU bank or Inter. Also keep in mind if you are a permanent resident you are subjected to tax even if you send it to your own account. So make sure you check that too.

Hope this answers your question.

03/09/26 @onthebay.  Welcome back, Rick.  It's good to see that you're settling in well.

If you have your CRNM, the bank where your wife already has an account should be willing to open an account for you, too.  Have they given you a reason why they won't?  If they're not cooperative, try one of the government-owned banks, either Banco do Brasil or Caixa Econômica Federal:  they've historically been somewhat easier to deal with than the commercial banks. 

It sounds like your documents are in order.  When you say that you have your retirement package translated, do you mean that you have a Sworn Translation of it?  If not, the bank may require that.

As for the transfer process, others recommended Wise in your original thread.  That is still a good choice.  You can also have your US bank make SWIFT transfers directly to your Brazilian bank account.  For the large amounts you're moving to build your house, that may be the most practical way for you to do it.

If your income is already taxed in the United States, most of it should not be taxed again in Brazil, nor should you wife be taxed on your post-tax funds being transferred through her account to build your house, especially since you have been married for so long.  However, the details of that may be affected by her own tax status and by the "regime de bens" that you two opted for at the time you were married.  Before you move a lot of money, you should talk to a Brazilian accountant together to get a clear understanding of how it will all work in practice.  This is a good time for those conversations, since income tax season for 2025 income is about to start, and runs through May 29.

@onthabay

I agree with @abthree. We have been involved in opening numerous bank accounts for foreigners at Caixa, with just a protocolo (or the actual CRNM), a valid passport and a CPF. No proof of source of income was required.

It's been a few years now, but Bradesco was able to add me to my wife's account, solely with my protocolo.  You can also open accounts using the respective apps, nowadays.

Although you have the right to an account here, banks also have the right to refuse service; when I was resident, Caixa flat out refused service, and BB allowed me to open an account but shut it down the following day with no explanation.

As far as transferring funds, I just send myself what I need via pix, using MoneyGram from my US account; I'm not apt to play with cryptocurrency.

I was once told that the manager that opens a bank account for a foreigner is entirely responsible for the conduct of that account, if found to be used fraudently - money laundering, financing crime, tax evasion, etc.

This might explain why there is sometimes hesitation to open such an account, especially if the account holder does not have a permanent visa and therefore appears not to be planning on living here...

I’ve been in Brazil for the last 3 months and I’ve been using a wallet to send money from my business in the US and pay for my expenses here with Pix. It’s been working well for me so far. I do have a CPF, but I haven’t tried opening a bank account yet because this setup has been serving me well. I only settled down about two weeks ago, and before that I was traveling around Brazil, so I didn’t really have the time to invest in opening an account or trying to make sense of the Brazilian banking system.

I tested Emigro at first, but later decided to go with WanderWallet because I found their support to be better. It might be worth checking the limits per transaction though, since you mentioned you’ll be transferring larger sums of money.

Hope this helps. Good luck!