This article covers consumer credit as part of financial education. The KEZS portal also publishes guides on business projects. Under loan portability, you submit the transfer request to the institution you want to take over the loan. If the transfer goes through, that institution sends the original lender the funds to pay off the balance, and you begin paying under the new contract on the terms you accepted. An offer that includes a deposit into your account involves additional borrowing or refinancing, with separate terms to review.
What changes when you move your loan to another lender
Imagine you have twenty installments left on a personal loan and another institution is willing to take over the balance at a lower cost. For this decision, focus on what you still owe and what you would commit to paying from the date of the transfer onward. Interest and fees you have already paid help explain how much the loan has cost you so far. Those payments are part of your borrowing history whether you stay with the original lender or switch.
The prospective lender decides whether to accept the transfer and what terms to offer. A simulation gives you an estimate. A formal offer may be valid for a limited period and may specify conditions that must be met before the transfer can go through. The transfer is complete once the original loan is paid off and the new contract takes effect. During negotiations, set aside enough to cover the installment coming due and follow what each institution tells you about that payment.
Before shopping for offers, decide what problem you want to solve. Someone with a stable budget may want to spend less over the rest of the loan. Someone else may need the payment to fall after payday. If you expect your income to drop, you may give more weight to how much money you will have left over in the next few months. Each goal changes what you need to compare. A lower installment, for example, gives you little information about the total cost, when the final payment falls, or how payments will be collected.
Three figures to keep separate
The payoff balance is the amount the lender quotes to settle the debt as of a specified date or point in the payment schedule. The sum of the remaining installments is what you would pay out of pocket by following the current schedule. The original loan amount is the amount you borrowed at the outset. Each figure answers a different question. A loan that started at R$ 18,000 might, in a hypothetical example, have a payoff balance of R$ 12,000 and still have R$ 14,700 in scheduled installments.
The difference between the payoff balance and the sum of the installments reflects the timing and composition of future payments. In this example, the new lender would use the R$ 12,000 payoff balance to settle the debt, while the R$ 14,700 is the benchmark for what it would cost to stay with the current loan. If the transfer resulted in R$ 13,500 in future payments, the nominal savings would be R$ 1,200. Adding R$ 12,000 to R$ 13,500 would count the same balance twice because the new loan already covers it.
The date used to calculate the payoff balance matters because the amount owed can change between the quote and the actual payoff. An installment paid during that interval changes what remains outstanding. Late charges or an adjustment provided for in the contract can also affect the amount. Ask the lender to specify the date or calculation basis it used and explain how it will handle any payment debited while the transfer is in progress.
If your statement lists several loans with the same institution, match the balance to the contract number, type of loan, and due date. Two loans can have similar installments and very different terms. If the statement gives a combined amount, ask for details for each loan before requesting quotes. You can then check that the proposed transfer pays off the loan you selected and see which other obligations will remain in your budget.
Loan portability, counteroffers, and borrowing extra cash
In a portability transaction, the prospective lender grants credit to pay off the original loan. If you renegotiate with your current lender, it may amend the existing loan or replace it with a new contract. Depending on how it is structured, refinancing can reorganize the balance, include other debts, or make additional funds available to you. The type of transaction determines which debts will be paid off, what you will owe afterward, and which rules apply.
When a sales conversation mentions cash back, a cash release, or money paid to you, ask for a written breakdown showing where each amount goes. In a hypothetical refinancing, R$ 12,000 pays off the old debt and R$ 2,000 is deposited into your account, bringing the financed amount to R$ 14,000 before costs. If an offer combines a portability transfer of R$ 12,000 with a new loan of R$ 2,000, the transfer between lenders pays off the balance and the deposit comes from the second contract. Check the amount disbursed, the installments, and the cost of each contract. Add the payments for any month in which both loans will be collected.
Apply the same care to debt consolidation. One loan can be used to pay off several balances, but the comparison depends on having a complete list of the contracts included, the amount allocated to each, and confirmation that each debt was paid off. If a debt was left out, its installment stays in your budget. If paying off a balance makes a credit line available again, any new use of that credit creates another expense alongside the payments on the consolidation loan.
