BCB Resolution No. 604

The Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on 27 October 2026, based on art. 10, caput, item II, of Law No. 4.595, of 31 December 1964, in view of the provisions of Vote 134/2026–BCB, of 27 October 2026,

R E S O L V E S :

CHAPTER I

OF THE OBJECT AND THE DEFINITIONS

Art. 1 This Resolution provides for the system and the custody of cash of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 2 The cash system comprises the interconnected set of operations, structures and control systems in which the cash transactions carried out by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil holding a Bank Reserves Account or a Settlement Account among themselves, with custodian institutions or with the Central Bank of Brazil, and between the latter two and the Central Bank of Brazil, are recorded, processed and effected, and is subject to the currency management policies of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Sole paragraph. The registration, by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, of a request for a cash withdrawal, exchange or deposit operation in the Currency System – CIR or of a request for cash movement with another institution in the Reserve Transfer System – STR implies adherence and submission to the rules relating to the funding of the cash custody system of the Central Bank of Brazil in the reference year.

Art. 3 Cash custody is the activity of maintaining non-monetized cash of the Central Bank of Brazil at a banking financial institution or association of financial institutions especially constituted for that purpose, called a custodian institution, authorized by it and with the purpose of enabling the fulfillment of requests for cash withdrawal, deposit and exchange operations.

CHAPTER II

OF THE CUSTODY ACTIVITY

Art. 4 The cash custody activity referred to in this Resolution shall be granted by the Central Bank of Brazil by means of a contract and exercised by the custodian institutions, taking into consideration primarily the fulfillment of the needs of the currency, respecting the conditions specified by it.

§ 1 The provision of custody services shall be carried out at the premises of the custodian institutions, under their administrative and operational control, and, in a complementary manner, at a remote facility contracted by them for that purpose, provided that the relevant legislation is observed.

§ 2 The contracting of a remote facility for the provision of custody services shall be authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, with the custodian institution remaining responsible for the execution of the contract.

§ 3 The Central Bank of Brazil may establish criteria for the contracting of a remote facility for the provision of custody services by the custodian institution.

§ 4 The custodian institutions may maintain custody in premises exclusively destined for that purpose or in premises destined for other banking operations, observing the following:

I - the premises referred to in this article shall be registered in the National Register of Legal Entities of the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil as premises of the custodian institution; and
II - the premises destined for other banking operations shall be registered in the Information System on Entities of Interest to the Central Bank – Unicad as branch or advanced service point facilities.

Art. 5 It is incumbent upon the Central Bank of Brazil to decide on the inclusion, exclusion and suspension of custodian premises, taking into consideration the cost-benefit ratio of the custody system.

CHAPTER III

OF THE DUTIES OF THE CUSTODIAN INSTITUTIONS

Art. 6 The duties of the custodian institutions are:

I - to hold and administer the custody of non-monetized cash at the order of the Central Bank of Brazil, with the purpose of receiving deposits and paying cash withdrawals to banking financial institutions;
II - to provide for the arrangement, classification and safekeeping of the custodied cash according to the rules defined by the Central Bank of Brazil;
III - to carry out the verification and selection of the cash received, setting apart that classified as unfit for circulation, for delivery to the Central Bank of Brazil;
IV - to distribute coins and supply the provision of change, including by means of a specific service for that purpose, as specified by the Central Bank of Brazil;
V - to forward unusable cash to the Central Bank of Brazil;
VI - to carry out the collection of cash, following instructions of the Central Bank of Brazil;
VII - to reimburse the expenses of cash transportation, logistical support and security incurred by the Central Bank of Brazil, in the cases specified by it; and
VIII - to comply with the currency policies defined by the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 7 The custodian institutions shall be responsible for the cash kept in custody, being liable for its integrity.

§ 1 The liability provided for in the caput is limited, in any event, to the equivalent, in national currency, of the sum of the face values of the banknotes and coins in custody.

§ 2 The Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil may define the maximum limit allowed for the total of custodied amounts, based on a substantiated justification from the custodian institution.

§ 3 In exceptional situations, the maximum limit may be made more flexible, at the discretion of the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, upon a reasoned request from the custodian institution.

§ 4 In the custody assumption contract, the requirement that the custodian institution provide guarantees corresponding to the financial value of the cash kept in custody may be included.

CHAPTER IV

OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CASH CUSTODY ACTIVITY

Art. 8 The Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil shall exercise the management of the cash custody activity, including the supervision of custodian institutions in relation to compliance with the rules and the quality of the services provided.

§ 1 The supervision of custodian institutions shall be carried out by means of inspections at the custodian premises or at contracted remote facilities and by means of monitoring cash operations recorded in information systems developed and administered by the Central Bank of Brazil and the quality of the services provided by the custodian institutions.

