Almost all stores in Brazil offer installment plans, even for relatively small purchases. E.g., when I bought shoes the other day I was offered an options of paying in three installments. For larger purchases like cell-phones you are often offered a year-long installment plans. What’s even more striking, installment prices are usually marked more prominently than the totals. It is common to see prices written as “3xR$39 or R$129 on the spot” – with “R$39” written in large numbers, everything else being small. This can be very confusing, as sometimes you think: “This shirt just R$29?” to only realize that it’s R$29x6 = R$180, i.e. about US$70. (Prices on close seem to vary much more in Brazil than in US.)

As another twist on store credit, Brazilians sometimes pay with “post-dated checks” – a check that can be cashed only after a certain day. This way, the seller gets you check right away (so they don’t have to bill you later and worry about you refusing to pay), but you don’t need to have money in the bank until later.