Ask what document will prove the payoff, how much will be financed, who receives the funds, and which contracts will be in effect afterward. Also confirm whether the quoted rate depends on accepting extra cash, insurance, or another service. When comparing offers, put the one that covers only the payoff balance on one line and the one with additional credit on another. That lets you see separately what it costs to deal with your existing debt and what it costs to borrow more.
How to build a clear picture of your current loan
Start with a copy of the contract or a statement that identifies the lender, the loan, the type of credit, and the payment method. Request an up-to-date payoff balance and the schedule of remaining obligations. Note the next due date, the number of installments left, and the amount of each one. When payments vary, a single installment on a statement can give a misleading picture of what you still have to pay.
Separate payments that are current from those already past due. If you have missed a payment, ask for a breakdown of the balance, the charges, and any payments the lender has yet to identify and apply. One offer might be based on a statement issued before a recent payment. Another might handle a past-due installment differently. A statement that identifies those differences helps you understand why the offer amount changed and whether your comparison still holds.
Identify the clauses that affect the coming months. Check whether the contract has a fixed rate or provides for adjustments, whether there is collateral or insurance tied to the loan, and how payments are collected. If one payment is debited from your account and another is deducted from your pay, record both. This helps you plan for the transition month and understand what happens if a debit fails or your income changes.
Keep the documents somewhere you can refer to them while arranging the transfer. When requesting quotes, send only what the institution's official channel requests for that stage. Identification, proof of income, and details of the debt may be used in the assessment, depending on the type of loan. In an initial conversation, you can discuss the balance, term, and contract type while keeping photos of your documents out of group chats and away from contacts whose identity you have yet to verify.
What the CET tells you and why the total of the installments matters too
Brazil's Custo Efetivo Total, or CET, expresses the total cost of credit as a rate based on the cash flows set out for the loan. It accounts for interest and other amounts that make up the cost of the transaction, as shown in the CET statement. An advertised interest rate on its own describes only part of the price. Two offers advertising the same interest rate can have different CETs if their charges differ or if the amounts are paid out in different ways or at different times.
Ask for the CET calculation or statement together with the payment schedule. Check the amount financed, what is due on each date, and which items are included in the calculation. A charge rolled into the loan is already reflected in the installments. Include separately paid expenses in the comparison when they apply to the offer. Mark where each amount appears so that you include it exactly once.
Read rates expressed in the same unit. In a hypothetical arithmetic example, an effective rate of 1% per month is equivalent to approximately 12.68% per year when compounded over twelve months. Multiplying 1% by twelve gives 12%, which is a simple sum. Once the units match, check that the figures measure the same thing. The CET on one loan and the advertised interest rate on another are different measures.
Use the CET to understand the relative price of borrowing and the sum of the payments to see how many reais will come out of your budget over the course of the loan. A longer loan can have a lower cost as a rate and still require a larger nominal outlay because you pay for more months. The CET calculated when you took out the original loan may also reflect expenses you have already paid. For today's decision, work out what remains to be paid under the current contract and compare it with the obligations you would take on.
How interest, amortization, and timing affect an installment
Amortization is the repayment of outstanding principal. An installment can include principal repayment, interest for the period, and other amounts specified in the contract. As a result, the balance usually falls by less than the full installment. In a separate hypothetical example, suppose you start with a balance of R$ 6,000, an interest rate of 1% per month, and a R$ 400 installment. Interest for the first month would be R$ 60. With no other charges, R$ 340 would go toward principal, leaving a balance of R$ 5,660.
If the second installment were also R$ 400, with the same rate and another full monthly interval, interest for that period would be R$ 56.60. The amount applied to principal would rise to R$ 343.40 and the balance would fall to R$ 5,316.60. Calculating interest on the initial R$ 6,000 every month would overlook the principal you have repaid. This example illustrates a simplified payment schedule. The lender's schedule should reflect the amortization method and calculation rules in the contract.
One offer may have equal installments, while another may have installments that fall over time or vary. Find the largest scheduled payment, check the amounts due in months when you already have other expenses, and identify the final due date. If the contract provides for adjustments based on an index, ask which component changes, how the index affects the balance or installments, and what assumptions were used to calculate the amount shown.
