Porto Alegre has the highest average debt ticket in January

A survey by Serasa Experian, released this Monday morning (27), points to Porto Alegre as the Brazilian capital with the highest average debt ticket in January: in the amount of R$ 1,828.35. In Rio Grande do Sul, which has 3.4 million defaulters, the proportional amount is R$ 1,301.88.

Of the 12 million outstanding debts in the State – with an average value of R$ 4,734.50 per CPF –, the majority of debts relate to the Banks and Cards segment (31.52%), followed by Utilities/Basic Accounts (18 %) and Retail (8.9%). Serasa performs this data separation to evaluate the sum of debts per person and the average value of each one of them.

When the approach refers to the national level, last month Brazil reached the record of 70.09 million Brazilians in default and 252 million registered active debts. The average debt value of defaulting Brazilians is BRL 4,612.28, an increase of 2.6% compared to December 2022, and the total volume of the debtor figure reaches BRL 323 billion, more than 3% growth in compared to the previous month.

According to the chief economist at Serasa Experian, Luiz Rabi, the recent peaks in defaults in the country had been during the great waves of Covid-19, when the pandemic required confinement and the temporary closure of trade and non-essential services. At the moment, these indicators reflect people’s loss of purchasing power and the increase in inflation registered in recent months. “Delinquency in Brazil grew by 10.8 million people in the last five years”, details the expert.

Another peculiarity highlighted by Rabi is the increased participation of women and the elderly in debtor lists. The female increase is linked to remuneration and the fact that most of them are breadwinners. “Regarding the age group, which has been increasing since 2016, we can credit the growth in unemployment. This led to family members having to turn to the elderly to supplement their monthly income”, highlights the economist. From last September until January of this year, the number of seniors with debts rose 15%, and today they are 12.5 million in the country.

To try to contain, and even reverse, insolvency in the country, the company is carrying out a new national negotiation effort through its digital channels, with discounts and benefits that encourage and facilitate the payment of debts. The Serasa Limpa Nome Fair has already started and continues until March 31, bringing together 425 companies with discounts of up to 99%.

According to the manager of the Serasa Limpa Nome platform, Aline Maciel, these partners are part of numerous segments, such as banks, securitization companies (companies that buy debts), finance companies, telephone companies, retailers, universities and others who are providing a total of 365 million of negotiation offers, 113 million of which can be settled for up to R$ 100.00. In all, 107 million Brazilians will have offers available in this edition.

In addition to leaving with a clean name at the time, consumers can request the “Serasa Statement”, proving that they no longer have outstanding debts in the company’s register. In November 2022, a total of BRL 20 billion in discounts were made available to Brazilians, the highest volume ever achieved by the event.

At the end of last year, more than 7 million people left the lists and started the year with access to credit. “Our goal is now even greater and, as defaults resumed an upward trend, we decided to offer another opportunity for those who were unable to negotiate in November and December”, explains Aline.