--- title: "Simulating financing costs" description: "Price every Brazilian card instalment plan before you quote one—what the customer pays per month, what it totals, and what the interest actually is." lastModified: "2026-08-27" lang: "en" wordCount: 1801 url: https://qualyhq.com/training/payments/simulating-financing-costs --- ## Site navigation - [For schools](/international-education/for-schools.md) — For international education schools - [For agents](/international-education/for-education-agents.md) — For international education agents - [Explore](/training.md) — Watch videos on how to use Qualy - [About](/about.md) — Learn about Qualy's mission and values - [Pricing](/pricing) - [5-min demo](/demo.md) - [Login](https://dashboard.qualyhq.com) # Simulating financing costs > Price a Brazilian card instalment plan before you offer one. ## At a glance - **Intended for:** Everyone - **Available in:** All plans - **Reading time:** 4 minutes - **Last updated:** 8th August 2026 ## Quick summary Simulate financing costs prices every instalment plan a Brazilian credit card can be split into—1x up to 18x—in one table: what the customer pays per month, what it totals, and the interest rate on each term. Enter an amount in a currency other than BRL and Qualy converts first, then prices the plans off the converted figure. Nothing is created and nobody is charged; it exists so you can answer 'what would 12x cost them' before you say it out loud. Which terms come out interest-free is decided by your own fee settings, not by the card network. ## Overview A Brazilian customer asks whether they can pay in twelve. You want to answer with a number rather than a shrug. Simulate financing costs prices every term a Brazilian credit card can be split into, from a single payment up to eighteen, and puts them in one table: what the customer pays each month, what it comes to in total, and the rate applied to that term. It creates nothing and charges nobody. This guide covers Brazilian credit cards. Klarna appears in the same modal where it's enabled, but the numbers, the currency rules and the interest-free logic below are all about the Brazilian rail. ## Opening the simulation Both entry points need a role that can create or edit payments. From **Payments**, open the chevron at the end of the top-right button group. The Options list includes **Simulate financing costs**. ![The Payments page with the Options menu open, showing Start a new refund, Compare exchange rates and Simulate financing costs](/images/training/payments/simulating-financing-costs/01-simulate-financing-costs-in-options-menu.png) It also lives in the quick actions bar, under **Compare rates**, next to the exchange-rate comparison. ## Choosing the method and the amount Under **Choose a method**, pick **Brazilian credit card** — *Pay in installments using a credit card from Brazil.* ![The Financing simulation modal with Brazilian credit card selected and Klarna shown greyed out below it](/images/training/payments/simulating-financing-costs/02-choose-method-and-amount.png) Only financing methods appear here, and any you haven't enabled are shown greyed out rather than hidden — so Klarna sits below in a disabled state until it's switched on. When just one financing method is enabled, it's selected for you. Then enter a **Financing amount** and its currency. The table appears as you type and updates a second or so after you stop. ### When the amount isn't in reais Brazilian card plans are priced in BRL, full stop. Type an amount in any other currency and Qualy converts it before pricing anything. ![The Currency conversion panel showing A$1,000.00 on the left converting to R$3,671.23 on the right, with the rate 1 AUD = 3.67123 BRL below](/images/training/payments/simulating-financing-costs/03-currency-conversion.png) A **Currency conversion** panel appears between the amount and the plans, showing what you entered, what it converts to, and the rate used. Every figure in the table below is then a figure in reais, priced off that converted amount. The rate in that panel is a live quote taken at that moment, not a locked one. Re-run the same simulation next week and the reais figure — and therefore every monthly instalment under it — will have moved. If you're quoting a customer in their own currency across a corridor, quote the conversion and the plan together, with the date. ## Reading the installment options The table lists every available term, one row each. ![The Installment options table listing terms 1x through 12x, each with instalment amount, total and interest rate](/images/training/payments/simulating-financing-costs/04-installment-options-table.png) **Installment amount** is what the customer pays per month. **Total** is what they hand over across the whole plan. **Interest** is the rate that term is priced at, shown green at zero and amber above it. Two habits will keep you out of trouble. Read the **Total** column, not the monthly one, when you're quoting. A customer comparing R$94.49 a month against R$1,044.29 up front is comparing two things that aren't comparable; the honest comparison is total against total. And treat the Interest column as the plan's rate rather than the customer's cost. The extra the customer actually pays is Total minus the amount you typed in, and it will be slightly more than the rate implies — rounding on each instalment lands in the total but not in the rate. Terms are capped at 18. Below R$20.00 only a single payment is offered, because splitting an amount that small would produce instalments too small to charge. ## Why some terms are interest-free and others aren't The rate on each row isn't handed down by the card network. It comes from your own settings. A card sale carries an acquirer cost, and that cost exists whether the customer pays in one go or in twelve. Your **cost pass-through** settings, in Settings → Payments, decide who bears it: your organisation, the payer, or a