Credit Card Revolving Cost

Credit Card Revolving Interest

Revolving credit (“crédito rotativo”) kicks in the moment a cardholder pays anything less than the full statement balance. Whatever is left over compounds month after month through M = C × (1 + i)ⁿ, where i is the monthly rate (usually somewhere between 14–16 %) and n counts the months. On top of that, IOF tacks on a fixed 0.38 % plus 0.0082 % for each day, up to a ceiling of 365 days.

Law 14.181/2021 (Lei do Superendividamento) and Bacen Resolution 4.549/2017 cap revolving credit at 30 days. Once that window closes, the bank is required to move you onto an installment plan (“parcelamento do rotativo”) at a lower rate. That still doesn't make it cheap. Bacen data put the average revolving rate near 430 % a year in 2024, which leaves credit card debt as the priciest consumer credit you can carry in Brazil, running about 10× what a personal loan would cost.

Applications

Run the numbers here to see what paying only the minimum really costs, weigh whether the installment plan is worth switching to, look into moving the debt through portabilidade de crédito (Resolução 4.292/2013), or check what a deal on Desenrola Brasil or Serasa Limpa Nome might look like.

FAQ

What is the minimum payment? Bacen Circular 3.512/2010 sets the floor at 15 % of the statement total, and banks are free to require more.

Can I be denied parcelamento do rotativo? No. Once 30 days pass, the bank has to offer it on its own, and the terms can't be worse than those of a retail personal loan.

Does revolving credit hit my Serasa score? Yes. A balance that keeps rolling over pushes up your reported debt and drags the score down, well before any actual default ever shows up on record.