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The new Pix security rules have been in effect since February and include MED 2.0 (Special Return Mechanism), which tracks the path of money between accounts and allows automatic blocking of suspicious amounts for up to 11 days. Between July 2024 and June 2025, about 24 million Brazilians were victims of fraud involving Pix or bank slips, with an estimated loss of almost R$ 29 billion. The victim can now contest directly through the bank’s app without human contact.
The Pix has gained a protection system that most Brazilians still don’t know about, and knowing how it works can mean the difference between losing money to a scammer or recovering it in a few days. The Central Bank activated version 2.0 of the MED (Special Return Mechanism), which requires all banks and payment institutions to track suspicious transfers between accounts, automatically block amounts, and return the money to the victim in a shorter period. The crucial detail is the time: when the victim contests the transaction, the originating institution has up to 30 minutes to notify the receiving bank.
The numbers show why this update was urgent. About 24 million people were victims of fraud involving Pix or bank slips between July 2024 and June 2025, with an estimated loss of almost R$ 29 billion, according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum. The occurrences affect all ages: the elderly are more vulnerable to fake slips and young people to online shopping scams. The Pix, which revolutionized payments in Brazil, has also become the preferred tool for criminals to move money obtained by fraud.
What is MED 2.0 and why it changes everything for those who fall for scams
According to information released by ndmais, the MED (Special Return Mechanism) is the Central Bank system that allows the recovery of amounts transferred via Pix in cases of fraud. Version 2.0, in effect since February, makes the mechanism mandatory for all institutions operating Pix and adds capabilities that the previous version did not have, such as tracking money between intermediary accounts and the automatic blocking of suspicious amounts.
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In practice, this means that if a scammer receives the Pix and immediately transfers the money to another account, the system can now follow this trail and block the amounts in the second, third, or fourth account to which they were diverted. Previously, the return was restricted to the account that initially received the amount, which gave criminals time to spread the money across multiple accounts and withdraw it before any blocking was enforced.
The first 30 minutes that can save your money
When the victim contests a transfer via Pix, the originating institution has up to 30 minutes to notify the receiving bank. This timeframe is what makes the speed of reaction so important: the faster the victim reports the scam, the greater the chance that the money is still in the criminal’s account or in an intermediary account where it can be blocked by the system.
The process is straightforward. The victim should contest the transaction through the bank’s official channels as quickly as possible, preferably through the app, which now offers a contestation button that triggers the MED without the need for human contact. The originating institution notifies the receiving one within 30 minutes, the funds are blocked in the suspect’s account, and the institutions analyze the case. If fraud is confirmed, the amount is returned. If there is no evidence, the money is released to the recipient.
The automatic blocking of amounts for up to 11 days
One of the most significant changes in MED 2.0 is the mandatory automatic blocking of amounts suspected of fraud for up to 11 days while the analysis is carried out. All institutions participating in Pix are required to block the funds, which prevents the scammer from withdrawing or transferring the money during the investigation period. The Central Bank estimates that the amounts can be recovered within 11 days after the dispute.
The 11-day period is shorter than previously practiced, when the refund could take weeks or simply not happen because the money had already been moved out of the system’s reach. Automatic blocking reverses the logic: instead of the victim chasing after the loss, the system locks the money first and investigates later, ensuring that the funds remain available for restitution if the fraud is confirmed.
What has changed in the exchange of information between banks
Another important front of MED 2.0 is the sharing of information between financial institutions. Banks now exchange data on the money’s path in real-time, which facilitates the blocking and restitution of funds even when the scammer distributes the amounts among multiple accounts in different institutions. Previously, each bank operated in isolation, and the lack of communication benefited criminals.
The integration between banks, payment institutions, and security agencies creates a protection network that makes the scammer’s life significantly more difficult. When an account is identified as a recipient of fraud, the information is shared with the entire system, allowing other institutions to preventively block transfers destined for the same beneficiary. The effect is cumulative: the more scams are reported, the more efficient the system becomes at identifying patterns and preventing new frauds.
How to dispute via the app without needing to call the bank
The Central Bank determined in October that all financial institutions should offer MED through a dispute button in their apps. This measure allows the victim to request a refund directly from their cell phone, without needing to call the bank or go to a branch, eliminating the bureaucracy that made many people give up disputing relatively low amounts.
The process via the app is simplified: the victim locates the transfer in the statement, activates the dispute button, and fills in the information about the fraud. From then on, the Pix system takes over and automatically executes the communication, blocking, and analysis procedures. For those who have already been victims of a scam and were unaware of this feature, the advice is to check if your bank’s app already offers the button and familiarize yourself with the process before needing to use it in an emergency.
Did you know that Pix now has a system that tracks money and automatically blocks amounts in case of a scam, or is this the first time you’ve heard of MED 2.0? Tell us in the comments if you have ever been a victim of Pix fraud and if you managed to recover the money.
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