EN 
The duplicata escritural is the 100% digital version of Brazil’s mercantile duplicata, regulated by Law No. 13,775/2018 and BCB Resolution No. 339/2023. On June 30, 2026, the Central Bank of Brazil officially launched the system’s operational ecosystem, making each instrument unique, traceable, and verifiable in real time by authorized bookkeeping and registry entities. With the potential to unlock more than R$ 11 trillion per year in trade receivables, the change redefines how banks, FIDCs, and issuing companies manage collateral, access credit, and prevent fraud.
In this article, we discuss the historical context of the duplicata, the credit problem faced by SMEs in Brazil, the implications for the secondary receivables market, and Brazil’s position in the international context of credit infrastructure modernization. We also provide a complete FAQ with the main questions and answers on the topic.
1. Why the mercantile duplicata needed reform
The mercantile duplicata has existed under Brazilian law since 1936 and was formally regulated by Law No. 5,474/1968. For nearly ninety years, it served a simple and essential purpose: giving legal form to a credit sale between companies by creating an instrument that the seller could present to a bank to receive the funds before maturity.
The problem was never its purpose. It was the architecture. A paper duplicata does not have a universal serial number. There is no repository that any lender can consult to verify whether the instrument has already been assigned to another institution. There is no way to automatically confirm that the commercial transaction underlying the instrument actually existed. These weaknesses created a receivables market that was enormous in volume but limited in its effective use as collateral.
The Central Bank estimates that Brazil processes more than R$ 11 trillion in duplicatas per year, involving approximately 2 million issuing companies. Of this total, only 10% to 15% is effectively used as collateral in credit transactions. The remaining 85% to 90% is trapped in an operational limbo: receivables that exist but do not function as actual financial assets. The problem was not a lack of credit available in the Brazilian financial system. It was a lack of sufficiently reliable collateral to ensure that this credit reached those who needed it, at the right volume and cost.
Why it took so long
The duplicata reform was built through layers of regulation over eight years:
- Law No. 13,775/2018: formally authorized the issuance of duplicatas in book-entry format and delegated regulation of the system to the Central Bank.
- CMN Resolution No. 4,815/2020: required banks and FIDCs to operate exclusively with duplicata escritural instruments in transactions involving trade receivables.
- BCB Resolution No. 339/2023: defined the practical operation of the ecosystem, including bookkeeping entities, registry entities, flows, and deadlines.
- Duplicatas Convention (2024): established interoperability rules among authorized registry entities.
- BCB Resolution No. 540/2025: formally recognized acquisition with recourse transactions (co-obligation of the assignor) within the system.
- June 30, 2026: official launch of the ecosystem in the assisted production phase.
The June 30, 2026 launch is not the beginning—it marks the point at which the infrastructure is ready to operate at scale. Eight years of regulatory and technical development have materialized in an ecosystem that finally has all the necessary components in place.
2. What changed with the 2026 ecosystem: beyond digitalization
Calling duplicata escritural the “digitalization of the duplicata” is a simplification that hides the most relevant aspect of the change. Digitalization means replacing paper with an electronic file, which, on its own, does not solve any of the structural problems described above. The new system creates a shared trust infrastructure for all market participants.
From opacity to verifiable transparency
Under the paper-based model, information about a receivable belonged exclusively to the bilateral relationship between the drawer and the drawee. Under the book-entry model, each duplicata exists as a centralized record held by an entity authorized by the Central Bank and is accessible in real time to any authorized participant in the system.
A bank consulting a corporate client’s receivables schedule before approving an early payment transaction no longer depends on documents submitted by the client. It accesses an independent repository maintained by a registry entity authorized by the regulator, reflecting the actual status of the receivables portfolio at that moment.
Uniqueness as a structural property
The most critical technical element of the new system is uniqueness guaranteed by the central registry. Each duplicata escritural has a unique identity linked to the electronic invoice key (NF-e) that originated the transaction. The registry entity automatically rejects any attempt to register the same instrument twice or assign the same receivable to two different lenders.
This property never existed in Brazil’s mercantile duplicata system. It transforms the duplicata from a bilateral relationship document into a market financial asset: verifiable, unique, supported by a complete history, and enforceable against third parties from the moment it is registered.
