Pix Automático for SaaS: what changes in subscriptions

Pix Automático for SaaS is recurring billing in which the customer authorizes once, in their bank's app, and each monthly payment leaves their account with no new confirmation. Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, and Pix Automático is its recurring version. For the product, the Central Bank's rules define who can charge, how plan changes work and what to do when the debit fails.

Available since June 16, 2025, Pix Automático is sold to software companies, on the pages read for this article, on lower fees and fewer declined charges. Almost none of them explain what the rules require from whoever designs the subscription.

This article does that reading, based on the Pix regulation and BCB Normative Instruction No. 513, last amended on June 11, 2026. It follows up on what each pricing model forces the product to build.

What is Pix Automático for companies that bill subscriptions?

It is a recurring debit that the customer's bank initiates based on instructions sent by the company, through its payment provider. The Pix regulation, in article 11-Q, requires the payer's prior and specific authorization, granted once, with no authentication on each charge.

Two limits already show up there. The authorization can cover several services, as long as there is a single charge. And the frequency can only be weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual.

Wama works on products that move money. For Milhas Pix, a marketplace for buying and selling airline miles with Pix payments, the studio built the SaaS platform, the management system, the website and the landing pages. In a product like that, payment rules are screen requirements.

Who can charge with Pix Automático?

Only a legal entity with a CNPJ active for at least six months and no signs of fraud. The requirement was added to article 11-T of the regulation by BCB Resolution No. 482, of June 5, 2025. A startup opened last month can't launch its product with Pix Automático.

The provider is also required to assess the company before signing and during the contract. IN 513, in article 15-A, lists partners, economic activity compatible with the service being charged, employees, capital, revenue and history.

A new CNPJ calls for another payment method at launch. And the identification the customer sees is the CNPJ's, so it pays to define whose name the payment provider account is in before hiring whoever develops the product.

Fixed or variable amount: the choice that decides plan changes

The authorization is created with a fixed amount or a variable amount, and that choice matters more than the fee. With a fixed amount, the customer's bank rejects any instruction with an amount different from the one authorized. With a variable amount, it rejects anything above the maximum the customer set (IN 513, article 6).

The Central Bank's FAQ on Pix Automático is blunt: the recurrence cannot be changed. To change the fixed amount or the due date, the company cancels it and creates another one, which the customer confirms again. Plan changes and annual price adjustments go through that path.

The ceiling the product can't see

With a variable amount, the risk moves elsewhere. The Pix Automático implementation guide, version 1.3, of August 19, 2026, states that the maximum amount is stored only at the payer's institution. The product can't see the ceiling. The company can set a floor for it.

This decision enters the scope when you define how a SaaS goes from first scope to operation.

How does the customer authorize the charge?

Through one of four journeys in article 11-Q, and the provider chooses which ones it offers: a notification in the bank's app, an authorization-only QR code, a QR code that combines the first payment with the authorization, or a proposal after a payment.

Asaas's documentation, updated on September 25, 2026, uses the third one in its API integration and shows a detail that matters for the flow: without confirmation from the payer's institution, the authorization is declined even if the first payment was received. The product needs a state for someone who paid and didn't authorize.

In that journey, the immediate payment stays outside the recurrence. A free trial calls for the authorization-only journey, if the provider has it. And a declined request can't be repeated for 30 calendar days, according to the FAQ.

The confirmation screen belongs to the bank, and what the Pix manual requires of the bank's screen defines what the customer reads before accepting.

The billing calendar: 2 to 10 days before the debit

As a general rule, the payment instruction has to reach the customer's bank between 2 and 10 calendar days before the debit, as article 5 of IN 513 requires.

The invoice closes at least two days before the due date, so usage-based billing needs a cutoff date. The debit happens on the due date or the next business day, never earlier. And only one debit fits per cycle.

One-off charges are left out, because the FAQ excludes non-periodic payments. A prorated difference on a plan change, a setup fee and a one-time purchase still call for regular Pix, boleto or card.

