TikTok, the social media platform controlled by China's ByteDance, has applied for two financial licences with Brazil's central bank, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter cited by Reuters.
At the time of writing, the applications have not been confirmed publicly. TikTok did not respond to requests for comment, and the central bank also declined to provide more details on the matter at hand.
The first licence would allow TikTok to operate as an electronic money issuer, enabling users to hold balances, receive funds, and make payments within the app. The second would classify it as a direct credit company, a category of fintech that cannot take public deposits but can lend from its own capital or operate as a platform connecting borrowers and lenders.
Brazil market context and regulatory background
If approved, the licences would allow TikTok to offer a suite of basic financial services to Brazilian consumers, following an approach to platform-embedded financial services established in Brazil by Nubank, now the country's largest digital bank. It is not yet confirmed whether TikTok's objective is to introduce standalone financial products or to support ecommerce and creator monetisation functions on its existing platform.
Furthermore, ByteDance previously launched Douyin Pay in China in 2021 to support ecommerce on the Chinese version of TikTok, competing with Alipay and WeChat Pay. In Indonesia, TikTok sought a payments licence in 2023 but was barred from processing transactions directly on its platform later that year, leading it to pursue local partnerships instead.
Brazil represents a strategically significant market for TikTok, with 131 million users aged 18 and above as of late 2025, and advertising reach across 80% of Brazilian adults. ByteDance has separately committed to investing more than USD 38,800 in a data centre in the country. ByteDance executives, including its Global Payments head, met with Brazil's central bank chief in Brasília on the day the licence applications were reported.
