Overview
- The Planalto scheduled the signing for Tuesday at 4 p.m., formalizing regulations for vale-refeição and vale-alimentação under the PAT law passed in 2022.
- Reporting indicates the decree will cap merchant discount rates around 3.5% to 4% and shorten settlement to roughly 15 days from current periods that can reach 60 days.
- Portability for workers is not expected to be included now due to technical hurdles and resistance from the Central Bank, with Labor Minister Luiz Marinho known to oppose it.
- Rather than a fully open network, the text is expected to require interoperability across providers, curbing closed acceptance arrangements without a complete switch to an open model.
- Major incumbents and their trade group ABBT publicly warn the changes could harm the PAT, while smaller entrants and merchant groups back the push to open a highly concentrated market serving more than 21 million workers.