Look at the time until the first payment is due. If the offer gives you longer before the first payment, ask how interest for that period is handled and where it appears in the statement. In a household that receives income at the end of the month, moving the due date can resolve a gap between money coming in and a payment going out. To measure the benefit, find out whether the change adds cost and whether any installment on the old loan still falls due in the meantime.
A full comparison using the same starting balance
Consider a hypothetical loan with a payoff balance of R$ 12,000 and twenty remaining installments of R$ 735. If you keep the current schedule, you will pay R$ 14,700. Assume fixed installments, regular monthly due dates, the same time until the first payment, and no separately billed expenses. All scenarios use the same payoff balance as of the same point in the schedule and leave out installments already paid.
In the first offer, the prospective lender pays off the R$ 12,000 and proposes twenty installments of R$ 675. You would pay R$ 13,500 from that point forward. Compared with the current loan, you would pay R$ 60 less each month and R$ 1,200 less in total. Since the term and payment dates are the same in this example, the entire difference comes from the lower installments.
A second hypothetical offer to transfer the same balance calls for sixteen installments of R$ 810. The total is R$ 12,960, which is R$ 1,740 below the current loan and R$ 540 below the first offer. In each of the sixteen months with a payment, it takes R$ 75 more out of your budget than the current loan and R$ 135 more than the first offer. In the four months after that, the shorter loan would already be paid off if you followed the schedule.
Now suppose the contract for twenty installments of R$ 675 comes with an optional service that costs R$ 35 a month for the same twenty months. If you sign up and keep the service for the entire period, it adds R$ 700 to your payments, bringing the total to R$ 14,200. The nominal savings compared with the original loan fall to R$ 500. Ask for the offer without the service and confirm that the installment, the cost of the loan, and the terms for signing up match what you were told.
What it costs to extend the loan and ease the monthly burden
An offer made in the same conversation can extend your debt through a different type of contract. The type and terms of the transaction determine which rules on duration and amount apply to a portability transfer. If the offer runs beyond the remaining term or includes additional funds, ask for the formal classification of the transaction before treating it as a transfer. The extension in the following example is a hypothetical refinancing.
Using the same R$ 12,000 balance, imagine refinancing into twenty-six installments of R$ 585 with no separate costs. The installment drops by R$ 150 from the original R$ 735. The total reaches R$ 15,210, which is R$ 510 more than the R$ 14,700 still due under the current contract. Compared with the portability offer of twenty installments of R$ 675, the refinancing cuts the monthly payment by R$ 90 and raises the total nominal outlay by R$ 1,710.
One way to see the price of the monthly relief is to divide the schedule into two parts. Over the first twenty months, paying R$ 150 less than the original installment frees up R$ 3,000. Over the next six months, when the original loan would already have ended, the refinancing still requires six payments of R$ 585, adding up to R$ 3,510. The difference between those two amounts accounts for the R$ 510 increase in nominal spending.
The total cost and the timing of the payments can point to different decisions. If your budget is tight for a short period, find out what it would cost to get through it by moving the due date or accepting a counteroffer with a shorter term. If a new expense will last for the whole loan, check whether the R$ 150 in monthly relief covers the recurring shortfall. When payment dates differ considerably, a present-value analysis can complement the nominal totals. Use the same discount assumption for all cash flows and record the assumption you chose.
Test the payment in a bad month and in the month of the transfer
Build your budget using take-home income, essential expenses, and the other obligations that will continue after the transfer. In a hypothetical scenario, your available income is R$ 4,200. Housing, food, transport, and other essentials add up to R$ 3,100. Other debts take R$ 240. You have R$ 860 left before paying the loan you are comparing. A R$ 735 installment leaves R$ 125, a R$ 675 installment leaves R$ 185, and a R$ 810 installment leaves R$ 50.
