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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…

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