BCB Resolution No. 540: the 2025 adjustment
In December 2025, the Central Bank published BCB Resolution No. 540, which formally recognized acquisition with recourse transactions within the duplicata escritural system: the purchase of a receivable with co-obligation of the assignor, in which the party selling the credit remains responsible for payment if the original debtor fails to honor the instrument.
This structure was already common market practice. FIDCs, securitization companies, and banks operated with co-obligation, but it was not expressly provided for under the duplicata escritural framework. BCB Resolution No. 540 eliminated this interpretive gap and aligned the rule with the case law of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and the framework established by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) for FIDCs.
3. Duplicata escritural and the credit market for SMEs
One of the most tangible effects of duplicata escritural is its potential to expand access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises. Historically, this group has faced a structural barrier in the receivables market: without a robust financial track record or sufficient collateral, SMEs had limited access to early payment transactions and paid rates that reflected this perceived risk.
When an SME’s receivables become verifiable, unique, and supported by a confirmed electronic invoice, lender uncertainty decreases structurally. This is not because the company became healthier overnight, but because the information available about it improved. Better information tends to translate into more accessible and less expensive credit.
Between 2024 and 2025, companies with revenue of up to R$ 200,000 recorded a 49% increase in the number of duplicata transactions, while the financial amount processed increased by 125% over the same period.
The competition effect: more lenders, better rates
With paper duplicatas, the original creditor had an information advantage that created a de facto monopoly: it was difficult for other lenders to assess the risk of a receivable they had not originated.
With centralized registration and interoperability among registry entities, any authorized lender can consult a company’s receivables schedule and make a credit offer based on objective information. This openness tends to push rates down and expand the options available to borrowers, particularly smaller companies.
4. Brazil in the global context
Trade receivables infrastructure is one of the least visible yet most critical pillars of the credit system in any market economy. In countries where this infrastructure is more mature, companies gain easier, faster, and less expensive access to working capital. Lower financial costs translate into greater competitiveness throughout the production chain.
Brazil has a sophisticated financial system and one of the world’s most advanced digital payments foundations. Pix processes volumes comparable to systems in developed countries. However, trade receivables infrastructure remained tied to a 1968 model while other countries moved toward centralized asset registration systems.
The parallel with Pix
The comparison with Pix is not accidental. Both are infrastructure changes promoted by the Central Bank with the potential to change how money flows through the system. However, there is an important structural difference.
Pix replaced an existing process (TED, DOC, boleto) with a more efficient one. Duplicata escritural does not replace a process: it creates an infrastructure layer that did not previously exist. What exists now is genuinely new: a trade receivables market with properties it never had before.
This has a practical implication: the learning and adaptation curve is likely to be longer than it was for Pix because there is no previous process to replicate in a more efficient format—an entirely new process must be built. For banks and companies that act early, this is an advantage. For those that wait, the risk is not only regulatory—it is also operational.
5. What to expect from the secondary receivables market
One of the most relevant long-term consequences of duplicata escritural—and one that rarely appears in short-term analyses—is the potential to develop a robust secondary market for trade receivables in Brazil.
For an asset to be traded in a secondary market, it needs three properties: uniqueness (no one can sell the same asset twice), traceability (subsequent buyers must be able to verify the chain of ownership), and standardization (different structures cannot be compared or priced at scale). The paper-based model had none of the three. The book-entry model has all three.
This opens the door for duplicata escritural to become a tradable asset on secondary market platforms, similar to what has occurred with other registered receivables in more mature markets. The potential volume is significant: if even a fraction of the R$ 11 trillion in annual duplicatas migrates to structures that can be traded in the secondary market, the impact on liquidity in Brazil’s corporate credit market will be substantial.
The Central Bank and the CVM have already indicated that developing the secondary receivables market is one of the ecosystem’s long-term objectives. Duplicata escritural is the infrastructure that makes this possible—not a guarantee that it will happen automatically.
For FIDCs and securitization companies, this development is especially relevant. Structures that currently depend on their own origination capacity will be able to access secondary market receivables with a verifiable history, expanding the potential scale of these transactions without relying on a single originator.
