{
  "id": 12848260,
  "title": "Finanzen: Schufa: Mehr Verbraucher rutschen in Zahlungsschwierigkeiten",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/finanzen-schufa-mehr-verbraucher-rutschen-in-zahlungsschwierigkeiten",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-08T10:11:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/finanzen-schufa-mehr-verbraucher-rutschen-in-zahlungsschwierigkeiten/100260721.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "New analysis by Schufa reveals that a growing number of German consumers are finding themselves in financial difficulty. The economic information provider in Wiesbaden reported that the percentage of consumers with payment issues rose to 8.1% last year, up from 7.9% the previous year. Schufa's CEO Tanja Birkholz noted that more and more consumers are facing financial pressure, but does not consider it a crisis.\n\nThe increase in consumers with payment problems stems from a higher number of individuals reporting such issues to Schufa due to difficulties in paying bills or loan installments. Notably, more people experienced their first financial strain, with a 12% increase in 2025 compared to the previous year. This trend began after a spike in inflation around mid-2021 and continued until 2023.\n\nThe number of requests for private insolvency also rose by 8.3% to 88,000 last year. Birkholz explained that the growing debt reflects the increasing financial burdens on consumers, as they must pay higher prices, particularly for food and energy, since 2022. However, the number of new private insolvencies remains below the peak levels of 2006-2012, when there were over 100,000 applications each year.\n\nThe majority of new private insolvencies were filed by individuals aged 30-49 (58%), followed by those aged 20-29 (42%). Only 1% of insolvency applicants were over 74 years old. According to Schufa's analysis, 58% of the applicants were male, and 42% were female. The data analyzed consists of historical information on approximately 69 million consumers in Germany as of December 31, 2025.",
  "summary": "Immer mehr Menschen kämpfen mit unbezahlten Rechnungen – die Zahl der Privatinsolvenzen steigt. Wer besonders betroffen ist und was das für Verbraucher bedeutet.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}