There's a word the digital credit industry loves — and one that, from a borrower-protection standpoint, should sound like a warning: friction. Reducing friction means making the contracting process faster, with fewer steps, fewer screens, fewer clicks. For a streaming-app or e-commerce consumer, less friction is almost always a benefit. For the borrower on a medium- or long-term business credit operation, less friction can mean, literally, less time to understand what they're signing.
In one case reviewed — a working-capital operation under Brazil's PRONAMPE program, contracted entirely through an app — this phenomenon was technically evidenced: one-click contracting coincided with multiple pathologies that, in an in-person negotiation or even more traditional digital channels, would have had more chance of being questioned before signing.
In this analysis
What informational friction actually protects
In complex contracts — and a CCB, even a standardized one, is a complex contract, with dozens of interdependent technical and financial clauses — the friction of the traditional contracting process historically served a protective function that was rarely recognized as such: reading time, the meeting with a relationship manager, an in-branch credit review, the gap between proposal and signature. All of these steps, even without that intent, gave the borrower some room in time and distance to spot inconsistencies, compare proposals, or simply seek a second opinion.
App-based contracting, optimized for conversion in seconds, removes that friction — and with it, much of the borrower's chance to notice, before signing, things like:
Compound interest capitalization during the grace period, which in the case reviewed inflated the outstanding balance significantly before the first installment, with no clear highlight of that effect in the app's interface.
A timing lag in capturing the reference index (SELIC) used to compose the rate, with no transparency about the reference date used.
A gap between the CET shown on the confirmation screen and the actual rate implied by the payment flow presented.
A broad auto-debit authorization, accepted with a single tap, with no highlight proportional to its reach.
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Speed isn't the problem — opacity is
It's important to be precise here: digitizing credit isn't, in itself, the villain of this story. It has cut origination costs, expanded access to credit for companies that historically struggled to get an in-person credit meeting, and turned processes that took weeks into operations of a few days. None of that should be thrown out.
The specific technical problem is the mismatch between the interface's speed and the product's complexity. A streaming subscription or a very short-term personal loan tolerates "one click" because the individual risk and the operation's complexity are low. A working-capital CCB, with a grace period, a floating index, collateral, and early-termination clauses, is a far more complex financial product — and a contracting interface designed to feel as simple as a consumer app can mask that complexity instead of managing it.
When this design generates evidence of misleading the consumer about the essential nature or characteristics of the product, it directly engages the duty of clear, adequate information under Article 6, III of the Consumer Protection Code, and the prohibition of abusive practices under Article 51.
How to recreate protective friction
A business owner contracting credit through an app doesn't need — and shouldn't have — to give up digital convenience. But they can deliberately recreate their own protective friction before confirming the operation:
- Never complete the application in the first session. Save the proposal, close the app, and return to it after at least a few hours — ideally a day — to reread it calmly.
- Request the full simulation document as a PDF, even through a digital channel, not just the on-screen summary.
- Independently recompute the CET before confirming — even roughly.
- Be wary of any interface that doesn't allow easy access to the full contract before final signature.
The speed of digital credit is a real achievement for the small Brazilian business owner. But speed and diligence aren't incompatible — they just require that the borrower, not just the app, decide when it's time to slow down.
This article is part of a series on technical pathologies in business credit operations, based on expert opinions prepared by the author. Individual cases are treated in aggregate and anonymized form, with no identification of the companies or individuals involved.
Frequently asked questions
What is "informational friction" in a credit application?
It's the time and steps of the traditional contracting process — reading the contract, meeting with a manager, the gap between proposal and signature — that, without necessarily intending to, gave the borrower room to spot inconsistencies before signing.
Is contracting credit through an app, by itself, a problem?
No. Digitization has cut costs and expanded access to credit. The specific technical problem is the mismatch between the interface's speed and the financial product's complexity.
What pathologies showed up together in a one-click operation?
In one case reviewed: compound interest capitalization during the grace period with no clear highlight in the interface, a lag in capturing the reference index, a gap between the CET shown on the confirmation screen and the actual implied rate, and a broad auto-debit authorization accepted with a single tap.
How can a borrower recreate protective friction in a digital contracting flow?
Never complete the application in the first session, request the full simulation document as a PDF, independently recompute the CET before confirming, and be wary of any interface that doesn't allow easy access to the full contract before final signature.
Dr. Lincoln Sposito
Specialist in banking audits and financial forensics, combining the statistical rigor of data science with the analysis of banking-system architectures to dismantle predatory charges against SMEs. Learn more about the expert →