Boleto

The boleto bancário is a Brazilian payment slip with a barcode and a due date. The broker generates one for the amount you want to deposit, and you pay it through your banking app, at an ATM, at a bank branch, or in cash at a lottery agent or one of the shops in the collection network.

The two things that define it

First, it is deposit-only. A boleto is an instruction to pay, and there is no reverse direction, so a broker that accepts boleto deposits will pay withdrawals by bank transfer or Pix to an account in your name. Set that account up at the same time as the first deposit.

Second, it is slow by modern Brazilian standards. Payment is registered on the same or next business day, and the broker credits the trading account after that, so the money is generally available one to three business days after you pay. Weekends and Brazilian bank holidays extend it. That is the price of the cash option.

Practical points

• The slip expires. Pay it before the due date or generate a new one; paying a stale boleto can leave the payment unmatched.
• Amounts are fixed when the slip is issued. Paying a different amount, where the bank allows it at all, causes reconciliation problems.
• The name on the paying account should match the trading account. A boleto paid in cash by someone else is exactly the third-party payment brokers are required to refuse.
• Keep the payment receipt — comprovante — until the deposit appears. It is what support asks for.

Boleto or Pix

For anyone with a Brazilian bank account, Pix has made boleto largely redundant for this purpose: it settles in seconds, at any hour, for free, and works as a withdrawal route as well. Boleto keeps one real advantage — paying in cash without a bank account — and for that narrow case it remains useful. Otherwise use Pix where the broker offers it.