Now suppose that in a bad month your income falls to R$ 3,800 and other expenses stay the same. You have R$ 460 before the installment. The shortfall is R$ 275 with the current loan, R$ 215 with the R$ 675 offer, and R$ 350 with the R$ 810 offer. Even the R$ 585 refinancing installment would leave a R$ 125 shortfall. This scenario helps you measure how much of the problem would remain after accepting any of the offers.
If you earn commissions, work for a daily rate, or are self-employed, distinguish between the weakest month you regularly experience and an exceptional event. A budget based on average income can hide several months in a row when you bring in less than you need. Include expenses that come up less often. Setting aside money for a hypothetical R$ 600 essential expense over six months takes R$ 100 per month, reducing the R$ 185 cushion to R$ 85 during that period.
Project your cash flow by due date as well. Even if you end the month with money left over, your income may arrive after the installment is due. If a R$ 735 debit is already scheduled by the original lender, allow for the possibility that it will go through until the institutions explain how they will process it. A simple timeline with the date your income arrives, the old due date, the payoff, and the first new payment can reveal a cash shortage that a monthly total would hide.
What to check with personal loans and payroll-deducted loans
For a personal loan paid by a Brazilian payment slip, known as a boleto, or by direct debit, check who will receive the payments, how you will receive payment instructions, and which account needs to have funds available. If an intermediary brings you the offer, identify the institution named as lender in the contract. The brand handling the conversation and the entity granting the loan may be different. Verify the identities against the specific transaction you are considering.
With a consignado loan, installments are deducted from pay or benefits according to your employment or benefit status and the applicable arrangement. Along with comparing the amounts, check how the old loan will be removed from the deduction system and how the new one will be registered. Ask which payroll or benefit period should show each deduction and how the process handles a payroll cycle that has already closed. Information about your available deduction capacity, known as margem consignável, should reflect the arrangement that applies to you and how the transaction will be processed, including the effect of replacing the old loan.
Use a consistent starting point when budgeting for a payroll-deducted loan. You can start with net income before the loan deduction and subtract the installment once. You can also start with the amount already deposited into your account and, after the transition, adjust it by the difference between the old deduction and the new one. In a hypothetical example, if R$ 3,265 reaches your account after a R$ 735 installment is deducted, replacing it with a R$ 675 installment would raise your deposit to R$ 3,325, assuming all other entries stay the same.
If an asset serves as collateral for the loan, ask how the collateral will be handled and what steps are required to formalize the change. Check who pays any applicable expenses, where they appear in the offer, and what happens to the collateral if you fall behind. For any type of loan, a full comparison of a lower installment also requires understanding the scope of any additional obligation that comes with it.
How to request offers you can compare
Contact the prospective lender through a channel you can independently verify. Give the type of loan, the payoff balance, and the remaining term, using figures that apply as of the same point in the schedule. Say whether your goal is to reduce your total payments, lower the installment within the applicable terms, or adjust the payment schedule. Ask for a simulation of the balance transfer and request a separate offer for any additional transaction.
In the written offer, look for the amount that will go to the original lender, the amount financed, the installments, the payment frequency, the due dates, the interest rate, the CET, and the total payable. Identify any insurance, services, and expenses billed outside the loan. Record how long the offer is valid and what could change if the payoff balance is updated. If the installments vary, ask for the schedule, the assumption used to produce it, and the rule governing adjustments.
Organize the options in a simple spreadsheet or on paper. Use one row for keeping the current loan and one for each offer. Also record the largest scheduled installment, when the first payment falls, the number of months with payments, the total you will pay, and the payment method. If one offer lists twenty installments and another only gives a starting installment, leave the total blank until you receive the schedule.
Before authorizing the transaction, compare the final contract with the version you used to make the decision. Small changes across several fields can alter the calculation. If the payoff balance was updated, check whether you made a payment between the two calculation dates, whether that payment was credited, and how the new amount was carried into the contract. A written explanation of the difference lets you run the comparison again using the figures you will actually agree to.
How to evaluate a counteroffer from your current lender
Your original lender may offer you different terms to keep your business. Ask for the full offer and find out whether it amends your existing contract or replaces it. Look for costs rolled into the loan, additional credit, a different due date, or a change in how the payments are collected. A reduction in the installment can come with new services or a longer term that changes the final cost.