6. Evertec and duplicata escritural
Evertec serves as a technology partner for banks, FIDCs, and other financial institutions that need to transition to the new model securely and efficiently.
Evertec’s platform acts as an orchestration layer for duplicata bookkeeping and registration, drawer/drawee registration, opt-in, receivables schedule inquiries, transactions, and contract extensions, centralizing everything in a single integrated flow that is currently dispersed across internal systems and multiple integrations. From document virtualization—whether a mercantile duplicata, service duplicata, or invoice—to registration, reconciliation, and full monitoring of the instrument’s life cycle, Evertec ensures full compliance with BCB Resolution No. 339 and direct integration with the leading registry entities in the financial market.
For institutions that already operate with SGR, GRC, or FIDC structures, the platform provides the most direct path to consolidating duplicata escritural as a standard solution within their own operations, without multiplying points of failure or missing the strategic timing offered by early compliance.
7. Frequently asked questions about duplicata escritural
Direct and verifiable answers based on regulations issued by the Central Bank of Brazil: Law No. 13,775/2018, BCB Resolution No. 339/2023, and BCB Resolution No. 540/2025.
What is duplicata escritural?
Duplicata escritural is a 100% digital credit instrument issued and electronically recorded by a bookkeeping entity authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil. It represents a credit sale of goods or the provision of services and may be used as a collection instrument or as collateral in credit transactions.
Unlike the traditional paper-based mercantile duplicata, duplicata escritural exists only in an electronic environment, has a unique identity linked to the electronic invoice that originated it, and can be verified in real time by all authorized participants in the system.
How does duplicata escritural work?
Duplicata escritural goes through five stages:
Issuance. The selling company completes a credit sale and issues an electronic invoice (NF-e). Based on this NF-e, the bookkeeping entity records the duplicata in the electronic system, generating an instrument with a unique identity.
Response. The buyer (drawee) is notified and has up to 10 days to reject the instrument. If the buyer does not respond, tacit acceptance applies. Formal acceptance may be provided within up to 15 days.
Negotiation. If the company wants to receive the funds early, it authorizes the lender to access its duplicata schedule at the registry entity. The assignment is registered and becomes enforceable against third parties.
Financing. The bank, FIDC, or finance company releases the credit using the registered, unique, and verifiable instrument as collateral.
Settlement. The drawee pays the current holder of the duplicata. The event is recorded, closing the instrument’s life cycle.
When does duplicata escritural take effect?
The ecosystem was officially launched on June 30, 2026, beginning the assisted production phase. The implementation schedule is phased:
- June 2026: Authorization of bookkeeping systems and start of the assisted production phase (optional and controlled environment);
- December 2026: Initial full operation of the ecosystem;
- June 2027: Large companies;
- December 2027: Medium-sized drawers (medium-sized companies);
- June 2028: Small companies.
Source: Dates established by the Central Bank and subject to change. Follow official communications at bcb.gov.br.
What are the main changes introduced by duplicata escritural?
- Mandatory digitalization: duplicatas will exist exclusively in electronic format and will be issued and recorded by authorized bookkeeping entities.
- Link to the NF-e: each duplicata must be associated with a valid electronic invoice that proves the transaction’s economic basis.
- Electronic response from the drawee: the buyer must formally respond to each duplicata within a defined period.
- Centralized registration: all transactions (issuance, assignment, creation of liens, and settlement) are recorded with authorized entities, with interoperability among them.
- Guaranteed uniqueness: the system prevents the same instrument from being assigned to two different lenders.
- Enforceability against third parties: registered assignments and liens are enforceable against third parties from the moment of registration, without the need for additional extrajudicial notice.
- Formalized co-obligation: BCB Resolution No. 540/2025 recognized acquisition with recourse within the system.
What are the benefits of duplicata escritural?
For issuing companies: access to more lenders and more competitive credit terms; real-time visibility into the receivables schedule; an estimated reduction in working capital costs of between 0.3 and 0.8 percentage points per month.
For banks and lenders: higher-quality and more traceable collateral, eliminating the risk of double assignment; automation of the processes for verifying the underlying transaction, assignment, and reconciliation; a foundation for reviewing risk models and credit policies.
