Promissory Note Chile (Pagaré)

Promissory Note Chile (Pagaré) is a negotiable instrument (título de crédito) governed by Ley N° 18.092 on Letras de Cambio y Pagarés — published in the Diario Oficial on 14 January 1982 — specifically Articles 102 through 107, by which a suscriptor (maker/subscriber) makes an unconditional promise to pay a determined sum of money (suma determinada de dinero) to a beneficiario (payee/holder) or to their order, at a specified maturity date or on demand. Article 102 of Ley N° 18.092 defines the pagaré as a document containing the unconditional promise (promesa no sujeta a condición) to pay a determinate sum.

The pagaré constitutes a título ejecutivo (executive title) under the Código de Procedimiento Civil (CPC) Article 434 N° 4, meaning that the holder can enforce payment through juicio ejecutivo (executive proceedings) — a streamlined collection procedure before the Juzgado de Letras en lo Civil that allows attachment and seizure of the debtor's assets without a prior declaratory judgment. The título ejecutivo character distinguishes the pagaré from ordinary contractual obligations, which require a juicio ordinario (ordinary proceedings) to establish the debt before enforcement.

Article 102 of Ley N° 18.092 establishes the mandatory elements (menciones obligatorias) that must appear in the pagaré for it to be valid as a negotiable instrument: the indication of being a pagaré (la indicación de ser pagaré) inscribed in the text of the document; the unconditional promise to pay a determined or determinable sum (promesa no sujeta a condición, de pagar una cantidad determinada o determinable de dinero); the place and date of issuance (lugar y fecha de expedición); the maturity date or payment term (la época del pago); the place of payment (lugar del pago); and the name of the beneficiario or indication that it is payable to order or to bearer (el nombre del beneficiario o la indicación de ser al portador).

The Banco Central de Chile publishes the Tasa de Interés Corriente (current interest rate) and the Tasa Máxima Convencional (TMC — maximum conventional rate) under Ley N° 18.010 on Credit Operations. The TMC — calculated as 1.5 times the tasa de interés corriente for the corresponding term and amount — represents the legal ceiling for conventional interest rates in Chile. Interest rates exceeding the TMC are reduced to the tasa de interés corriente under Ley N° 18.010 Article 8, and the creditor forfeits all excess interest charged. The Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) supervises financial institutions that issue or receive pagarés as part of their lending operations.

The pagaré is widely used in Chilean commercial practice for consumer lending (créditos de consumo) by banks and retail companies (casas comerciales such as Falabella, Ripley, and Paris — operating through their financial subsidiaries CMR Falabella, Banco Ripley, and CAT regulated by the CMF), for commercial credit between businesses (crédito comercial entre empresas), for securing lease obligations (garantía de obligaciones de arriendo), and for formalizing personal loans (préstamos personales) between individuals. The Servicio Nacional del Consumidor (SERNAC) — the Chilean consumer protection agency under the Ministerio de Economía — enforces consumer protection rules applicable to pagarés issued in consumer credit transactions under Ley N° 19.496 on Consumer Protection.

The pagaré is transferable through endoso (endorsement) under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 17–33 — the beneficiario signs the back of the pagaré and delivers it to the endorsee (endosatario), who becomes the new holder with full rights to demand payment. The endorsement chain creates successive obligations — each endorser (endosante) becomes jointly and severally liable (solidariamente responsable) for payment under Ley N° 18.092 Article 25, strengthening the instrument's credit value.

A Promissory Note Chile is required whenever a debtor wishes to formalize a payment obligation as a negotiable instrument with título ejecutivo status under CPC Article 434 N° 4, enabling the creditor to enforce collection through juicio ejecutivo proceedings before the Juzgado de Letras en lo Civil without the need for a prior declaratory judgment.

Banks and financial institutions regulated by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) — including Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, Banco Santander Chile, Scotiabank Chile, Banco BCI, and Banco Itaú Chile — require borrowers to sign pagarés as part of consumer loan agreements (contratos de crédito de consumo), mortgage loan documentation (documentación de créditos hipotecarios), commercial credit lines (líneas de crédito comercial), and credit card agreements (contratos de tarjeta de crédito). The pagaré serves as the primary título ejecutivo for loan recovery — if the borrower defaults, the bank can initiate juicio ejecutivo directly based on the pagaré.

