The Provisional Measure that made BRL 10 billion in credit available to thousands of small Brazilian entrepreneurs who use and accept credit and debit cards as payment lost validity this Wednesday.

The so-called Emergency Access to Credit Program (PEAC) was one of the measures suggested by the private sector and put into practice by the federal government via MP, in July last year, to mitigate the strong economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Valor Investe, data from the state-owned bank Banco do Brasil show that tens of thousands of loans of up to BRL 50,000 were made, exempt from fees, interest fixed at 6% per year, 6 months grace period and up to 30 months of payment term.

As is usual in the receivables market, the guarantee for the program’s loans comes from a portion of future sales made by entrepreneurs through debit and credit card POS terminals.

The National Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises and Individual Entrepreneurs (Conampe) has already opened negotiations with the Ministry of Economy, demanding the resumption of Peac-Maquininhas, and the measure is being studied by the federal government.