§ 2 The Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil may establish policies for the management of cash custody, as well as targets and operational procedures to be complied with by the custodian institutions.

Art. 9 The contract mentioned in art. 4 shall establish the possibility of applying penalties and the situations that give rise to them.

Sole paragraph. Failure to observe the contractual provisions shall subject the offender to the penalties of warning and fine, according to the severity of the fault and without prejudice to any administrative, civil and criminal sanctions that may be applicable.

CHAPTER V

ON THE FUNDING OF THE CUSTODY SYSTEM

Art. 10. The funding of the custody system shall be based on the principle of economic-financial equilibrium, so that the custodian institutions shall be entitled to full reimbursement of the costs incurred with the custody activity, which shall be funded by the institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil that operate in the cash system referred to in art. 2.

§ 1 In order to be entitled to full reimbursement of the costs incurred with the custody activity, the custodian institutions shall ascertain their result in a period to be defined by the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 2 The custodian institutions may charge remuneration from financial institutions for operations carried out at their own premises or at contracted remote facilities.

§ 3 The ascertainment of the result shall consider the direct and indirect costs incurred with the cash custody activity, as well as the remuneration received from financial institutions.

§ 4 The apportionment of the costs incurred by the custodian institutions among the institutions that operate in the cash system shall be carried out according to the periodicity, criteria, deadlines and form defined by the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, observing the following aspects:

I - the share of the costs attributable to each institution that operates in the cash system shall be ascertained based on its movement in the system during each result ascertainment period;
II - to determine the share of the costs of each institution, the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil may establish different weights for operations carried out at the custodian institutions and for those carried out directly between financial institutions;
III - if the total remuneration paid by a financial institution to the custodian institution during the ascertainment period was greater than its share of the costs, that institution shall be entitled to restitution of the excess amount; and
IV - if the total remuneration paid by a financial institution to the custodian institution during the ascertainment period was less than its share of the costs, that institution shall reimburse the difference to the custodian institution.

§ 5 Non-payment, in whole or in part, of the restitution or reimbursement referred to in items III and IV of § 4, respectively, shall entail the adoption of appropriate measures within the scope of the Central Bank of Brazil's competence.

Section I

On remuneration

Art. 11. The remuneration mentioned in art. 10, § 2, shall be set by the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, in percentages applied to the amounts of the operations.

§ 1 Cash movements exceptionally carried out at the Central Bank of Brazil shall not be remunerated.

§ 2 At any time and upon proof of relevant facts, after analysis and decision by the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, the remuneration percentages may be revised.

Section II

On control, provision of information and validation of costs

Art. 12. The custodian institutions shall maintain specific systems for the control and ascertainment of the costs inherent to the custody activity and the performance of related tasks, preparing cost statements at the periodicity, in the form, within the deadlines and according to the models established by the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 13. The cost statements mentioned in art. 12 shall depend on validation by the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 1 In the event that the cost statements are not delivered or contain discrepancies:

I - the Central Bank of Brazil shall arbitrate amounts for the purposes of calculating the shares referred to in art. 10, § 4, item I, and may adopt, on a provisional basis, the last accepted cost statement, adjusted to the estimated levels of banking service in the following period; and
II - once the pending issues are resolved, any discrepancies in relation to what was arbitrated shall be offset in subsequent calculations.

§ 2 The costs ascertained at the end of a period shall be subject to an independent audit contracted by the custodian institutions.

§ 3 Periodically, the Central Bank of Brazil shall publicize the cost statements incurred by the custodian institutions and the other statistical information of interest to the financial institutions that operate in the cash system.

CHAPTER VI

ON THE TECHNICAL CASH CUSTODY COUNCIL

Art. 14. The Technical Cash Custody Council – CTCN is hereby established, of a consultative nature, which shall be responsible for conducting studies and proposing solutions related to the execution of currency policies.

§ 1 The CTCN will be composed of representatives:

I - of the Central Bank of Brazil;
II - of each custodial institution authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil;
III - of non-custodial financial institutions that operate in the cash system indicated by the Brazilian Federation of Banks – Febraban;
IV - of credit cooperatives that operate in the cash system indicated by the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives – OCB; and
V - of non-custodial financial institutions that operate in the cash system indicated by the Brazilian Association of Banks – ABBC.

§ 2 The CTCN has the following attributions:

I - to conduct studies on matters pertinent to the custody of cash of the Central Bank of Brazil;
II - to evaluate the cost statements incurred in the custody operation; and
III - to propose the inclusion and exclusion of custodial branches.

§ 3 The Department of Currency in Circulation of the Central Bank of Brazil will disclose the operating rules of the CTCN.

CHAPTER VII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Art. 15. The omitted cases will be decided by the Director of Administration of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 16. BCB Resolution No. 134, of 1 September 2021, published in the Official Gazette of the Union of 3 September 2021, is revoked.

