What are transfer natures?
Transfer natures (naturezas de câmbio in Portuguese) are unique codes designated to categorise and identify the nature of foreign exchange transactions in Brazil.
As defined by the Central Bank of Brazil, if you send money to or from BRL, you (either as a person or a business) must provide the corresponding transfer nature code. Categorising foreign exchange transfers under specific transfer natures allows the Central Bank to monitor economic activity and maintain overall economic stability.
Using transfer natures
The criterion for classifying foreign exchange transfers is the amount. The Central Bank of Brazil has published guidelines defining the use cases applicable to transfer natures for transactions up to 50,000 USD and for transactions above this threshold.
When setting up your transfer, Wise will show you the most common use cases - we broke down the transfer natures into use cases to make it easier for you to classify your operations. If the use case you're looking for isn't available, please check each of the descriptions below - if your transfer fits one of the general descriptions, you may choose any of the options within each list.
If none of the use cases nor the general descriptions fit your transaction, it means Wise currently doesn't support your transaction. We are constantly working to have more transfer natures available.
| Nature | Description |
|---|---|
| Turism service, Education abroad, Health treatment (when it includes travelling), Business travel | Operation intended for expenses on international travel. It includes expenses incurred by residents travelling abroad and non-residents travelling to Brazil |
| Transfer without compensation, Scholarship, Donation, Donations to friends or family* | Transfer of resources between different individuals or legal entities in which the beneficiary of the resource doesn’t provide, in return, goods, services or obligations |
| Moving money between own accounts | Transfer of funds between a deposit or payment account in Brazil and a deposit or payment account abroad held by the same customer |
| Purchase of goods | Payment or receivement for the purchase or sale of merchandise or virtual assets between resident and non-resident, as long as it’s not classified as an external credit operation |
| Technology service | Service related to information technology or information provision service, including news, photographs or press articles |
| Other business service(s) | Research and development services, legal service, auditing, accounting, public relations or management-related services, architectural and engineering services, equipment rental and commercial commissions |
| Other service(s), Distance learning, Property rental | Services and other items not classifiable under the codes technology service and other business service(s) |
| Property purchase or sale, Salary, Investments | Other use cases not included in the previous transfer natures |
*Donations can be:
Donations to family or friends — from your personal account to their personal account
Scholarship — from your business account to their personal account
Transfers without compensation — available for any type of transfer except a personal to business account