Caixa Econômica Federal has suspended the Pix Saque and Pix Troco services at lottery outlets for customers of other financial institutions, affecting more than 13,000 locations across Brazil.
Pix Saque and Pix Troco are cash withdrawal services linked to Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix, created by Brazil’s Central Bank.
Pix Saque allows users to transfer money via Pix to a participating establishment and receive the amount in cash, while Pix Troco enables customers to make a Pix payment above the purchase value and receive the remaining balance in cash.
Both services were designed to expand access to physical cash without requiring a traditional bank branch or ATM.
The measure applies to all lottery outlets operating as banking correspondents for the state-owned bank. These outlets are widely used in smaller cities and peripheral urban areas where access to traditional bank branches can be limited.
Caixa has not provided a detailed explanation for the decision and stated only that other services offered by lottery outlets will remain unchanged.
Customers can still use Pix at the locations to pay bills or place lottery bets, while cash withdrawals will now only be available to account holders of the bank.
According to the Banco Central do Brasil, around 60 million Brazilians do not hold accounts with traditional banks and often depend on lottery outlets for financial transactions.
Ricardo Amado Costa, president of the Brazilian Federation of Lottery Companies, criticized the decision, stating that it would have both financial and operational consequences for lottery businesses.
Caixa recently published an updated product manual for Brazil’s federal lottery portfolio, outlining operational and technical updates for lottery services
