Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said that local banks will have a chance to voluntarily reduce credit card interest rates before a measure that reduces the deadline to pass through credit cards payments to retailers come into force, O Estado de S. Paulo reported.

"If banks do not begin to lower interest rates, then the National Monetary Council will take this decision [to reduce the deadline] at the January meeting," Meirelles was quoted as saying.

He noted, however, that any decision to lower interest rates will be left to the banks, according to the Dec. 21 report.