How do I build a credit history in Portugal?

Your UK credit record stays in the UK. In Portugal, lenders look at the Banco de Portugal’s Central Credit Register, which lists what you owe and whether you pay on time, plus your income, your job and your history with the bank.

Why you start from scratch

Lenders must assess whether you can afford new credit. With no Portuguese history, they rely on what they can see: your income, your job and contract, your other loans and regular spending, and how your Portuguese bank account is run. That is why a first credit card or loan can be harder to get in your first year, and why opening a bank account early matters. See How do I open a Portuguese bank account?

The Central Credit Register (CRC)

• The Central de Responsabilidades de Crédito is a database run by the Banco de Portugal. Banks and other lenders must report the loans, credit cards, overdrafts and personal sureties (fianças and avales) of each customer every month
• It records loans that are being paid normally as well as those in default. Being on it doesn’t mean you are behind with payments, and it doesn’t give you a score: each lender makes its own assessment
• Lenders check it when you apply for new credit or ask to increase an existing loan
• Your map shows the amount owed, any amount in default, and potential liabilities, such as the unused limit on a credit card or a loan you have backed as guarantor for someone else
• It isn’t live: lenders report at the end of each month and the data is usually available around the 20th of the next month. A loan you just paid off can still show

How to get your credit map

1. Go to the Banco de Portugal’s official website (type the address yourself rather than follow a link in a message) and find the Central Credit Register in the section for individuals
2. Choose the month and year you want
3. Log in, for example with the Chave Móvel Digital (Portugal’s digital ID) or a citizen card with PIN. Use the methods the site offers you
4. Download the map as a PDF. It is free and you can request it as often as you like
5. You can also ask for it in person at a Banco de Portugal public counter with valid ID, or by post

If something is wrong, such as a loan you repaid still shown as active, ask the lender that reported it to correct it. If the lender doesn’t respond, you can complain to the Banco de Portugal. Corrections can take a month or two to show. Banco de Portugal Instruction 1/2026 updated the register in February 2026, so maps now show more detail, including whether you are the borrower or a guarantor.

Credit cards and other credit

• A credit card’s limit counts as a potential liability on your map even if you don’t use it, so close cards you no longer need
• The debt-to-income limit counts every loan with a repayment plan, including car loans and card balances, so a car loan today reduces what you can borrow for a home later
• Check how your card is set to repay. Paying the full balance each month avoids interest; paying a small percentage keeps the debt running
• Pay every bill on time. Missed payments on reported credit appear on your map as being in default

Mortgages for foreigners

Buying is covered in Can we buy a home in Portugal? In brief, the Banco de Portugal’s recommendations from 1 August 2026:

For example, with a net income of €2,000 a month (about £1,695), total repayments should normally stay under €900 (about £763). If a house costs €200,000 but the bank values it at €190,000, the maximum loan at 90% is €171,000 (about £144,900), and you pay the rest plus taxes and fees. These are recommendations rather than law, banks set their own terms for non-residents, and meeting them doesn’t mean a bank has to lend to you. Compare offers with the moving fund calculator in mind.

MB WAY, Multibanco and cheques

Most everyday payments are by card, bank transfer, direct debit or MB WAY, the mobile payment app run by SIBS, the company behind the Multibanco network. SIBS says MB WAY has about 7 million users, for shop and online payments, instant transfers to a phone number and cash withdrawals. You need a Portuguese bank account and card to use it.

Cheques still exist, but their use keeps falling: the Banco de Portugal’s payment systems report shows cheques had the biggest fall of any payment method, down 18.3% in number. Be careful if you do use one: if a cheque bounces and you don’t put it right after your bank’s warning, you can be put on the Banco de Portugal’s list of risky cheque users (LUR) and barred from using cheques on any account for 2 years.