Having trouble with credit card and debit card working

Yes, as a tourist years ago before I moved moved here permanently.

There are way too many POS terminal providers in Brasil unfortunately IMHO, and some of them do not work with the security protocols of US/CAN systems, depending on which C/C or debit card you are using.

One of the worst offenders for this problem are the red REDE branded terminals. Avoid those as they even have issues today with my Brasilian cards. VISA labelled ones are occasionally more problematic than most, yet I never had issues with my AMEX or MC labelled foreign plastic FWIW. All my cards are Brasilian now though.

Shop around. The lime green STONE terminals worked fine, as did the orange ITAU branded ones. Go to these stores near you and buy R$20 of stuff and find which supermarkets accept your cards and actually work, and use those. The red BANCO 24 HORAS ATM terminals usually always work with every debit card though. I've never had problems there at any time.

What bank are you using back home ? If it is a local credit union, or a smaller internet fintech, or low cost bank that could be the issue. I suspect they are lying to you, not deliberately, but because the minimum wage call center person who used to work at a coffee shop before and is reading from a script now, doesn't realise their cards don't work in Brasil. Can you double check the country settings in your C/C or bank website to double check they are set up properly ?

@NewBrazil

what kind of card is it and which bank is providing it?

Sometimes it might be a security “feature” of your bank that ends up behaving like a bug tbh. Card declining transactions as they’re deemed suspicious (location, merchant, amount etc)

maybe try to have a way to pay with Pix just in case? Use WanderWallet a fairly simple pix for foreigners solution 

@NewBrazil

Some ideas from when I had the same problem in Mexico.

Sounds like defective card readers. (They are probably using the same type of machines.) Try using the cards at some other store to see if they work there.

Clean the mag stripe of the card.

Go to BB and have them see if the card works there.

Hope this helps.

alexanderstphenlange

05/30/26 @haggece8690, @Gabriel Otero.  100%  All  the cards that I use in Brazil are Brazilian now, too, mostly because I got tired of playing POS Roulette in stores, always wondering whether my US credit card would work this time or not!   Nowadays, I make all my purchases with Pix or Brazilian debit card.

I think that foreign (or at least US) bank debit cards become linked to specific Brazilian banks.  While I was still a regular visitor but not yet a permanent resident I always made withdrawals from my US account at Bradesco ATMs, and now I can only withdraw with my US card at Bradesco ATMs -- I get weird error messages at Santander, Itaú and Banco do Brasil machines, even though I do most of my banking at BB.   It may work at third party ATMs, but I don't use them because of security concerns.

Plus you avoid international currency exchange charges on your card transacations!

30 May 2026

In Brazil, I found that PIX is more useful than credit cards.  I have had several cases where the POS machine would not work - some legitimate and some by preference.  It is becoming more and more common that vendors to charge a little more for credit card use.

PIX is accepted and typically preferred - but you will need to have a local bank.

I have an international debit card but I only keep only a small amount of cash in the account - just in case I get scammed.  This is only for emergencies and if I need more, I can transfer to that account - everything is on the phone.

One thing that works well is Apple Pay linked to your credit card.  It used to be spotty but ever since wireless credit card tapping became common, it is my go-to credit card payment method.