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The Central Bank Declared the Liquidation of Will Bank, Digital Bank of the Master Group, Already in Special Administration Since November. Without a Solution for the Institution, Mastercard Cards Stopped Transacting. The FGC Promises to Compensate About 800 Thousand Investors in Guaranteed CDBs.
The liquidation of Will Bank was declared by the Central Bank on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, marking the collapse of the digital bank of the Master Group just a few months after the institution entered into temporary special administration since November. In 2025, Will Bank invested between R$ 120 million and R$ 160 million in sponsorship on TV Globo, and now it is at the center of an intervention that directly affected clients and card operations.
The Will Bank had been preserved when the liquidation of Banco Master occurred because there were interested investors in acquiring the institution, but the agreement did not advance. The attempt to maintain activities under the special regime, which could last up to 120 days, did not prevent the deterioration of operations, and the situation worsened when the bank started to stop paying participants in the credit card chain, including the Mastercard brand, which halted transactions with Will Bank cards.
What Happened on January 21, 2026, in Pernambuco and Brazil
The act of the Central Bank that determined the liquidation of Will Bank was published on January 21, 2026, with justification linked to the economic-financial scenario and insolvency, as well as the interest link associated with the control of Banco Master. The central point is that the liquidation formalizes that the institution did not present a viable solution within the process conducted by the regulator.
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Although the impact is national as it involves a digital bank, the episode is significant because it occurs following the liquidation of Banco Master, since Will Bank was the digital bank of the same group. In practice, the decision of the Central Bank redefines the status of Will Bank and changes the perspective of clients, who must deal with operational restrictions and investor protection mechanisms.
Before the liquidation, Will Bank was under temporary special administration since November, a model in which activities are preserved, but the directors lose their mandate. This regime could be maintained for up to 120 days, indicating that the bank was operating under monitoring and administrative intervention, focused on finding a solution for continuity or reorganization.
Will Bank remained operational during this period, but the attempt to enable the institution was unsuccessful. The crucial data reported by the regulator was the absence of a solution for Will Bank, which directly connected to issues in the credit card payment chain.
Card Locking and Mastercard’s Role in Blocking Transactions
One of the most immediate effects reported was the locking of transactions via cards. According to the regulatory responsible for Will Bank, the institution began to stop paying participants in the credit card chain, citing the Mastercard brand as an example. Consequently, Mastercard cards had already stopped accepting transactions made via Will Bank cards.
This operational detail is critical because it translates the crisis into something perceived in daily life: when the brand stops accepting transactions, the customer feels the impact at the time of payment. At the same time, the blockage by Mastercard signals that the problem exceeded internal instability and affected the functioning of the card ecosystem associated with Will Bank.
In 2025, Will Bank invested between R$ 120 million and R$ 160 million in sponsorship on TV Globo. The contrast between this visibility expense and the liquidation outcome in 2026 increased attention on the digital bank’s trajectory within the Master group.
The sponsorship data reinforces the scale of recent advertising positioning of Will Bank and simultaneously highlights the rapid aggravation of the crisis leading to the formal intervention of the Central Bank. The chain is direct: in one year there is a significant investment in sponsorship, and the following year comes the liquidation decreed by the regulator.
What the Central Bank Pointed Out When Declaring the Liquidation of Will Bank
In the act that determined the liquidation of the Master group’s bank, the Central Bank justified the measure by citing the compromise of the economic-financial situation and insolvency, as well as the evident interest link by the control power of Banco Master. Practically, this means that the regulator concluded that Will Bank’s condition did not support continuity within the evaluated parameters.
This framing also formally connects the decision to the group’s context, since Will Bank was the digital bank of Master. Thus, the liquidation does not appear as an isolated event, but as a consequence of a scenario that had already been faced within Banco Master.
For those who had invested money in Will Bank, the central point presented involves the FGC (Credit Guarantee Fund). The forecast is that the FGC will pay up to R$ 250 thousand to about 800 thousand investors who had amounts in Bank Deposit Certificates (CDBs) and other guaranteed securities.
The indicated volume gives the episode a historical scale: it was pointed out that this would be the largest compensation ever made by the fund. For mass digital investors, the figure of 800 thousand investors serves as a thermometer for the reach of Will Bank and the operational challenge of reimbursement within the guarantee mechanism.
What Changes for Clients and Investors in the Short Term
With the liquidation decreed and the blockage of transactions involving Mastercard cards, the episode divides into two fronts. The first is the immediate operational impact associated with using the Will Bank card. The second involves the perspective of compensation via FGC for those who had investments in CDBs and other covered securities.
The most sensitive point is the timeframe perceived by the customer: blocked card is an instant effect, while compensation depends on the FGC payment procedure and the identification of what is covered. Within the available information, the objective data is the cap of R$ 250 thousand and the estimated universe of 800 thousand investors associated with Will Bank.
The liquidation of Will Bank on January 21, 2026, decreed by the Central Bank, exposed the deterioration of the digital bank of the Master group after a period in temporary special administration since November and the failure to find buyers, even after being preserved during the liquidation of Master. With Mastercard cards stopping transactions and the FGC promising coverage of up to R$ 250 thousand for about 800 thousand investors, the case enters as a landmark of broad impact on the Brazilian financial system.
If you were affected by Will Bank, the most realistic action is to identify if you are in the group of investors with CDBs and guaranteed securities and to follow communications regarding payment by the FGC, as well as considering immediate alternatives for transactions that relied on the card.
In your opinion, will the liquidation of Will Bank turn into a definitive alert for investors in digital banks, or will this type of shock still be repeated in 2026?
Se eu soubesse que correria esse risco tinha feito minhas transações em banco físico e jamais em banco digital . Serve sim como alerta
A roda gira, os vigaristas também! E não faltam **** no mercado!
Logo, aguardemos o próximo!