Imagine a hypothetical counteroffer of twenty installments of R$ 665. You would pay R$ 13,300, which is R$ 200 less than the portability offer of twenty installments of R$ 675. If the counteroffer also requires a separate payment of R$ 250, the total rises to R$ 13,550. In that case, the portability offer costs R$ 50 less overall, even though its monthly installment is R$ 10 higher. The example assumes the extra payment is specified in the offer and applies to it.
A R$ 50 difference over the life of the loan may matter less to you than the timing of the payments or how predictable the charges are. If the separate cost is due immediately, check the impact in the month you sign. If there are variable expenses or a change to the insurance, compare the full terms. When installments and terms are very similar, knowing exactly when and how payments will be collected has practical value.
If you have already authorized a transfer request and decide to accept a counteroffer, confirm in writing with both institutions where the request stands, how to stop it if that is still possible, and which contract will remain in effect. Your current lender may be trying to retain your business while the prospective lender is still processing the transfer. Give the transaction number when asking for confirmation and keep the case reference numbers that document the outcome.
What to do about late payments, incomplete offers, or a refusal
A past-due installment can change both the amount required to settle the loan and the prospective lender's assessment. If you are behind, ask your current lender to itemize the overdue amounts and related charges. At the same time, check how the prospective lender handles your type of loan and balance. An offer calculated on the assumption that payments are current needs to be updated before you rely on it to sign.
A refusal can result from the prospective lender's credit assessment or from a processing issue, such as inconsistent registration details, the wrong contract number, or an outdated payoff balance. Ask which stage the response refers to. Correcting a contract number can resolve a discrepancy in the paperwork. If the institution decides against offering the new loan, base your comparison on the options you actually have.
If the current loan is already making it difficult to cover essentials, work out what you can afford against the next due dates before counting on a future transfer. Consider what happens if the offer expires, the payoff balance changes, or the process takes longer than expected. You can compare a renegotiation that specifies the upfront payment, installments, and future charges with your current payment schedule. Treat terms that still depend on acceptance or review as possibilities until you receive confirmation.
If you can cover the installment only by repeatedly using an overdraft or paying another debt late, record what you pay on each due date and what remains outstanding. In the earlier example with monthly income of R$ 4,200, switching from a R$ 735 installment to a R$ 675 installment raises the amount left over from R$ 125 to R$ 185. If you also pay R$ 90 that month for previous use of your overdraft, on top of the obligations already counted, the amount left falls to R$ 95. That is R$ 30 less than you had with the R$ 735 installment before adding the overdraft payment. If the R$ 90 is money you borrow that month, record the cash coming in and the expense it covers in your cash flow, add the new principal to your outstanding debt, and record the repayments on their scheduled dates.
How to recognize fraud during a loan transfer
Someone who contacts you may know your name, roughly how much your installment is, and what kind of loan you have. A fraudulent approach can include all of those details. Use a channel you found independently to verify the institution, the identity of any intermediary, and the offer number. A document with a logo or a message forwarded by the person handling the offer is only a starting point for that verification.
If someone asks for an upfront Pix payment or deposit to release, reserve, or unlock the transfer, end the conversation and withhold the payment. Do the same if someone asks you to receive a deposit and then forward it to a person who promises to settle the debt. In a portability transfer, the new lender sends the funds to the original lender. Check the Central Bank of Brazil's register to verify the institution and use an official channel you found yourself to confirm that the offer exists.
An authentication code, password, shared screen, or remote-access program can let someone else operate your account. To read or sign an offer, open the verified app or official channel yourself and read what the authorization permits. Check in particular whether it allows access to your information only, authorizes you to enter into a contract, permits a debit, or covers some other transaction that differs from what you discussed.
If you have already sent money or shared access, immediately contact the official channels of the institution involved and the provider of your account. Report what happened and ask about any available procedure to block or dispute the transaction. Keep receipts, transaction identifiers, messages, and case reference numbers. Where appropriate, file an incident report. Whether funds can be blocked or recovered depends on what happened and how far the transactions have progressed.