For the financial system and the country: structural reduction in fraud; potential development of a secondary receivables market; expanded access to credit for SMEs; and the possibility of unlocking R$ 11 trillion per year in receivables that are currently underused as collateral.
What is the difference between a mercantile duplicata and duplicata escritural?
Mercantile duplicata: issued on paper or in a proprietary electronic file, without mandatory central registration, guaranteed uniqueness, or third-party verification. It may be assigned to two different lenders without either one knowing about the other.
Duplicata escritural: issued and recorded in electronic systems authorized by the Central Bank, with a mandatory link to the NF-e, uniqueness guaranteed by the system, real-time verification, and enforceability against third parties from the moment of registration. The registry entity automatically rejects the second assignment, making double assignment technically impossible.
Which registry entities are authorized by the Central Bank for duplicata escritural?
The Central Bank has authorized four entities to operate as registries for duplicata escritural instruments:
- B3 (Bolsa, Brasil, Balcão)
- Núclea (formerly CIP — Câmara Interbancária de Pagamentos)
- CERC (Central de Recebíveis)
- SPC Grafeno (affiliated with SPC Brasil)
All of them follow the Duplicatas Escriturais Convention, approved in November 2024, which establishes interoperability rules among the entities. A duplicata issued through a bookkeeping entity integrated with Núclea can be consulted and negotiated by a bank integrated with B3, without requiring bilateral integrations between the entities.
What is a duplicata bookkeeping entity?
A bookkeeping entity is an entity authorized by the Central Bank and responsible for electronically recording the issuance of each duplicata escritural. It creates the digital record of the instrument, links it to the corresponding electronic invoice, and transmits the information to the registry entity so that it is available to the market.
Bookkeeping activities require prior authorization from the Central Bank, pursuant to Article 11 of BCB Circular No. 4,016/2020. The same entity may be authorized to perform both bookkeeping and registry activities. Companies may connect directly to a bookkeeping entity or use the service through an intermediary bank.
What is tacit acceptance in duplicata escritural?
Tacit acceptance occurs when the drawee (buyer) does not respond to a duplicata issued against it within the regulatory period of 10 days. The absence of rejection within this period is interpreted as agreement with the instrument, even without explicit formal acceptance. Formal acceptance may be provided within up to 15 days.
Companies with a high volume of suppliers need automated monitoring and electronic response processes to prevent tacit acceptance of duplicatas with inconsistencies in amounts or terms.
What changed for FIDCs and securitization companies under BCB Resolution No. 540?
BCB Resolution No. 540, issued in December 2025, formally recognized acquisition with recourse transactions within the duplicata escritural system: the purchase of a receivable with co-obligation of the assignor, in which the party selling the credit remains responsible for payment if the original debtor fails to honor the instrument.
Before this resolution, the structure was common market practice among FIDCs, securitization companies, and banks, but it was not expressly provided for under the duplicata escritural framework. The change aligned the rule with STJ decisions on pro solvendo assignments to investment funds and with the CVM framework for FIDCs.
How does duplicata escritural protect against fraud?
The system structurally addresses two types of fraud that the paper-based model was never able to eliminate:
Fraudulent duplicata (an instrument issued without an underlying real commercial transaction): the mandatory link to the NF-e makes issuance without underlying support more difficult. A canceled NF-e or one containing inconsistent data immediately alerts the bookkeeping entity.
Double assignment (the same receivable assigned to two different lenders): centralized registration with guaranteed uniqueness prevents double assignment at the source. The registry entity automatically rejects any second assignment involving an instrument that has already been assigned.
The traceability of every event in the life cycle—issuance, acceptance, assignment, lien, and settlement—creates an audit trail that facilitates the identification of irregularities before credit is released.
Will duplicata escritural replace the boleto bancário?
No. The two instruments serve different purposes.
The boleto is a payment instrument: it defines how the money moves from the payer to the creditor.
Duplicata escritural is a credit instrument: it legally represents the right to receive payment arising from a credit sale.
In practice, duplicata escritural may be paid through a boleto linked to it, by TED, or through Pix. The boleto continues to exist as a payment method, now associated with a digitally registered duplicata that provides full traceability of the transaction.
