Brazil is one of the most vibrant digital economies in the world—but also one of the most complex. From a highly engaged consumer base to one of the most progressive regulatory environments in financial services, the landscape here demands more than just market entry. It demands deep, structural understanding. Winning in Brazil doesn’t come from applying global models or launching at scale. It comes from thinking like a regulator, a consumer, and a merchant simultaneously—and designing accordingly.

At OKTO, we’ve come to see this as the essential mindset. Regulation in Brazil isn’t just a constraint; it’s a driver of innovation. Consumers aren’t passive recipients; they are active and expect real-time results. And merchants aren’t simply clients; they’re operators under pressure, looking for fast solutions that genuinely ease friction. Products that perform here are never one-dimensional—they’re the result of triangulating between all three perspectives.

This dynamic has become particularly visible in areas such as instant payments and digital onboarding. With Pix transforming consumer expectations around speed and availability, payment platforms must now offer real-time settlement and easy integration by default. But meeting that demand also requires compliance with strict anti-money laundering (AML) controls, data privacy laws (LGPD), and robust transaction reporting frameworks. In short, what looks like “simplicity” to the end user is often the result of very sophisticated design and cross-functional execution behind the scenes.

Listening Beyond the Product Team

“The most impactful product decisions we’ve made didn’t originate in a product meeting. They began in conversations with sales teams in the field, compliance officers dissecting new legislation, or customer success teams relaying repeated issues from merchants. The best ideas come from being close to the problem—not just close to the roadmap.” says Marcio Souto, Product Director at OKTO.

Proximity creates clarity. For instance, when we were refining our merchant onboarding experience, it wasn’t usability tests alone that revealed the issues—it was the feedback from merchants where infrastructure constraints and operational realities often differ from Brazil’s major urban centers. That feedback revealed the need for asynchronous flows and offline capabilities. Similarly, it was ongoing dialogue with compliance that helped us design an identity verification process that was both secure and efficient—ensuring that we stayed ahead of regulatory expectations while improving conversion rates.

“The most successful products aren’t built in isolation—they’re shaped by continuous collaboration across product, sales, compliance, finance, customer success, and, most importantly, the client. In Brazil, this integrated approach isn’t optional; it’s the foundation for building solutions that truly work” adds Marcio Souto.

Why Cross-Functional Execution Wins

Building in Brazil is a team sport. Success comes when every function works in sync—not sequentially, but continuously. Product, sales, compliance, finance, and customer success all hold part of the answer. Alone, none of them can see the full picture. But when they’re aligned, the result is a product that works for the market, for the business, and for the people using it.

It’s worth noting that the pace of regulatory change in Brazil especially under the leadership of the Central Bank (Banco Central do Brasil) means that teams must stay agile and informed. Whether it’s adapting to evolving rules around payment institutions or aligning with upcoming Open Finance standards, compliance can no longer be a post-launch check. It needs to be a strategic partner from day one.

Building with Brazil, Not Just in Brazil

We often say: don’t build for Brazil, build with Brazil. Localization in Brazil goes far beyond translating language—it requires adapting to infrastructure differences, regional customer behavior, and embedded trust dynamics. For example, the perception of security in payment flows can vary significantly across regions and demographics. In some cases, over-simplified UIs may erode trust rather than build it. Designing with these subtleties in mind is what separates foreign players from true local operators.

To hit success in Brazil requires accepting that complexity is not a flaw—it’s a feature of the market. The companies that grow here sustainably are those that respect and adapt to that complexity. The ones that fail often try to reduce it prematurely or work around it entirely.

Expertise Is Earned Through Proximity

At OKTO, we’ve learned that expertise isn’t just about what you know—it’s about who you listen to. In Brazil, that means listening to regulators as partners, merchants as collaborators, internal teams as co-creators, and final users as the true north of innovation. This ecosystem of insight is what makes great products possible. It’s not always fast or easy, but it’s the most reliable path to relevance—and results.

We’ve embedded this mindset into our product process. Merchant interviews aren’t a one-time exercise; they’re part of our continuous discovery. Regulatory analysis is integrated into sprint planning. Customer success feedback feeds directly into our prioritization model. And when we ship something new, it’s not considered successful until it’s delivering real value in real conditions. That’s what we mean by proximity—not just geographic, but operational and strategic.

In Brazil, product-market fit is not a product team’s job alone. It’s the output of collaboration, humility, and iteration. It comes from navigating regulation with intelligence, respecting the operator’s reality, and staying close to the customer at every stage.

Final Thoughts

Brazil doesn’t reward shortcuts—it rewards commitment. Building great products here means embracing complexity, not avoiding it. It means listening longer, iterating smarter, and designing with empathy for the people who use, regulate, and operate your product every day. At OKTO, we’ve learned that success doesn’t come from fitting Brazil into a global blueprint—it comes from making Brazil central to how we build, think, and lead. That mindset doesn’t just help you win in Brazil—it makes you better everywhere.