I was told that it took effect on Feb 1. My bank told me it was done due to concerns about fraud. Wasn't clear if it was a bank decision or government decision, but it only affects the international debit cards, you can still take out the regular daily limit with a Brazilian ATM card if you have one of those also. Sucks as I moved money between my US account and Brazil account due to the ATM giving me a better exchange rate. This is due to the credit card companies setting the rate for the ATM rather than the bank, even though the ATM is labeled with the bank's name.