What to do between signing and confirmation that the old loan was paid off
Ask for a reference number to track the request and make a note of each step the institutions confirm. Signing the offer, completing the transfer, and having the original lender mark the loan as closed are separate milestones. While the old contract still appears active, track its due dates and ask for official guidance on upcoming payments. Plan your cash flow around debits that are already scheduled until you receive confirmation of how each one will be handled.
After the payoff, keep the document or confirmation from the original lender that identifies the closed loan, along with a copy of the new contract and its payment schedule. Compare the payoff amount with the latest balance you were given and verify the first payment through the new lender's channel. If there is a difference because you made a payment during the transfer, ask for a breakdown of the calculation, where that money was applied, and the procedure for making any necessary adjustment.
If two entries appear in the same period, identify the institution, contract, billing or payroll period, and status of each. One entry may be a scheduled payment that has yet to go through. If both payments were actually collected, check when the payoff took place, which obligation each amount was applied to, and whether either payment needs to be corrected. For a payroll-deducted loan, compare the deduction records with the information the institutions gave you about closing the old loan and registering the new one.
If you find a discrepancy, describe it in writing. Include the contract numbers, amounts, supporting documents, and a specific request, such as an explanation for a debit or a correction to a charge. Keep the response and the case reference number. If the initial support channel does not resolve the issue, use the institution's ombudsman service, known as the ouvidoria, and the complaint or consumer protection channels that apply to your case. A short, chronological set of documents helps the person handling the complaint reconstruct what happened.
If you plan to pay ahead after the transfer
If you expect to receive extra money, compare the offers under two scenarios. In the first, you pay every installment as scheduled. In the second, you simulate making an additional principal payment or paying off the loan early once the money is available. Ask for the projected balance at the same stage for every option you are considering. The sum of installments due after that point shows what remains on the original schedule, while the payoff balance shows what it would take to settle the debt at that point.
In a separate hypothetical example, two contracts would pay off the same initial balance, and the borrower expects to settle the new loan just after the sixth installment. Under contract A, six payments of R$ 700 add up to R$ 4,200, and the projected payoff at that point is R$ 7,300. The borrower would spend R$ 11,500 in all. Under contract B, six payments of R$ 600 add up to R$ 3,600, and the projected payoff is R$ 8,000, bringing the total outlay to R$ 11,600.
If you can make an extra payment toward part of the principal, ask how the lender will apply it and what options are available for the remaining schedule. Reducing the installment and shortening the term have different effects on your cash flow and future interest. Ask for simulations using the same amount of principal repaid on the same date, with the balance after payment and the new installment schedule.
Consider what would happen if the extra money arrived late or came to less than expected. If you can only sustain the new installment by counting on that money, compare the cost of the full schedule and the amount it leaves in your budget before signing. If the money arrives, request a fresh quote using the current payoff balance. An estimate made at signing can change based on what you actually paid, when you make the additional payment, and the rules in the contract.
What you need to be clear about before accepting
You should be able to summarize your decision in a few lines and check it against the offer. Record how much will be paid off, how much you would still spend under the current contract, and how much you would spend under the new one, including every applicable payment. Note the monthly difference, the difference in total cost, when the debt ends, and how much is left in your budget in a low-income month. If the offer includes new cash, keep it separate so that the comparison stays focused on the same goal.
Decide what would make you reconsider. A simulation may make sense with twenty installments of up to R$ 675, and the advantage may disappear if an extra cost appears or the first due date changes. If your goal is to save money, work out the point at which the savings disappear. In the example with twenty installments of R$ 675, separate costs totaling R$ 1,200 would bring the total to R$ 14,700, matching the current loan under the other assumptions in the example.
If your goal is to improve monthly cash flow, write down how much relief you need and for how long. If your budget requires you to spend R$ 200 less every month, a R$ 60 reduction covers only part of the shortfall. If money is tight mainly in the week before payday, moving the due date may help more than a small reduction in the installment. Measure the offer against the specific difficulty you found in your household's payment calendar.
