Brazil Central Bank orders MW Pay liquidation over serious violations

Brazil's central bank, Banco Central do Brasil, ordered the extrajudicial liquidation of MW Instituição de Pagamento Ltda., known as MW Pay, on 29 October, according to the bank. The bank cited serious breaches of the rules governing institutions in the Brazilian Payments System (SPB). The company is based in Joinville, Santa Catarina.

As a result of the liquidation, the assets of the institution's controllers and former administrators became unavailable from 29 October. The central bank said it would continue taking all appropriate measures to establish responsibility under its legal powers. The outcome of the inquiries may lead to administrative sanctions and to notifications to the competent authorities under applicable law.

MW Pay was founded in February 2024 by businessman Witor Fernandes Corrêa and obtained its central bank licence in October of that year. The institution also had other businesses in Joinville, including a tool factory. It operated in segments including tourism, hotels, marketplaces and sports betting operators, before the government prohibition covering the betting sector. On its website, MW Pay described itself as a payments infrastructure via API with direct participation in Pix.

MW Pay had not commented on the case at the time of publication. The central bank said MW Instituição de Pagamento Ltda. has low representativeness in the National Financial System, with less than 0.0002% of the system's total assets.