CREDIT MARKET

Brazil's credit card market keeps growing

There are more credit cards than people in Brazil. Photo: Sergio Photone/Shutterstock

Credit card usage in Brazil grew 14.5% in 2025, with transactions totaling more than BRL 3.1 trillion (USD 593 billion), according to the national card association Abecs.

The growth comes amid structural shifts in Brazil's payments landscape: the continued expansion of Pix (the country's widely adopted digital transfer system), rising delinquency and new regulatory scrutiny.

There are now more than 240 million active credit cards in circulation — more than the country's entire population — held by roughly 101 million individuals, according to Central Bank data.

For years, credit card adoption in Brazil grew slowly. Then…

🔒 This was a free preview; the rest is behind our paywall

Don’t miss out! Upgrade to unlock full access. The process takes only seconds with Apple Pay or Stripe. Become a member.

Why you should subscribe

We’re here for readers who want to truly understand Brazil and Latin America — a region too often ignored or misrepresented by the international media.

Since 2017, our reporting has been powered by paid subscribers. They’re the reason we can keep a full-time team of journalists across Brazil and Argentina, delivering sharp, independent coverage every day.

If you value our work, subscribing is the best way to keep it going — and growing.

Reply

Avatar

or to participate