# Caixa Econômica Federal

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/caixa-economica
> research date 2026-05-30 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Caixa — official](https://www.caixa.gov.br/)

## Overview

**Caixa Econômica Federal** is **Brazilian federal savings bank** + **Brazilian federal government fully owned** + **Brazil's largest social lending bank + Bolsa Família + FGTS + Minha Casa Minha Vida government social programs operator** + **~145M+ Brazilian customers** <sup>[1][1], [Brazil report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/BR)</sup>.

## History

**Jan 12 1861 — Caixa Econômica do Rio de Janeiro founded by Emperor Pedro II in Rio de Janeiro** distinctive Brazilian banking heritage.

**1934 — Caixa Econômica Federal unified by President Getúlio Vargas**.

**1986 — FGTS Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço social security fund management by Caixa Econômica Federal**.

**2003 — Bolsa Família social welfare program operation by Caixa Econômica Federal**.

**2009 — Minha Casa Minha Vida federal social housing program operation by Caixa Econômica Federal**.

**2010 — Caixa mobile banking app launch**.

**2020 — Caixa Auxílio Emergencial COVID-19 emergency aid distribution to ~70M+ Brazilians**.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Caixa Econômica Federal** (Brazilian federal savings bank; Brazilian federal government fully owned).

**Major shareholders**: **Government of Brazil (Ministry of Finance + Federal Executive) fully owned**.

**Regulators**: **BACEN + CVM**.

## Technical integration

Caixa mobile app (iOS + Android; ~145M+ Brazilian customers) + caixa.gov.br online + Caixa Econômica Federal branch network across Brazil (largest Brazilian retail banking branch network) + Caixa Visa + Mastercard + Elo cards; Pix + Pix QR + TED + Boleto Bancário.

## Implementations & partners

**Major Brazilian + Latin American banking + payments competitors**: [Itau Unibanco](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/banco-itau) (Itaú Unibanco; B3: ITUB4 + NYSE: ITUB; Brazil's largest commercial bank by assets + market capitalization; Latin America's largest commercial bank by market capitalization; ~70M+ Latin American customers + global operations 20+ countries) + [Banco do Brasil (BB App)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/banco-do-brasil) (Banco do Brasil; B3: BBAS3; Brazilian state-owned commercial bank; Brazil's #1 commercial bank by branches) + [Bradesco (Banco Bradesco)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/bradesco) (Banco Bradesco; B3: BBDC4 + NYSE: BBD; Brazilian commercial bank; Brazil's largest private commercial bank by branches + retail customers) + [Santander Brasil](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/santander-brasil) (Santander Brasil; B3: SANB11 + NYSE: BSBR; Banco Santander Spain Brazilian subsidiary) + [Banco Inter (Inter&Co)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/banco-inter) (Banco Inter; B3: BIDI11; Brazilian digital bank) + [Nubank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/nubank) (Nubank Brasil; NYSE: NU; Brazil's largest digital bank by customers ~110M+ across Brazil + Mexico + Colombia) + [C6 Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/c6-bank) (C6 Bank; Brazilian digital bank; JPMorgan Chase US strategic investor) + [PicPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/picpay) (PicPay; Brazilian super-app wallet) + [Mercado Pago](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/mercado-pago) (Mercado Pago; MercadoLibre group; Brazilian operations).

**Regulators**: BACEN + CVM.

## Status

**Active, Brazilian federal savings bank + Brazilian federal government fully owned + Brazil's largest social lending bank + Bolsa Família + FGTS + Minha Casa Minha Vida government social programs operator + ~145M+ Brazilian customers** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.caixa.gov.br/ "Caixa — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caixa_Econ%C3%B4mica_Federal "Caixa Econômica Federal — Wikipedia"
[br-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/BR

- [1] [Caixa — official][1]
- [2] [Caixa Econômica Federal — Wikipedia][2]
- <sup>[Brazil report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/BR)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/BR-brazil.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [caixa-economica.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/caixa-economica). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.