Brazil launches subsidized loans for app-based delivery drivers

Brazil has moved to lower the cost of buying a motorcycle for app-based delivery workers, but the deal goes beyond a simple transport subsidy. By putting public money behind private credit, the government is trying to ease labor precarity, expand consumer lending and support domestic manufacturers at the same time.

The program, called MOVE BRASIL Entregadores e Motoapp, was launched at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasília on June 12, 2026, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and delivery worker representatives present. Planning Minister Bruno Moretti said Caixa Economica Federal and Banco do Brasil will provide the financing, while a government fund will absorb part of the risk by covering some losses. Annual rates are set at 11.5% for female drivers and 12.5% for male drivers, below the central bank’s benchmark rate of 14.5%.

Officials say the line is meant to finance about 100,000 motorcycles, motonetas and ciclomotores, with priority for vehicles produced in Brazil. Program descriptions also include bicycles, electric bicycles, electric motorcycles and flex motorcycles, underscoring that the policy is being used as both labor support and industrial policy. Borrowers may finance one vehicle each, and where required they must hold a category A driver’s license. Repayment starts after a two-month grace period and can run for up to 48 months, with prestamista insurance also available in the package.

Eligibility rules are aimed squarely at the platform economy. App-based delivery workers must have been registered on a platform for at least six months and completed at least 100 rides or deliveries. The program also covers CLT employees such as motofretistas and mototaxistas who have been with the same company for at least six months. That makes the plan broader than a single delivery subsidy, extending to workers whose income is tied to the same fragmented, low-margin service economy.

The launch also fits into a wider push. In May, the broader MOVE BRASIL package created up to R$30 billion in credit for app drivers and taxi drivers to buy new cars, after the National Monetary Council regulated that stage of the program on May 20, 2026. Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term, and the timing of these credit measures suggests a government intent on supporting households without putting the full cost directly on the federal budget.

That design is politically powerful, but it also raises a harder question: whether cheaper debt truly improves earning power for delivery workers, or simply shifts more financial risk onto workers whose incomes already depend on platform algorithms, fuel prices and vehicle wear.