Cielo

Cielo: a practical guide for merchants evaluating Brazil-focused online payments

If you sell to Brazilian customers and want a robust way to accept cards, Pix, boletos, and popular e-wallets with strong fraud controls, Cielo is worth a close look. Cielo offers a full stack for e-commerce that spans a hosted checkout page, a flexible REST API, payment links, risk tools, and advanced features like tokenization, recurring billing, and EMV 3-D Secure 2.2. Below is a merchant-focused overview of how Cielo works, what it supports, and where it fits best, based on Cielo’s own documentation.

What Cielo offers for online businesses

Cielo organizes its e-commerce solutions into several building blocks you can mix and match.

• Checkout Cielo is a hosted payment page. Your shopper is redirected to a secure Cielo page that is PCI-aligned, with an optimized layout and built-in features such as scheduled recurring charges and integrated fraud analysis for credit transactions. It is recommended for sites with a shopping cart and can shorten the steps to pay. Checkout Cielo URLs currently cannot be embedded in iframes.

• E-commerce API is Cielo’s modular REST API that lets you build your own checkout while tapping features like card tokenization, recurring payments, Zero Auth card validation, BIN lookup, soft descriptor, and more. The API supports major online payment methods in Brazil including credit and debit cards, Pix, boleto, QR codes, and e-wallets.

• Payment links let you generate shareable payment URLs to sell without a website, useful for social, messaging, or invoicing flows.

• Gateway, Split, and Risk Management are available for more advanced setups. Cielo’s gateway connects your store to multiple payment rails. Split de Pagamento is highlighted for dividing a single sale among multiple participants. Risk Management integrates antifraud providers Cybersource and ClearSale.

Supported payment methods and brands

Cielo supports a wide set of methods that match Brazilian shopper preferences.

• Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Elo, Diners, Discover, JCB, and Aura are supported via the E-commerce API, with options for demand credit, installment credit, and store debit depending on brand. Cards issued outside Brazil are not eligible for installment payments. Hipercard was discontinued on June 30, 2025.

• Pix: accepted across Checkout and API, with a specific operational model described by Cielo for settlement and refunds.

• Boleto: supported through the API and Checkout Cielo.

• E-wallets and Click to Pay: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Click to Pay, and QR Code Pay are listed across the API and Checkout documentation.

• Vouchers and multi-benefit cards: supported where configured.

For hosted checkout specifically, Cielo documents card brands, Pix, registered boletos from Bradesco and Banco do Brasil, Google Pay, Click to Pay, and multi-benefit cards, with up to 18 installments available in Checkout Cielo.

Security, PCI scope, and shopper authentication

Cielo provides multiple layers to reduce your PCI burden and improve authorization outcomes.

• Silent Order Post (SOP) lets you collect card data directly into Cielo’s PCI DSS-certified environment, returning a token to your servers. This reduces the PCI DSS scope of your store while preserving a fully branded checkout.

• EMV 3-D Secure 2.2 is supported, including Data-Only flows and script integration guidance. You can combine 3DS with SOP.

• Tokenization and Network Tokens are available to enable one-click checkout and higher authorization stability over time.

• Fraud analysis is available and, per Cielo’s onboarding notes, is an add-on feature that may require a separate contract and could have additional charges in production.

Pix operations and settlement details

When you enable Pix with Cielo, the provider creates a Pix Cielo account presented to customers as Cielo S.A. Instituição Financeira. Funds from Pix sales land in this intermediary account, then move to your registered bank account either per sale automatically or on a scheduled basis. Scheduled transfers settle at up to four predefined times daily — 6:00, 12:00, 17:30, and 22:00 — and are the only setting that allows Pix refunds, assuming you maintain a balance in the account.

Developer experience and integration model

Cielo’s developer documentation is structured and comprehensive, which can shorten time to live.

• RESTful API, HTTPS only: platform-agnostic, works with any language that can make HTTP calls and handle JSON. Cielo provides sandbox endpoints, credentials, and a Postman-style tutorial for quick testing.

• Credentials and environments: integration uses MerchantId and MerchantKey passed in headers. Sandbox is publicly accessible so you can experiment before production.

• Getting started timeline and fees: Cielo states that the E-commerce API has no monthly fees, and that your store can be activated within up to 5 business days, subject to approval. Feature enablement in production, such as Zero Auth, BIN lookup, Recurrence, Velocity, and Fraud Analysis, may require contacting support and can involve extra charges.

• Hosted checkout integration: one REST integration enables the hosted page with optional recurrence, BIN query reports, and integrated antifraud for credit transactions. Remember that Checkout Cielo cannot be used in iframes.

Conversion tools you can turn on

Cielo surfaces several features that directly target conversion rate and chargeback reduction.

• One-Click Buy via tokenization: store a secure token instead of raw card data for faster repeat purchases.

• Zero Auth and Consulta BIN: validate that a card is real and retrieve brand, issuer, and type before sending for authorization.

• Soft Descriptor: place your recognizable store name on card statements to reduce “unrecognized” disputes.

• Recurring payments with retries: schedule periodic charges, use Renova Fácil and Automatic Billing Updater to refresh expired card details and minimize payment failures.

When Cielo tends to be a strong fit

• Brazil-first stores that need installments: Cielo documents multi-brand installment support and calls out that installments are not allowed on foreign-issued cards, which is useful context if you serve both domestic and cross-border shoppers.

• Merchants leaning into Pix and boleto alongside cards: Checkout and API support Pix and registered boletos, so you can cover mainstream local methods without third-party plugins.

• Businesses that value PCI scope reduction without giving up a custom UX: SOP lets you host the checkout page and brand it to your standards while sending card data directly to Cielo’s certified environment.

• Marketplaces and multi-party sellers: Split de Pagamento is positioned for dividing a single transaction among participants, and Risk Management integrates with known antifraud providers Cybersource and ClearSale.