Originating Fully-Performed Card Receivables in Brazil

Real World Assets Pool Onboarding Proposals (POP)
1

Hello everyone,

My name is Daniel, and I am the founder behind Alinha, a new credit-receivables platform being launched in Brazil. I would like to present our operating model and understand whether this category of real-world assets could be suitable for a future pool on Centrifuge.

Market Context in Brazil

Brazil has one of the largest card-payment systems globally, with “buy now, pay later” embedded into standard credit-card transactions. Merchants typically receive their card receivables in 30–90 days, and most rely on receivables advances to manage cash flow.

Despite strong infrastructure, these advances are expensive. Merchants normally pay 2% or more per month, even though:

  • The receivables are fully performed

  • Every transaction is registered in centralized receivables registries (Nuclea, supervised by the Central Bank of Brazil)

  • The receivables are part of the Visa/Mastercard domestic settlement rails

  • Chargeback rates in physical retail are below 1%

This creates an opportunity to deliver more efficient capital while maintaining very low credit risk.

How Alinha Operates

Alinha originates card-receivable credit advances directly through our platform. We are preparing to onboard a network of around 6,000 merchants, each processing approximately USD 10,000 per month in eligible receivables.

Key characteristics of the asset:

  • Short duration and predictable cash flow

  • 100% secured by already-performed receivables

  • Registered and pledged through the Brazilian central receivables registry (Nuclea)

  • Embedded in the Visa/Mastercard settlement infrastructure, which standardizes payment flows

  • Very low chargeback incidence for in-person retail

Capital Structure and FX Considerations

Our goal is to access USD-denominated capital to reduce the cost of funding for Brazilian merchants.

If we source capital in USD and we cover the full cost of FX hedging (via instruments on B3 or CME), the resulting economics allow us to:

  • Offer merchants materially better rates than their current 2%+ monthly costs

  • Deliver investors a net annually yield in the range of 8–9% (hedged), depending on hedge structure and tenor

  • Maintain the underlying BRL credit risk extremely low, due to the combination of:

    • performed receivables

    • centralized registry protections

    • payment-network settlement guarantees

    • high granularity and diversification

Why I Am Sharing This Here

We are interested in understanding whether this type of receivables origination could fit within Centrifuge’s framework for real-world asset pools.

Specifically, we would like to learn:

  1. Whether a pool backed by Brazilian card-receivable advances would be considered appropriate for the ecosystem

  2. What structural, legal, or data requirements we should prepare as we scale

  3. How best to align our origination, risk, and reporting processes with Centrifuge standards

  4. What steps are recommended for originators planning to submit a formal pool proposal in the future

We are still early in deployment, but we aim to follow best practices from the beginning. Any guidance or feedback from the community, governance participants, asset managers, or anyone familiar with similar credit verticals would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time,
Daniel

2

I am particularly interested in Brazil’s unique model where merchants effectively bear the cost of interest-free installment payments for consumers. This creates a compelling underlying dynamic for receivables financing and makes this asset class especially suitable for RWA structuring.With this in mind, I would like to offer the following 9 points as my personal observations and suggestions for reference.Since this type of receivable asset lacks a specific international rating, it carries a certain market acceptance premium. Additionally, given that the underlying assets are confined to Brazil and subject to local legal, regulatory, and macroeconomic risks, achieving a truly neutral, transparent, and robust structuring for the RWA pool is especially important.Please note that these views are based solely on my individual knowledge and perspective, and are provided only for reference and discussion.Based on my understanding of the proposal and similar RWA pools, here are 9 personal suggestions aimed at enhancing investor protection and operational robustness:

  1. Merchant Agreement and Receivables Transfer
    The originator (Alinha) signs a cessão fiduciária de recebíveis agreement with merchants, clearly specifying the transfer of a defined portion of fully-performed card receivables and a discount rate materially lower than the traditional market rate of ~2% monthly (target range ~1.2–1.6%).

  2. Registration with Centralized Registry (Núclea/B3 etc.)
    Immediately after signing, register the transfer/pledge with a Central Bank-authorized registry. This step creates public notice and mandatory enforcement power and is the cornerstone of legal protection.

  3. Automated Funding Trigger Upon Registration Confirmation, with Closed-Loop and Physical Isolation
    Funding is released only after oracle verification (e.g., Chronicle or Chainlink) confirms successful Núclea registration and on-chain recording. Funds are disbursed from a dedicated pool/SPV-controlled Brazilian bank account. Full FX hedging (primarily NDF or FX swaps) is executed simultaneously with the USD→BRL conversion to lock in the recovery exchange rate. All receivables payments flow directly into the same dedicated account, creating a closed-loop structure that physically isolates funds from the servicer/originator.

  4. Direct Collection into Pool Account
    On the settlement date, the acquirer automatically routes payments (net of any chargebacks) directly to the pool/SPV dedicated account in accordance with the registry record.

  5. Transaction Close-Out and Capital Recycling
    Upon receipt of recovery proceeds and hedge settlement, the individual transaction is closed, and principal is immediately redeployed into newly registered receivables, targeting an annual turnover of 5–7× (average duration 50–70 days) to support the 8–9% net yield.

  6. Servicer Responsibilities Including Turnover and Discount Rate Management
    The servicer (Alinha) handles merchant onboarding, agreement execution, registry operations, exposure limits, and ongoing monitoring. The servicer must actively manage the breakeven balance between turnover rate and discount rate (e.g., duration >70 days or average discount <1.1% may fail to cover hedging costs and fees).

  7. SPV Structure for Bankruptcy Remoteness
    Use a dedicated SPV to hold assets, control the bank account, and receive payments, achieving true sale and bankruptcy isolation from the originator/servicer.

  8. Regular Audit and Transparent Governance
    Third-party audits of off-chain documentation and registry records, combined with full on-chain transparency of funding and repayment events. Community governance should include servicer removal triggers.

  9. Servicer Performance Reporting and Fee Alignment
    The servicer should provide regular (monthly/quarterly) reports including:

    • Turnover forecasts and budgets (expected duration, annual cycles, origination pipeline)

    • Discount rate budgets

    • Actual settlement results (realized turnover, average discount, breakeven analysis, pool idle rate)
      Fee structure should be performance-linked: base servicing fee (~0.5–1% annualized) plus incentives/penalties tied to achieving turnover ≥6× and net yield ≥8.5% (e.g., excess spread sharing or junior tranche absorption on underperformance).

I believe these elements, if implemented, would bring the pool close to institutional-grade RWA standards while preserving the attractive risk-adjusted return of this Brazilian asset class.Happy to discuss further or revise based on additional details from the team. Looking forward to hearing others’ thoughts!