Debt management apps: map out what you owe and negotiate via your mobile phone.

Debt should be compared based on the cost of your specific contract, not a national average. High interest rates on credit cards can make late payments difficult to manage. Your cell phone helps you keep track of balances, due dates, proposals, and receipts, but it doesn't guarantee discounts or eliminate debt. Start by prioritizing essential expenses and identifying how much fits within your budget.

Let me be blunt: no app pays off debt. What a cell phone does well is show you everything associated with your CPF (Brazilian tax identification number), including what you've forgotten, put each debt in the correct payment order, and finalize the agreement with the creditor without bank queues or collection calls.

The process has four steps, in this order: discover, organize, negotiate, and monitor. The financial control app, which usually opens lists of this type, is the last step here.

How much does each type of debt cost per month?

Before negotiating, copy the rate, the APR, the updated balance, and the term of each contract. Use the table below as a guide, without treating the position of a given payment method as an automatic payment recommendation:

Modality	What to check
Credit card and installment payment	Effective Annual Cost (CET), original financed amount, charges and due dates.
Overdraft	Balance used, contracted rate, and days of use.
Personal loan	Balance due and total remaining cost
Loan or secured loan	Discount on rent, term and risk of the guarantee.

The table organizes data to be searched in the contracts. The terms of the specific offer are more useful for negotiation than an average market rate.

Compare the actual costs and consequences of late payments. Essential bills, secured payments, and housing expenses may require priority over simply prioritizing them based on interest rates. If the total amount of installments jeopardizes your livelihood, contact a consumer protection agency (Procon) or legal counsel to evaluate renegotiation options.

Monthly interest is not annual interest divided by twelve.

The bank advertises the monthly rate because it appears lower. The annual cost is (1 + rate) raised to the power of 12, minus 1: 15% per month equals 435%, not 180%. And interest is not the complete cost: the CET, the Total Effective Cost, includes interest, IOF (tax on financial transactions), fees, and embedded insurance, and every bank is required to show it before the contract is signed. If the offer in the app only shows “12x of R$ 98” without the CET, open the transaction details before accepting.

Step 1: Discover everything that's on your CPF (Brazilian tax identification number).

Forgotten debt is the fastest growing type of debt. Two official sources show the whole picture, and both fit on a mobile phone.

Registrato, the Central Bank statement

O Registrato This is a free service from the Central Bank that you can open with your gov.br account (silver or gold level). The "Loans and Financing" report lists each credit transaction associated with your CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID), by institution: credit card, overdraft, personal loan, financing, payroll loan, with the outstanding balance, the overdue balance, and what the bank has already written off as a loss. It's common to find a store credit card that's been closed for years or a loan you don't recognize. Keep the PDF: it's the starting list and serves as proof in any negotiation.

Serasa: where does the negative record appear?

Registrato shows what you owe to banks; a negative credit report is something else entirely. It appears when a creditor (bank, store, operator, college) registers the overdue debt with a credit bureau. The Serasa app shows, for free, if your CPF (Brazilian tax identification number) is negatively reported, by which company, since when and for how much, and directly opens the Serasa Limpa Nome negotiation process. SPC Brasil and Boa Vista are other credit bureaus, and a CPF can be clean in one and negatively reported in another, so check at least two. In the App Store, the Serasa app has the same name.

Step 2: Get your debts in order.

With the list in hand, the work is done with pen and paper or a note on your phone. You'll leave here knowing which debt you'll receive the money for first and how much you can pay per month.

1. List each debt with the creditor, the updated balance, the monthly interest rate, and the credit history (whether the name is on a negative credit report or not).
2. Separate the bills that are guaranteed or that cut off service: car or home financing, electricity, water, rent. Keep these always paid on time and outside the queue.
3. Choose the method. AvalancheFrom the highest rate to the lowest, paying the minimum of all and concentrating the remainder on the most expensive; it costs less in the end. SnowballPaying off the smallest debt first, adding what you paid on the first one to the next, costs a little more in interest, but it eliminates the first debt in a few weeks and keeps you motivated.
4. Define the monthly amount you will owe before negotiating, because that determines how many installments you can accept.

After preserving the essentials, prioritize contracts by effective cost and risk of default. An interest-based strategy can reduce costs, but it needs to fit within cash flow and respect the specific conditions of each debt.

Step 3: Negotiate via mobile phone.

Negotiation has three avenues, in this order: the creditor's app; settlement platforms, if the debt is already negative or the creditor doesn't respond; and the government channel, if nothing else works.

Inside the creditor's app

Consult offers on the issuer's official channel. Revolving credit has a limited term, and interest and financial charges on revolving credit and installment payments contracted from the effective date of the 2024 rule are limited to 100% of the original financed amount. This limit does not eliminate new purchases or separate obligations. Check the statement and the cost of the agreement before accepting.

At Nubank, overdue bills already offer the option to negotiate, with the total, installments, and cost all on the same screen, and the agreement will then appear on subsequent bills.

At C6 Bank, the process is the same: overdue invoice, installment proposal, total cost on the screen. Two clarifications: the C6 app does not show credit scores (that's a bureau's function), and the Taggy in the menu is the bank's toll tag, not a discount program; C6 points are called Atoms and are not related to debt.

At trade fairs and agreement platforms

When the debt is already negatively impacted or the creditor is a store, operator, or university, the solution is a settlement platform. Serasa Limpa Nome gathers proposals from hundreds of creditors within the Serasa app, offering discounts on the updated amount and payment via bank slip or Pix; several times a year there is a fair where discounts increase. Acordo Certo does the same with another group of creditors, and the same debt may have a proposal on one platform but not the other. Acordo Certo's listing on Google Play is recent, with just over a hundred reviews, which explains the lower rating; the platform has been around for years. The large discount usually comes with a single payment; the long-term installment plan returns part of it in interest.

