Stuck at home, Brazilians are saving more

Unable to spend money in shopping malls (which have started to reopen), or on trips and other leisure activities during quarantine, Brazilians are saving money, a survey by financial planning app GuiaBolso found. As of May, 44.7 percent of the platform’s users had some money in their savings accounts. And average savings jumped from BRL 3,789.56 (USD 761.52) in January to BRL 5,566.52 in May. 

Data from the Central Bank also add weight to these findings. The monetary authority claims that deposits in savings accounts, the most traditional way of saving in the country, exceeded withdrawals by BRL 37 billion last month, the highest surplus on record. Similar trends have happened in other countries, such as the U.S.

In total, Brazilians have around BRL 921 billion in savings, even though the low-interest rates environment still makes it a rather unprofitable investment.

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