Credit card debt reaches 72% of consumers, says study

The credit card was considered the biggest villain in consumers’ pockets in the first quarter of 2022.

A survey by the Brazilian Consumer Protection Association (Proteste) pointed out that, this year alone, the form of payment is responsible for the indebtedness of 72% of the residents of the two most populous cities in the country, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Although high, the rate was even higher in 2021, when it reached 81%.

However, the proportion of respondents who consider themselves highly indebted has increased in one year: it went from 18% in 2021 to 23% in 2022.

Unemployment and overdraft also feature prominently in the list of main reasons for acquiring debt. The two factors led, respectively, 44% and 42% of the population to get into debt.

In all, 500 people were interviewed, an audience between 18 and 70 years old. The public consulted has an average age of 44 years.

In the regional analysis, the financial health of Cariocas has been more affected than that of São Paulo. At least 26% of residents of the Rio de Janeiro capital consider themselves heavily indebted. In São Paulo, the proportion of people who find themselves in this circumstance is 21%.

At the turn of the year, the perception of indebtedness in the municipality increased: in 2021, only 11% of São Paulo residents saw themselves in the same condition.

In both cities, the study shows that this situation is mainly concentrated among those who receive one to two (45%) and two to five minimum wages (31%). In both locations, 64% of those with a family income above ten times the minimum wage say they do not have any debt.

In the ranking of overdue bills, most have postponed telephone bills (32%), electricity (30%) and internet (29%). In general, cariocas have stopped paying more expenses than paulistanos.

This year, 46% of respondents in Rio de Janeiro have already stopped paying a bill. In São Paulo, the rate corresponds to 40%.

* Under supervision of Stéfano Salles