Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service will issue a new normative instruction requiring fintech companies to submit the same financial information currently provided by traditional banks, the agency said, Valor reported.

The rule will mandate fintechs to deliver e-Financeira files, including data on customer registration, balances, transactions, and investments, used for monitoring and risk assessment.

The tax authority stated the regulation aims to prevent criminal misuse of financial platforms. “Fintechs have been used for money laundering in major operations against organized crime because there is a regulatory gap: they do not currently face the same transparency and reporting obligations that all financial institutions in Brazil have been subject to for more than 20 years,” the Receita said.

The instruction adopts definitions from the Brazilian Payment System Law to avoid misinterpretation. “We are making it clear that nothing new is being created — only that existing legal definitions are being applied,” the agency said.

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the rule will strengthen collaboration with the Federal Police to target money-laundering schemes.

“With this measure, the Federal Revenue will enhance its monitoring capacity and strengthen its partnership with the Federal Police, enabling authorities to reach the sophisticated money-laundering schemes employed by organized crime,” he said. 

Haddad also noted the need for a bill defining and penalising persistent tax evaders to prevent criminal companies from exploiting legal loopholes.