March 31, 2027. That is the date from which banks and finance companies in Brazil will need a customer's prior authorization before actively offering credit to people in a vulnerable financial situation. In practice, anyone already stretched thin will stop getting calls and app notifications pushing loans they never asked for.

The rule was approved this Friday (23) by Banco Central, Brazil's central bank, according to G1. Consent must be specific and unequivocal, so no generic permission buried in a contract.

Even with permission, offers may only propose operations that improve the customer's situation. The list includes debt renegotiation, credit portability (moving a loan from one bank to another with better terms) and migration to cheaper products. Offering new money through these approaches is banned.

Understand

The target of the measure is overindebtedness, the situation in which loan installments eat up so much of a person's income that the basics, like rent and groceries, no longer fit the budget. According to the central bank, the new rules aim to give consumers "more protection and information about the credit offers they receive".

The regulation does not close the door to credit. Customers remain free to shop around and sign contracts on their own initiative, and every consumer, vulnerable or not, gains a clear mechanism to block credit ads and active offers.

Debt panel and credit via Pix

The package includes two more resolutions. From July 1, 2027, banks must offer a Consolidated Debt Panel, a tool that gathers a customer's credit operations in one place and shows how much of their income is committed to installments. At first the panel will show only data from the institution itself; later it will add information from the SCR (the credit registry kept by the central bank) and from Open Finance, the system that lets banks share financial data with the customer's authorization.

Also starting in July 2027, credit offers made while a user initiates a transaction on Pix, Brazil's instant payment system, will require prior and specific consent. The rule sets a minimum 24-hour gap between enabling the service and the first offer, a full day of waiting before a bank can push a loan. The central bank stresses that Pix money will still reach the recipient's account instantly and in full.

Before any new contract, banks will have to show cost simulations, explain the financial impact of the operation and issue alerts in higher-risk situations. All three resolutions were published this Friday, according to G1.