Meet TED and DOC

Have you met TED yet? How about DOC? If you haven't met either, then you probably haven't ever sent a wire transfer in Brazil before.

TED and DOC are the names given to two different forms of wire transfers. That’s right - in Brazil, you don’t just send a wire transfer. That would be way too easy. You have to choose how you want the transfer to be sent.

A TED (Transferência Eletrônica Disponível) is an option when you’re transferring funds between accounts at the same bank or different banks. There’s no minimum amount and no maximum amount. If you send the funds before 5:00pm on a business day, the funds will arrive the same day.

A DOC (Documento de Ordem de Crédito) is also an option when sending money. Again, it doesn’t matter whether the accounts are at the same bank or different banks. While there’s no minimum transfer amount, there’s a maximum. Each transfer must be less than R$5,000 (approximately US$937). In most cases, DOCs sent by 10:00pm will arrive on the next business day.

Banks generally charge similar fees to send TEDs and DOCs - somewhere between R$0 and R$11. Expect to pay more though if you go to the bank rather than initiating the transfer online.

While either a TED or a DOC will usually do the trick, there’s one significant difference. Because a DOC doesn’t arrive the same day, it can be cancelled if it’s stopped in time. Once you send a TED, it’s a done deal.