Before signing, make sure you can identify the lender, where the funds will go, which contract will be paid off, when and how much you first owe on the new loan, and how you will confirm that the old loan was closed. If essential information is still pending, ask for it and redo the calculation using the final document. After the transfer, finish your checks once the original lender has documented the payoff and the first new payment entry matches the contract you accepted.
Frequently asked questions.
Is the outstanding balance the same as the total of the remaining installments?
The payoff balance is the amount calculated to settle the debt at a specified point in time. The sum of the installments shows what you will spend if you follow the schedule, using the amounts set for future payment periods. Use the payoff balance to request a transfer quote. To compare what comes out of your pocket under each option, add the future installments and any separately paid expenses that actually apply.
Can an offer with a lower CET result in a higher total amount paid?
Yes, especially if the term or the payment schedule differs. The CET expresses the cost of credit as a rate and accounts for when the cash flows occur. The nominal total is the sum of the payments in reais. Compare offers using the same starting balance and read both figures alongside the payment schedule. If the proposed term is longer than the time left on your current loan, confirm what type of transaction is being offered and which terms apply.
Can I look into loan portability if I already have an overdue installment?
You can ask a prospective lender about a transfer, but any offer depends on its assessment and the conditions applicable to that type of loan. Ask your current lender for an updated payoff balance that identifies overdue installments, charges, and payments already recorded. While the request is under review, keep track of your obligations under the existing contract and assess any renegotiation offers using the payments they actually document.
Does my current lender need to send or receive money through my account for a portability transfer?
The prospective lender sends the funds directly to the original lender to pay off the balance. If someone tells you to receive money and forward it by Pix, end the conversation, withhold the transfer, and contact the institution through an official channel you found independently. If the offer includes extra cash, review the new loan or refinancing contract separately. Check the amount to be disbursed, the payment schedule, and the cost of that transaction.
Do I have to open an account or buy insurance to accept an offer?
Ask the institution to explain in writing how the installments will be paid, which products are optional, and which conditions it says are mandatory. If it says you must open an account or sign up for a service, ask it to explain why and identify the rule that applies to each requirement. Article 39, item I, of Brazil's Consumer Defense Code prohibits making the supply of one product or service conditional on purchasing another. For insurance, Precedent Topic 972 of Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) establishes that consumers cannot be required to buy coverage from the lender or from an insurer it designates. Ask for an offer without the optional items, including the payment schedule and annual CET. If you are considering optional insurance, compare the coverage, premium, and cancellation terms. Budget for any optional services billed separately over the time you plan to keep them.
What happens if I make a payment while the transfer request is in progress?
The payment can change the balance used to settle the loan. Keep the receipt and ask the lender to confirm that the payment was recorded, the date or calculation basis used for the final payoff balance, and how the installment was applied. If it was deducted from your pay, identify the payroll period in which it appeared. If the offer is recalculated, compare the updated version with what you actually have left to pay as of that point.
How can I check that deductions for the old payroll-deducted loan have stopped?
Keep the payoff confirmation and compare the loan statement with your payslip or benefit statement for the periods covering the transition. Check the contract identifier and the amount of each deduction. If both the old and new deductions appear together, ask the institutions which obligation each payment was applied to and how they will make an adjustment if a deduction needs to be corrected.
Can I accept a counteroffer after starting a loan portability request?
It depends on how far the transfer has progressed. Before signing the counteroffer, confirm with both institutions whether the transfer is still being processed or has already gone through. Ask about the procedure for stopping a request that is in progress and get confirmation of which contract will remain active. Compare the written counteroffer with the transfer offer using the same payoff balance and taking into account the payments each would require.
References and context
Institutional reference points for checking applicable rules and guidance. Calculations and scenarios are original examples, not quotes, historical results or individualized recommendations.
- Código de Defesa do Consumidor, arts. 39, 52 e 54-B ↗
- Banco Central — Resolução CMN 4.881 ↗
- Banco Central — Resolução CMN 5.057 ↗
- STJ — Tema Repetitivo 972 ↗
- Banco Central — Alerta sobre depósito para obter empréstimo ↗
- Banco Central — Encontre uma instituição ↗
AI-assisted educational content. Decisions require verification of the information, instruments and providers in each actual case.