When no one answers: consumidor.gov.br

If the creditor does not offer a proposal, charges for a debt that has already been paid, or maintains the negative credit report after an agreement, file a complaint with the appropriate agency. consumer.gov.br, This is a federal government platform where registered companies have 10 days to respond. Please attach the PDF of the Registrato form or a screenshot of the agreement.

What happens to a person with a negative credit history?

The period during which negative information remains on a credit report should not be confused with the statute of limitations for collection. The Consumer Protection Code (CDC) establishes a five-year limit for negative information, but the statute of limitations depends on the obligation and the facts of the case. There are decisions by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) that prevent the collection of a time-barred debt. Before acknowledging or renegotiating an old or disputed debt, seek guidance on the specific case.

Conversely, after you pay, the creditor has five business days to remove your name from the registry, a deadline set by the Superior Court of Justice in Ruling 548. In installment agreements, many creditors remove the negative listing after the first installment; this is stipulated in the terms of the agreement, and it's the clause you read before accepting.

Swapping expensive debt for cheaper debt: when does borrowing make sense?

Swapping a debt can reduce costs if the new APR, term, and total amount are better, and the transaction settles the previous obligation. A smaller installment with a much longer term can increase the final cost. A secured loan also commits future income, and a loan with collateral adds risk to the asset; don't use only the monthly interest rate to decide.

• Compare the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of the two, not the installment amount; a smaller installment with a longer term usually costs more in total.
• Request portability before taking out a new loan: any loan can be transferred to another bank that charges less, without fees from the original bank.
• After paying off your credit card, reduce your credit limit in the app; having available credit is a gateway back to the same debt.
• A loan with payroll deduction has a maximum amount that can be deducted from your paycheck (the available credit limit); if the limit is reached, the bank offers a regular personal loan, which falls within a different credit bracket.

Paying bills in installments with a credit card follows the same logic, but on the more expensive side: it's credit with interest and IOF (tax on financial transactions) and is meant for a one-month emergency, not for rolling over debt. If this is your current situation, read this beforehand. How does paying bills in installments via mobile phone work and how much does it cost?.

Step 4: Track the installments

Only now does the payment management app come into play. After negotiating, you have two to five installments per month with different due dates, and the app's job is to ensure that none are late: the common clause in payment settlement platforms states that late payments cancel the discount and return the debt to its original value.

An app like Mobills solves this with fixed payment and due date reminders; it and other budget managers are compared in... A guide to apps for managing personal finances., which is the next step after this. What do you record:

• each agreement as a fixed expense, with the installment number (3 of 12);
• the due date with a warning two days in advance;
• the remaining balance of the debt, which decreases with each installment;
• the expected end date for each agreement.

What your phone can already do without an app.

Google Calendar and iPhone Calendar accept recurring monthly events with alerts; the bank app has automatic debit for agreements made within it and invoice notifications; and, with DDA (Direct Debit Authorization) registered with your bank, the payment slips from the agreement platform appear automatically in the app, with a due date notice.

Those who pay for service package fees or use overdraft facilities at traditional banks gain a monthly saving simply by switching their day-to-day account; the Comparison of digital banks with no-fee account and card. It shows which ones charge zero.

Mistakes that cause debt to grow.

• Pay the minimum amount due on your bill. The remainder goes to revolving credit, the most expensive line on the schedule. If you can't pay everything, accept the installment plan: it costs 38% less per month.
• Accept the first offer. Offers change over time and by channel; old debt that has already been negatively impacted usually receives a larger discount because the creditor has already written it off as a loss.
• Pay a payment slip that arrived via WhatsApp or SMS. Verify the beneficiary in the bank's app and finalize the agreement only within the creditor's app or platform.
• Install a "name-cleaning app" signed by an individual. In app stores, there are apps with names of government programs whose developer is an individual, not an institution. If the "developer" field doesn't list the bank, credit bureau, or platform, don't enter your CPF (Brazilian tax identification number) there.
• Pay a fee to negotiate. Serasa Limpa Nome, Acordo Certo, consumidor.gov.br, and Registrato are free. Any "agreement release fee" charged before anything else is a scam.

Common questions

Which app shows all my debts?

No single app stands alone. Registrato shows debts with banks and financial institutions; the Serasa app (and those of SPC and Boa Vista) shows negative entries, which include stores, operators, and schools. What's missing are charges that haven't yet been registered, such as overdue rent.

Does negotiating through the app have the same value as doing it in a branch?

Yes. The agreement finalized in the app generates a contract, and the screen showing the CET (Total Effective Cost), installments, and total is your proof. Save the screenshot and proof of each installment; consumidor.gov.br accepts these files as attachments.

Does the debt disappear after five years?

The record disappears; the debt continues to exist, and in most cases, it cannot be legally collected. Those who still want to settle it usually manage to get a significant discount, because the creditor has already written off the amount as a loss.

Is it better to pay the bill in installments through the app than to leave it on revolving credit?

A payment plan offer might cost less than remaining in revolving credit, but compare the APR, the total amount, and the contract term. Personal or payroll loans should also be evaluated based on specific conditions and their impact on income. A smaller installment amount isn't enough to decide; confirm that the new transaction will pay off the previous debt.

The first step takes ten minutes: log into Registrato with your gov.br account, download the loan and financing report, and open the Serasa app to check for any negative entries. With these two documents in hand, the table above tells you where to begin.

Read also

• Saving money with apps: how to create and follow a monthly budget
• Paying bills in installments via mobile phone: which apps allow it and how much interest is involved?
• Digital banks: best apps for free accounts and no-annual-fee cards
• Cashback apps: where the cashback goes and how long it takes