What is a consórcio? The model behind 13 million Brazilians and 30 million Germans, now in the US.
A consórcio (in Portuguese; consorcio in Spanish; bausparkasse in German) is a structured purchasing pool: a group of people pay flat monthly contributions, and one member per cycle is awarded the full purchasing power for a qualifying asset. No bank, no interest, no credit check. Savings.Club operates this same model under US regulation, custodied at US Bank in an irrevocable trust.
How a consórcio actually works
Members enroll into a pool sized for an asset class (vehicles, homes, equipment, etc.). Every member pays a flat monthly contribution sized to their target asset value, plus a small administrative fee. Each cycle, the pool's pooled capital is awarded to one member as a purchasing voucher.
Selection is determined by a transparent score rather than bank underwriting. In Brazil, the score blends time-in-pool, contribution consistency, and a periodic auction. In Savings.Club's US implementation, the same idea is captured in the Savings Score, which weights consistency, tenure, and explicit member preference rather than credit history.
Once awarded, the member can purchase the qualifying asset from any seller. The voucher is paid directly to the dealer or seller; the title belongs to the member. Monthly contributions continue until the member's own buy-in is fully recouped by the pool.
- Flat administrative fee (typically 15-25% of asset value, spread across the pool's lifetime) instead of compound interest
- No bank intermediation; pool capital is custodied in a regulated trust
- No credit check, all credit profiles welcome
- All members, regardless of when they're awarded, pay roughly the same total
Why this works in the US (and why no one's done it yet at scale)
The mechanism has been legal in the US for decades under state-level money transmission and trust law, but never built at scale because the major banks have no incentive to displace their own interest revenue. Savings.Club is the first national US-market implementation, custodied in an irrevocable trust at US Bank, with an independent trustee (Jackson Hole Trust Company).
The US version differs from the Brazilian model in three deliberate ways: the auction step is removed (replaced by the Savings Score, ECOA-compliant), monthly contribution sizing is standardized into transparent tiers, and member protections include FDIC coverage on the underlying deposit accounts.
Consórcio vs. a US auto loan: side-by-side
On a $35,000 vehicle, a 72-month US auto loan at the average 9.7% APR (Experian Q3 2025) costs roughly $44,800 in total payments. The same vehicle financed through Savings.Club's flat-fee structure costs roughly $42,000 across the same horizon — a $2,800 savings, with no credit check and no APR. The deeper the credit-tier penalty a borrower would have faced, the wider the gap.
Is a consórcio the same as a savings club?
Yes. 'Consórcio' is the Brazilian-Portuguese term, 'consorcio' is the Spanish term, 'bausparkasse' is the German variant, 'tanda' is the Mexican variant. They share the same purchasing-pool mechanism: members pool capital, one is awarded each cycle, no bank interest. Savings.Club is the US name for the same model.
Is it legal in the United States?
Yes. Savings.Club operates under US trust law, with member contributions held in an irrevocable trust at US Bank under an independent trustee (Jackson Hole Trust Company). Member deposits are FDIC-insured up to standard limits.
Do I need good credit to join?
No. Unlike a bank loan, a consórcio doesn't underwrite individual borrowers. Selection is based on contribution history, not credit score. All credit profiles are welcome.
When will I receive my purchasing voucher?
Selection is governed by your Savings Score, which builds with every monthly contribution. Members can also accelerate selection by increasing contributions or pre-paying. The Savings.Club calculator gives you an estimated voucher window before you join.
What if I leave before being selected?
Members can exit at any time. Your contributions are returned per the trust's withdrawal schedule (full administrative-fee disclosure happens at enrollment).