What is PicPay, a digital bank targeted for undue discounts to DF servers

The logo of Brazilian digital bank PicPay is displayed on the Nasdaq building after the opening bell rings on the Nasdaq exchange during the company's IPO, on the Nasdaq market website in Times Square, in New York City, USA, on January 29, 2026.
Reuters
PicPay was the target of an operation launched this Friday morning (19) by the Public Ministry and the Civil Police, which is investigating irregular payroll deductions of government employees from the Federal District (DF).
Founded as a fintech in Vitória (ES), in 2012, the company received a license from the Central Bank (BC) to act as a financial institution in 2022 and went public in early 2026, in the first public offering of shares (IPO) of a Brazilian company in five years. (see more details below)
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According to the investigation, the digital bank had made undue deductions from employees' paychecks through the salary advance service. The case also came under the spotlight of the INSS CPMI after information indicated that the office named after Governor Ibaneis Rocha received R$1 million from the J&F Participações group, PicPay's controller. Understand more here.
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The company's executive president, Eduardo Chedid Simões, is one of the targets of the operation. He was cited among the managers of financial institutions investigated for working in the payroll credit ecosystem and undue discounts on the INSS. In the CPMI of Undue INSS Discounts, he was indicted.
When contacted, PicPay stated that it "does not recognize any irregularity in the mentioned operations" and "rejects the allegation of undue charging".
According to the company, its products and services are offered "in accordance with current standards and subject to rigorous control and supervision mechanisms".
See PicPay's note in full
"PicPay reaffirms its commitment to strict compliance with legislation and regulations applicable to the financial and payment method sectors.
The company does not recognize any irregularity in the aforementioned operations and rejects the allegation of undue charging. Its products and services are structured and offered in accordance with current regulations and subject to rigorous control and supervision mechanisms.
The advance amount was made available on the customer's own card, after the request is made by the user in the application, without intermediaries or associations and without charging in this modality.
PicPay maintains a solid structure of corporate governance, risk management and compliance, aligned with the best market practices and the highest regulatory standards.
The company will continue to collaborate fully with the competent authorities and is confident that any necessary clarifications will confirm the regularity of its operations."
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See the history of PicPay
PicPay was founded as a fintech - a technology company that offers financial services - in 2012 by a group of entrepreneurs.
In 2015, the company was acquired by Banco Original and, in 2017, it became independent under the direct control of the J&F group - the holding company of brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista.
The company obtained a license from the Central Bank to operate as a payment institution in 2020 and authorization to act as a financial institution in 2022.
The company also acquired Guiabolso, in 2021, and BX Blue, a fintech specialized in payroll loans for public servants, retirees and INSS pensioners, in 2023.
In 2026, the digital bank made its IPO on Nasdaq, a technology exchange in the United States, and raised around US$434.3 million (R$2.2 billion) with the offering of 22.9 million shares.
PicPay had, at the end of the first quarter of this year, more than 68.6 million customers. In the period, it recorded an adjusted net profit of R$169.4 million, an increase of 92% compared to the first three months of 2025.

Source: G1