Mastercard is seeking additional support for repaying acquirers in Brazil over the collapse of Banco Master due to a new rule in place from the Central Bank of Brazil.
Mastercard is reaching out to Brazilian payment processors to help payoff the rest of a near $1bn (BRL 5bn) loss caused by the collapse of Banco Master SA.
The global card network company has already reimbursed Brazilian payment processors 50% of the total amount, but due to new rules from the Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil), the card giant is reportedly looking to minimise losses to pay back merchant acquirers.
Mastercard is proposing to use the money collected from card customers to reimburse itself before paying merchant acquirers, according to Bloomberg which cited people who have seen the relevant documents.
Prior to the collapse of Banco Master, its fintech subsidiary, Will Financeira SA, had cards issued by Mastercard. The subsequent collapse in November 2025 meant Mastercard ultimately had to pay back Will Financeira merchant acquirers which processed the card payments.
Some of the acquirers include bank-owned entities Cielo SA, StoneCo and PagSeguro Digital Ltd, having been included in Mastercard’s proposals.
In a statement revealed according to Bloomberg sources, Cielo said merchant acquirers should not bear responsibility for the payments.
“Acquirers could not, cannot, and will not be able to choose the issuers that are part of the payment scheme, nor are they responsible for the guarantees linked to the transaction,” said Cielo in its statement.
The central bank new rule
Mastercard’s proposal follows the Central Bank of Brazil’s new rule (introduced in March 2026) to ensure payment networks are responsible for payments to be settled and to use their own funds if the transaction fails.
The central bank said payment and card networks are “fully responsible, without exceptions, for ensuring payment of all transactions to the receiving user, including using its own funds if the protection mechanisms adopted prove insufficient”.
The new rule was in response to the collapse of Banco Master and Will Financeira, with the latter collapsing later in January.
Mastercard has argued that due to the new rules having to be implemented by May 2026, and Will Financeira collapsing in January, it had already sent payments to acquirers out of its own funds during the 30 days following the collapse.
Therefore, the global card payment network believes the new rules do not apply to the situation involving Will Financeira.
The Banco Master collapse
Banco Master, which previously offered high-yield bank deposits and lending services, was ordered an extrajudicial liquidation from the Central Bank of Brazil due to financial fraud.
The company was found to have sold high-yield bonds with attached premiums above market averages while offering them as “low-risk” due to being insured by the country’s deposit insurance fund. Banco Master had also been investing in unbacked securities and inflated assets guaranteed.
Daniel Vorcaro, CEO of Banco Master, was arrested and the Brazilian law enforcement agencies carried out raids and asset seizures, with the financial fraud also carrying over to politicians and organised crime organisations.
The company was shut down in November 2025 and the scandal led to significant deposit guarantee funds being affected.