Art. 17. This Resolution enters into force on the date of its publication.

RODRIGO ALVES TEIXEIRA
Director of Administration

What changed in the obligations

Against BCB Resolution No. 134 — Provides for the custody of cash by the Central Bank of Brazil and approves its Regulations (2021-09-01)

4 new obligations · 1 changed obligation · 1 change of scope · 87 not carried over

27 obligations are the same in both texts.

Changed (2)

What must be done
Before
§ 1 The financial institution custodian shall not pay remuneration in withdrawal, deposit, and exchange operations carried out in its premises or in the remote installations contracted by it.
Now
§ 2 The custodian institutions may charge remuneration from financial institutions for operations carried out at their own premises or at contracted remote facilities.
Scope
Before
§ 7 The result calculated at the end of a period shall be subject to independent audit contracted by the custodian institutions.
Now
§ 2 The costs ascertained at the end of a period shall be subject to an independent audit contracted by the custodian institutions.

New in this text (4)

The registration, by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, of a request for a cash withdrawal, exchange or deposit operation in the Currency System – CIR or of a request for cash movement with another institution in the Reserve Transfer System – STR implies adherence and submission to the rules relating to the funding of the cash custody system of the Central Bank of Brazil in th…
Art. 6 The duties of the custodian institutions are: - VII - to reimburse the expenses of cash transportation, logistical support and security incurred by the Central Bank of Brazil, in the cases specified by it; and
Art. 10. The funding of the custody system shall be based on the principle of economic-financial equilibrium, so that the custodian institutions shall be entitled to full reimbursement of the costs incurred with the custody activity, which shall be funded by the institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil that operate in the cash system referred to in art. 2.
§ 1 In order to be entitled to full reimbursement of the costs incurred with the custody activity, the custodian institutions shall ascertain their result in a period to be defined by the Currency Department of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Not carried over (87)

