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Boleto Bancário Logo

Boleto Bancário is a cash payment method available in Brazil and regulated by the Brazilian Federation of Banks (“FEBRABAN”). Boleto has a significant market share of approximately 20%. Boleto is generally considered a secure payment option, especially for consumers who are unbanked or who do not wish to release their credit card details online.

Consumers who do not have a Boleto account may still pay via the Boleto payment method. Consumers are, however, required to enter their birthdate, as well as a valid 11-digit Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas number (“CPF number”), which is a unique tax identifier for residents of Brazil. Businesses may enter a Cadastro Nacional de Pessoas Jurídicas number (“CNPJ” number), which is a corollary unique tax identifier for businesses that identifies them in the National Register of Legal Entities.

Payment Flow

Examples & Implementation

Here's an example of what a Boleto might look like online:


Here's one example of how a merchant, Nippon-Yasan, has integrated Boleto in their checkout process:

Properties

Type of Payment
Offline
Chargebacks
No
Consumer Currency
BRL
Consumer Country
Brazil
Expiry Period
The Boleto voucher states that the Boleto will expire after 3 days.
Recurring Payments
No
Partial Payment
No. The shopper must pay the entire amount on the Boleto voucher.
Refunds
Yes. Refunds are submitted normally. This payment method has a refund period of 180 days.

FAQ

Does the customer need to have an account with Boleto Bancário to use this method?
No. The customer does not need to have an account with Boleto Bancário to use this method.
What does a Boleto Bancário account include?
A Boleto Bancário will always include:
  • Bar Code: This field contains a the information necessary to allow remittance to the merchant. Used for in-person payment option.
  • Identification Field: This field corresponds to the bar code, and contains the information necessary to allow remittance to the merchant. Used for online payment option.
  • Nosso Número: This is an ID number that enables identification of an individual Boleto. Located in the upper right hand corner of the Ficha de Compensação (Clearance Receipt), this number is inserted according to rules established by each bank.
What information does the customer need to enter?
The Customer does need to enter either:
  • A valid 11-digit CPF number (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas Number)
    • The Brazilian tax authority issues this unique tax identifier to residents of Brazil.
  • A valid 14-digit CNPJ number (Cadastro Nacional de Pessoas Jurídicas)
    • The Brazilian tax authority issues this unique tax identifier to companies registered in Brazil.

See a full list of FAQs here

Best Practices

  • Because shoppers have the option to pay the Boleto voucher at a kiosk, there is often a lag of multiple days between the order being placed and the order being paid. Remember to wait until payment is made to ship any physical goods.

  • If the amount of a transaction changes (an order modification), you must issue a new Boleto for the entire amount of the transaction. It's best to set expectations with your shopper that they should only pay the updated voucher, not the original voucher.

  • For refunds, our Brazilian banking partners will have to get in touch with the customer and send them a bank transfer for the amount paid.

  • Because refunds are routed directly to the customer's bank account, refunds can take multiple days. It's important to build this flexibility into your systems. Keep in mind that the refund process will require that the processor contacts the shopper for bank information, as refunds go directly to the customer's bank account.

  • For Boleto refunds, it is recommended the customer is made aware to watch for, and respond to, the email from the processor.

  • For Boleto refunds initiated by Reach, Reach will need the following information to process the refunds:

    • Bank Name:
    • Bank Account Number:
    • Branch Code:
    • Bank Account Holder's CPF:
    • Bank Account Holder's Full Name:
    • Account type:
    • Amount:
  • If you cancel an order, it's best that you reach out to the customer immediately and let them know. If you cancel a Boleto order while it's pending, the customer will have no way of knowing that the order was canceled. As such, they may pay that slip and wait for the order to arrive, but it never will.

  • Once the customer is able to see the Boleto ticket, then there is no way to cancel the order.

Because it is a cash payment method, fraud is relatively low with Boleto compared to other non-cash-based payment methods.

Technical Considerations

  • The Customer needs to enter either a CPF number or a CNPJ number to complete a Boleto transaction. This number corresponds to the "NationalIdentifier" field.
  • Only shoppers with a Brazilian billing address may use Boleto or may receive payments in BRL.
  • "Authorize" and "Capture" aren't really relevant to the Boleto payment process. Boletos can't be "Cancelled," either. They can either be paid or not paid. If you cancel an order while it is still in "pending," the customer may never know the order was cancelled. You must reach out to the customer to let them know the order was cancelled.
  • Boleto cannot be manually expired. On the printed voucher, there is printed, industry-standard marketing text stating that the Boleto voucher will expire after 5 days to encourage the shopper to pay the Boleto in a timely fashion. The processor will not accept the Boleto after 10 days have passed. In the case that the shopper pays after this time period, Reach works with the processor to refund the shopper.
  • More than 93% of completed Boleto transactions are paid within the first 3 days
  • It is possible to cancel an offline order only if the shopper has not yet redirected through the Reach system to see the ticket. Once the customer sees the ticket, there is no way to cancel the order, as the customer may pay the voucher at any time.
{
  "MerchantId": "e78e8cd0-24b8-4b0c-a922-87a1d8cc61c3",
  "ReferenceId": "1540604093095",
  "PaymentMethod": "BOLETO",
  "ConsumerCurrency": "BRL",
  "Capture": true,
  "Items": [
    {
      "Description": "Piston Ring",
      "ConsumerPrice": 100,
      "Quantity": 1,
      "Sku": "4383471583721"
    }
  ],
  "Consumer": {
    "Name": "Jane Doe",
    "Email": "[email protected]",
    "Phone": "1234567890",
    "Address": "123 Any Street",
    "City": "Somewhere",
    "Region": "14",
    "PostalCode": "12345",
    "Country": "BR",
    "NationalIdentifier": "26394653330"
  },
  "DeviceFingerprint": "a5772185-1c9a-4646-9772-557fc6083ea2",
  "Return": "https://checkout-sandbox.gointerpay.net/return.php"
}
{
  "OrderId": "ac0f324a-d890-45fe-86cd-c2d0ba34c204",
  "UnderReview": false,
  "Expiry": "2018-11-13T01:33:58Z",
  "Authorized": false,
  "Completed": false,
  "Captured": false,
  "Action": {
    "Redirect": "https://sandbox.gointerpay.net/auth/9f88d3f3-a2e8-4286-aacf-7082fe50b49f"
  }
}

Testing

  • Because Boleto Bancário is an offline payment method, testing is a manual process. As you put through test transactions in Sandbox, just contact support when you're ready for instructions on how to manually advance the transaction to your desired stage.
  • To test expiration, contact the Reach support team, and we can manually expire the order.
  • Any valid CPF will work in the NationalIdentifier field in the sandbox, but there are tools to generate a valid (fake) CPF. We like https://theonegenerator.com/generators/documents/cpf-generator