What happens when the debit fails?

On the due date, the bank tries to debit between midnight and 8 a.m. With no balance or no limit, it notifies the customer and tries again between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., under article 7 of IN 513. If the debit doesn't go through, the company only knows for sure that it failed through reconciliation, after 9 p.m.

After that day, a retry only exists if the authorization already provided for it. That means at most three different dates, within seven calendar days, for the same amount. A failed charge doesn't cancel the authorization.

Blocking access on the morning of the due date is a mistake, because the bank will still try again in the evening. One of the listed failure reasons is Pix Automático's own limit on the payer's account. And if the customer pays by another method, it's up to the company to cancel the scheduled charge.

In Wama's projects, design is the longest phase. That's where these states need to get a screen: scheduled charge, failure on the day, retry and exhausted charge.

Canceling the authorization is not canceling the plan

The customer cancels the authorization in the bank's app, whenever they want, and the effect is immediate. The company finds out through the provider, not from the customer.

That creates two events that can't become one in the product. Someone who canceled the authorization may just want to switch banks. Someone who canceled the plan inside the product requires the company to cancel the recurrence, or the authorization stays active at the customer's bank. Pausing doesn't exist: the FAQ says Pix Automático doesn't yet provide for temporary suspension.

Each case needs an answer in the plan and billing screens inside the product.

What if the customer is a company?

Pix Automático may not be available. Every institution is required to offer it to payers, but article 11-S of the regulation allows asking the Central Bank for an exemption for business account holders. A SaaS sold to companies may run into customers whose bank doesn't show the option.

The limit on a business account is also up to each institution. That's why, in a product sold to companies, Pix Automático sits alongside boleto and card, never as the only payment method.

How much Pix Automático weighs on the product scope

The fee isn't in the rules. The Central Bank's FAQ says charging the payer is prohibited and that the price charged to the recipient is freely agreed with the provider. The numbers that show up in searches on the topic don't match each other. Ask for the fee in writing.

The cost that matters is the build: authorization, calendar, reconciliation, retries, cancellation and a second payment method. At Wama, the first version of a SaaS falls between US$ 4,000 and US$ 20,000, and can reach US$ 40,000 depending on complexity. Recurring billing with its exceptions handled is part of that complexity. See how much it costs to get the first version off the ground.

There's no card-network chargeback either, but there is a refund: if the debit differs from the authorization, the customer's bank returns the amount within 24 hours of the request. For a product put together in a builder, first read what to review before charging for an app made with AI.

Frequently asked questions

Does Pix Automático replace cards in a SaaS subscription?

Not entirely. It covers the periodic debit. One-off charges, a plan difference on the same day, customers whose bank doesn't offer the option to companies and a CNPJ under six months old still call for card, boleto or regular Pix. The safe design keeps two payment methods.

Can I change the monthly price without a new authorization?

Only if the authorization is for a variable amount and the new amount doesn't exceed the maximum the customer set at the bank. With a fixed-amount authorization, the bank rejects any different amount, and the company has to cancel the recurrence and create another one, confirmed again by the customer.

How many times can you retry when the debit fails?

On the due date, the customer's bank makes at least two attempts. After that, the company can request new attempts on up to three different dates, within seven calendar days, for the same amount, as long as the authorization already provided for it.

Who can offer Pix Automático as a payment method?

A legal entity with a CNPJ active for at least six months and no signs of fraud, through a provider that offers the service. The provider assesses partners, economic activity, size and history before signing and during the contract. Individuals don't receive through Pix Automático, they only pay.

Does the customer pay a fee for Pix Automático?

No. The Central Bank's FAQ states that charging the payer a fee is prohibited. The recipient may pay a fee to its own provider, in an amount agreed between the parties, and the regulation prohibits charges between the payer's and the recipient's institutions. That's why the numbers vary from provider to provider.

If your product is going to bill subscriptions and you want to decide the billing rules together with the screens, talk to Wama about your product.