Art. 1 The custody of cash by the Central Bank of Brazil may be carried out, in accordance with this Resolution, by banking financial institutions or by an association of financial institutions constituted for this purpose.
Art. 2 In the execution of the custody referred to in this Resolution, the custodian institutions, through a contract signed with the Central Bank of Brazil, shall assume the duties defined in the Regulations for the Custody of Cash by the Central Bank of Brazil, contained in Annex I to this Resolution.
Art. 3 The custodian institutions shall be entitled to remuneration to be paid by the financial institutions, applicable to the following operations, when performed in the premises of the custodians authorized to execute the custody service and, complementarily, in remote installations contracted f… I - each confirmed withdrawal request;
Art. 3 The custodian institutions shall be entitled to remuneration to be paid by the financial institutions, applicable to the following operations, when performed in the premises of the custodians authorized to execute the custody service and, complementarily, in remote installations contracted f… II - each completed deposit request; and
Art. 3 The custodian institutions shall be entitled to remuneration to be paid by the financial institutions, applicable to the following operations, when performed in the premises of the custodians authorized to execute the custody service and, complementarily, in remote installations contracted f… III - each completed exchange operation.
§ 1 The reimbursement shall be effected through the collection of supplementary remuneration for each financial institution using the custody service, in a single installment, proportionally to its movement in the period.
§ 2 The return shall be effected through the issuance of a credit of specific value for each financial institution using the custody service, in a single installment, proportionally to its movement in the period.
§ 4 In the event of the termination of the service provision by the custodian institutions, the accumulated result up to that point shall be calculated, including the period prior to the effectiveness of this Resolution, and the reimbursement or return referred to in §§ 1 and 2 of this article shall be effected.
§ 1 The following may be authorized to perform the cash custody service:
I - observe compliance with the provisions of these Regulations within the premise;
II - define and apply the security policy of the premise;
III - implement necessary modifications in the physical installations of the premise; and
IV - observe the relevant legislation, in the contracting of remote installation.
There may be more than one custodian premise per municipality.
The entries resulting from custody operations shall be effected through messages from the Circulating Medium (CIR) group of the message catalog of the Brazilian Payments System (SPB).
Art. 6 The management policies for the custody of cash by the Central Bank of Brazil, issued by the Department of Circulating Medium (Mecir), will involve, among others, determinations on: I - banking service operating hours;
Art. 9 Custodian premises shall guarantee a safe environment for the storage and movement of values, and this condition shall be proven by a security plan approved by the Federal Police Department.
Art. 10 The composition by denomination of the custodied cash in a custodian premise must maintain constant correspondence with the respective record in the Circulating Medium Management System (Sismecir).
Art. 11 The custodied cash shall remain permanently separated from other values in the strongrooms of the custodian premises or the remote installation, in such a way as to allow, at any time, its identification.
At the discretion of the Central Bank of Brazil, there may be, exceptionally, the storage of cash outside the strongrooms of the custodian premises.
Art. 12 The arrangement of the custodied cash in the strongrooms of the custodian premises shall be done in a way that allows the verification of the stock.
§ 1 The custodied cash shall be separated according to the specification provided for in the items of the caput of this article, each volume containing only one denomination and family.
§ 2 Banknotes of types II to VI shall be grouped in strapped hundreds.
§ 3 Hundreds of banknotes of types II to VI shall be grouped in thousands, which must be topped with a label, according to the model defined by Mecir.
§ 4 Thousands of banknotes of the same denomination, classification, and family shall be grouped in bags when there is sufficient quantity to allow packaging, and the closing device must contain a seal with numbering and label, according to the model defined by Mecir.
§ 5 New metal coins shall be packaged in the original wrappers, which must not be torn.
§ 6 Usable metal coins shall be packaged in wrappers identified with the name of the depositing institution, the denomination, and the quantity, which must not be torn.
Art. 14 In withdrawal operations, cash of types I to IV shall be used.
The use of type II cash in withdrawal operations may only occur in accordance with the management policy for cash custody, defined by Mecir, in the form of art. 6 of these Regulations.
§ 1 The verification process shall be carried out in a safe environment.
§ 2 The custodian shall inform the Central Bank of Brazil of the data resulting from the processing of cash through a message from the CIR group of the message catalog of the SPB.
Art. 16 In the composition of custodied cash of types III or IV, the presence of type V banknotes shall be accepted up to a maximum percentage to be defined by Mecir, which shall be published through a Notice.
In the composition of custodied or relieved cash of type V, the presence of banknotes of types III or IV shall be accepted up to a maximum percentage to be defined by Mecir, which shall be published through a Notice.
Art. 17 Custody reinforcement operations shall occur in the following situations: IV - withdrawal of cash in a remote installation contracted by another financial institution custodian for the provision of custody services.
Art. 17 Custody reinforcement operations shall occur in the following situations: § 1 In the case of custody reinforcement referred to in item I of the caput, the Central Bank of Brazil shall be responsible for the costs and risks of the movement and the definition of delivery locations and dates, with air deliveries being carried out at destination airports.
Art. 17 Custody reinforcement operations shall occur in the following situations: § 2 In the case of custody reinforcement referred to in items II to IV of the caput, the costs and risks of the movement shall be borne by the interested custodian.
Art. 17 Custody reinforcement operations shall occur in the following situations: § 3 Requests for custody reinforcement made by another custodian shall be treated as withdrawal operations, including for the purpose of payment of the corresponding remuneration.
III - forwarding of cash to another custodian; and
IV - forwarding of any other type of cash, exceptionally, at the discretion of the Central Bank of Brazil.
§ 1 The costs and risks of custody relief operations shall be borne by the custodians.
§ 3 Requests for custody relief made by another custodian shall be treated as deposit operations, including for the purpose of payment of the corresponding remuneration.
Art. 19 The custodian shall provide change to the population.
§ 2 There must be specific signage to inform the public about the presence of the counter referred to in § 1.
Art. 20 When a collection operation is determined, the collected banknotes or coins must be forwarded to the representations of the Central Bank of Brazil indicated by it.
§ 1 The costs and risks of the movement shall be borne by the custodian.
§ 2 The operations referred to in § 1 shall be included in the calculation of the expenses provided for in art. 21.
§ 1 With the authorization of the Central Bank of Brazil, the custodian may adopt a remuneration percentage lower than the fixed one, which shall be used as a reference in the periodic analysis of the cost statements of the custody system.
Art. 25. The monitoring of the quality of services provided by the custodian shall occur through: I - surveys with financial institutions using the custodian's services;
Art. 25. The monitoring of the quality of services provided by the custodian shall occur through: III - opinion polls with the population in the area served by a custodian branch; and
Art. 25. The monitoring of the quality of services provided by the custodian shall occur through: IV - meetings with associations representing commerce or the community in the location where a custodian branch exists.
I - non-compliance with any of the provisions relating to items I to VII of Art. 6 of this Regulation;
II - non-compliance with provisions regarding the deposit of banknotes or metallic coins;
III - failure to provide information requested by Mecir within the deadline established in Art. 31;
IV - storage of cash outside the typology specified in the caput of Art. 13;
V - storage of cash not in accordance with the packaging method provided in the paragraphs of Art. 13;
VI - failure to characterize the custodian branch as a secure environment;
VII - lack of segregation of custody cash;
VIII - impossibility or hindrance to the inventory check due to the arrangement of cash;
IX - existence of an excess difference in value in the custody cash;
X - existence of a shortage difference in value in the custody cash;

The first 60 of 87 are shown.

“Not carried over” means the sentence has no counterpart in this text; the rule can still be in force in another text.

BCB Resolution No. 604 on the System and Custody of Cash of the Central Bank of Brazil