split between them where you absorb whatever the payer's share doesn't cover. A term reads as interest-free to the customer exactly when the cost for that term lands entirely on you. So the way to offer *up to 6x interest-free* is to set the pass-through band to six — not to look for an interest-free switch, because there isn't one. This is also why a simulation on one organisation's settings looks nothing like another's. If your Interest column shows a figure at 1x, that's your fee policy passing the cost of accepting a card to the payer, before any instalments are involved. ## What the customer sees at checkout The customer meets the same arithmetic, arranged as a decision rather than a table. On the list of payment methods, a Brazilian credit card carries a badge reading **Up to Nx interest-free** whenever any term qualifies under your settings. That badge is the reason many customers pick the method at all. Once they choose a term, the card form repeats the plan back: *N payments of R$X per month*. If the term is interest-free they get a green **Interest-free** confirmation — the same promise they chose the method on. If it isn't, they see the rate and a plain-language read on what the monthly interest amounts to, in coffees, movie tickets or lunches out. They see all of this before entering card details, which is the point: the comparison that should drive the choice happens while the choice is still open. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does running a simulation charge anyone or create anything? No. Simulate financing costs is a pricing calculator and nothing else—no payment, no authorisation, no record against a customer. You can open it, change the amount a dozen times and close it without leaving a trace. It does remember the method, amount and currency you last used, so reopening it starts where you left off. ### How many instalments can a Brazilian card be split into? Up to 18. The table lists every term from 1x—shown as '1x (lump sum)'—through to 18x, each with its own monthly figure, total and rate. One exception: below R$20.00 only a single payment is offered, because the per-instalment amounts would be too small to split. ### Can I simulate an amount in AUD, EUR or another currency? Yes, and Qualy handles the conversion for you. Brazilian card plans are priced in BRL only, so when you enter an amount in another currency a Currency conversion panel appears showing the original amount, the converted amount and the rate used. Every plan below it is then priced off the converted BRL figure. The rate in that panel is a live quote, so a simulation you ran last week won't reproduce exactly today. ### What is the Interest column actually measuring? The rate the plan is priced at for that term. It rises with the number of instalments, which is why 12x carries a higher figure than 3x. It is not the same as the extra money the customer hands over—for that, compare the Total column against the amount you typed in. The two differ because rounding on each instalment and any flat fee land in the total but not in the rate. ### Why does even 1x show an interest figure? Because a card sale has an acquirer cost whether or not it's split, and your settings decide who bears it. If your organisation passes that cost to the payer, it shows up as a rate on every term including the single payment. If you absorb it, the same row reads 0%. A non-zero figure at 1x is a statement about your fee policy, not about instalments. ### How do I make the first few instalments interest-free for customers? By changing who covers the fee, in Settings → Payments. The cost pass-through settings let you say that your organisation absorbs the acquirer cost up to a chosen number of instalments, and the payer bears it beyond that. Any term where the cost lands entirely on you is interest-free to the customer, and Qualy labels it that way at checkout. There is no separate interest-free switch—it falls out of the fee policy. ### What does the customer see at checkout? The same numbers, presented as a choice. On the method list a Brazilian credit card carries a badge reading 'Up to Nx interest-free' when any term qualifies. After they choose a term, the card form repeats the plan back as 'N payments of R$X per month', with either an 'Interest-free' badge or the interest rate and a plain-language comparison of what the monthly interest is worth—a couple of coffees, a movie ticket. They see the plan before they enter card details, not after. ### Why is Klarna greyed out in the method list? Because it isn't enabled for your organisation. The simulation only ever lists financing methods—Brazilian credit card and Klarna—and shows the ones you don't have switched on in a disabled state rather than hiding them. If only one financing method is enabled, it's selected for you when the modal opens. Turning a method on happens in Settings → Payment methods. ### Does the simulation change what I receive? No. The table prices what the customer pays and how it's spread; it says nothing about the amount owed to you, which is set by the payment itself. If you want the full picture of how instalment sales settle on your side, see the Financing and installment options guide. ### Can I send the simulation to a customer? Not as a document—there's no share or export from the modal. It's a tool for you, so that when a customer asks what 10x would cost them you can answer with the real figure rather than an estimate. The customer gets their own version of the same plan list at checkout, priced at that moment. ### Who on my team can open it? Anyone whose role lets them create or edit payments. That covers both entry points—the Options menu on the Payments page and the Compare rates group in the quick actions bar. ## Prefer doing this via the Qualy API? Head over to our developer docs for everything you need—endpoints, examples, and simple how-tos. 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