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With Higher Fines, Strict Deadlines, and a Focus on Financial Services, the New Consumer Law 2025 Penalizes Banks That Block Portability, Hide Fees, or Delay Service, and Provides Tools for Customers to Pressure, Document, and Take Charge of Negotiating Interest Rates and Banking Terms Nationwide.
On December 20, 2025, the New Consumer Law 2025, Law 15.252, was already changing the routine of banks, retailers, and digital services by making non-compliance with deadlines an immediate financial liability. What was once treated as a simple “delay” is now seen as an infraction with heavy fines, especially concerning salary and credit portability.
In the financial field, the law targets lack of transparency and delays in essential services. Institutions that hinder portability, hide interest rates, omit the Effective Cost Total (CET), or impose contractual changes without clear explanations have become direct targets of consumer protection agencies, Senacon, and the Central Bank, with penalties reaching millions of reais in large and repeat offender cases.
What Changes for Banks With the New Consumer Law 2025
The initial focus of the New Consumer Law 2025 is on users of financial services.
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Law 15.252, sanctioned at the end of the year, establishes short deadlines for transactions that banks traditionally delayed, such as salary and credit portability.
When the customer requests to change the receiving account or migrate a loan, the transfer must occur automatically, immediately, or within two business days, depending on the case.
If the old bank holds up the process, the consequence is no longer just frustration for the account holder.
The institution becomes exposed to administrative fines imposed by the Central Bank, calculated according to the size of the institution and its frequency of violations.
In practice, each blocked portability request becomes a measurable regulatory risk, discouraging the use of bureaucracy as an exit barrier.
Salary and Credit Portability: Deadline Locked in Law
In salary portability, the New Consumer Law 2025 turns an old promise into an obligation with concrete punishment.
The transfer of monthly payments to another bank can no longer depend on the goodwill of the manager or opaque internal processes.
If the deadline is not respected, the consumer can contact the Central Bank and defense agencies, prompting an investigation and fine.
The same reasoning applies to credit portability.
When the customer finds better conditions at another institution, withholding documentation, delaying the sending of data, or making additional demands without legal basis is now seen as sanctionable behavior, not as “business practice.”
The law encourages the customer to compare rates, move debts, and treat the banking relationship as a revisable contract, not as a permanent bond.
Transparency of Interest Rates, CET, and Limits: End of Hidden Increases
Another pillar of the New Consumer Law 2025 is mandatory cost transparency.
Banks are required to clearly inform interest rates and the Effective Cost Total (CET), highlighting them in contracts and proposals.
Omitting, hiding in fine print, or delaying the provision of data for simulations and portability now incurs high sanctions, with fines that can exceed millions of reais for large, repeat corporate offenders.
In practice, this requirement reduces the space for silent limit increases, interest rate adjustments, or embedding insurance in unclear packages, as any significant change without adequate information can be categorized as a lack of transparency and abusive practice under the Consumer Protection Code.
The law does not prohibit renegotiation of limits but requires the bank to explain the financial impact of each change and be prepared to respond to formal inquiries from customers and regulatory bodies.
Disrespecting Deadlines Becomes Moral Damage and Daily Fines
Outside the strict banking universe, the New Consumer Law 2025 and the tightening of supervision have solidified a trend among consumer protection agencies and in the courts: the consumer’s time is now treated as a legal asset.
In both physical and online retailers, delays in delivery or problem resolution via customer service are classified based on Article 35 of the Consumer Protection Code and the theory of “Productive Waste.”
If the customer has to spend hours on calls, messages, and protocols to resolve a delay caused by the company, courts have begun to recognize automatic moral damage for loss of time, with compensations in 2025 ranging between 3,000 and 10,000 reais, in addition to the reimbursement of amounts paid.
In consumer protection agencies, the practice of imposing daily fines for delays, called astreintes, has gained traction, with sanctions increasing daily until the company fulfills its commitments.
Common Purchases, Exchange Without Defect, and Contracts Between Companies
Although Law 15.252 was originally aimed at financial services, the regulatory environment of 2025 encompasses another significant movement for retail: Bill 3300, currently in progress in the Senate, which aims to guarantee the right to exchange within 30 days even without defects.
If approved, Bill 3300/2025 will transform into an obligation what is currently store courtesy, allowing returns for simple regret on physical purchases, under penalty of fines for abusive practices.
At the same time, the discussion about “late fines” in B2B contracts is advancing, reinforcing the culture that deadlines are central clauses, not negotiable details.
This scenario pressures the entire supply chain, from wholesale to retail, to better plan inventory, logistics, and post-sale service, at the risk of seeing the cost of deadline non-compliance rise in a cascading manner.
For the end consumer, the effect is indirect, but it reinforces the message that chronic delays are losing ground across the economy.
How to Use the New Consumer Law 2025 to the Customer’s Advantage
In practice, the New Consumer Law 2025 only changes the game when the consumer reacts.
In the event of a delivery delay, the first step is to document the promised date, keep receipts, and file a complaint through official channels, such as Consumidor.gov.
Citing Article 35 of the Consumer Protection Code and Law 15.252/2025 explicitly increases the weight of the complaint, as it shows knowledge of the rules and may expedite settlement proposals.
In cases of blocked salary portability or credit without justification, the guidance is to contact the Central Bank, reporting the non-compliance with deadlines and mentioning the applicable legislation.
For cases involving apps and platforms with abusive prices or confusing clauses, state consumer protection agencies have already shown a willingness to notify and fine companies based on the prohibition of manifestly excessive advantages stipulated in the Consumer Protection Code.
The passivity of the customer, on the other hand, continues to fuel non-compliance with regulations and top-down contractual pushes.
With this new set of legal instruments, the account holder who once felt held hostage by the manager, customer service queue, and “internal bank policy” now has solid grounds to turn each attempted blow, delay, or omission into regulatory loss for the business, rather than for their own pocket.
In light of this scenario, in your view, is the new consumer law 2025 already sufficient to put the customer in control of their financial relationship with banks and companies, or do consumers still need to utilize these tools more in their day-to-day practice?
Graças ao meu bom Deus! Faça-se justiça ao consumidor!
Ótimo. Justiça.