Retail financial companies operating in Chile — CMR Falabella (Banco Falabella), Banco Ripley, CAT (Cencosud), and Abcdin — issue pagarés for consumer purchases financed through store credit, auto loans, and personal loans, subject to the consumer credit protections of Ley N° 19.496 and the interest rate caps of Ley N° 18.010 enforced by SERNAC.

Landlords in residential and commercial lease agreements use pagarés signed by tenants to secure monthly rent obligations — if the tenant defaults on rent, the landlord can enforce payment through juicio ejecutivo based on the pagaré rather than the slower juicio de arrendamiento under Ley N° 18.101. Real estate brokers (corredores de propiedades) commonly require tenants to sign pagarés for the full lease term as a condition of the arriendo.

Small and medium enterprise (PYME) owners registered with SERCOTEC or CORFO use pagarés to formalize trade credit (crédito comercial) extended to customers — the supplier delivers goods and the customer signs a pagaré for the purchase price payable at 30, 60, or 90 days. The pagaré can then be endorsed (endosado) to a factoring company (empresa de factoring) regulated by the CMF for immediate liquidity, with the factoring company collecting from the customer at maturity.

Individuals lending money to family members, friends, or business associates should formalize the loan through a pagaré rather than a simple contract, because the pagaré's título ejecutivo status provides a significantly faster and more cost-effective collection remedy — juicio ejecutivo takes approximately three to six months compared to twelve to twenty-four months for juicio ordinario.

A valid Promissory Note Chile under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 102 through 107 must contain the following essential elements (menciones obligatorias) to constitute a legally enforceable pagaré with título ejecutivo status:

Pagaré Designation (Indicación de Ser Pagaré): The word "Pagaré" must appear inscribed in the text of the document itself (inscrita en el mismo texto del documento) under Ley N° 18.092 Article 102 N° 1. The absence of this designation — even if all other elements are present — prevents the document from qualifying as a pagaré under the law, though it may still function as a private acknowledgment of debt (reconocimiento de deuda).

Unconditional Promise to Pay (Promesa Incondicional de Pago): An express, unconditional promise to pay a determined or determinable sum of money (promesa no sujeta a condición, de pagar una cantidad determinada o determinable de dinero) under Article 102 N° 2. The amount must be expressed in Chilean Pesos (CLP) or may be denominated in Unidades de Fomento (UF) with payment in the CLP equivalent at the official UF value on the maturity date, as published by the Banco Central de Chile. The promise must be unconditional — any condition attached to the payment obligation disqualifies the instrument as a pagaré.

Place and Date of Issuance (Lugar y Fecha de Expedición): The specific place (city or comuna) and date (day, month, and year in DD/MM/YYYY format) of issuance under Article 102 N° 3. The date of issuance is essential for determining the maturity date when the pagaré specifies a term (a certain period after issuance), and for calculating the one-year prescription period (prescripción) under Ley N° 18.092 Article 98 for executive action.

Maturity Date (Época del Pago): The date or dates on which payment is due under Article 102 N° 4. Ley N° 18.092 Article 48 (applied to pagarés through Article 107) establishes four possible maturity formats: at sight (a la vista — payable on demand); at a determinable period after sight (a un plazo contadero desde la vista); at a determinable period after issuance (a un plazo contadero desde la fecha de giro); and on a fixed date (a día fijo y determinado). For installment pagarés (pagarés en cuotas), the document must specify each installment amount and due date, with a cláusula de aceleración (acceleration clause) providing that default on any installment makes the entire remaining balance immediately due and payable.

Place of Payment (Lugar del Pago): The city, comuna, or specific address where payment shall be made under Article 102 N° 5. If no place of payment is specified, the pagaré is payable at the place of issuance under Ley N° 18.092 Article 102 inciso 2.

Beneficiary Identification (Nombre del Beneficiario): The full name and RUT of the beneficiario (payee) to whom payment is due, or the indication that the pagaré is payable to order (a la orden) or to bearer (al portador) under Article 102 N° 6. Most commercial pagarés are issued to a named beneficiary with the ability to transfer through endorsement (endoso) under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 17–33.

Maker's Signature (Firma del Suscriptor): The handwritten signature of the suscriptor (maker/debtor) — the person who promises to pay — under Article 102 N° 7. The signature must be original; photocopies do not constitute valid pagarés. For corporate debtors, the authorized representative signs on behalf of the company, indicating the company's razón social and RUT. If the suscriptor signs through a mandatario (authorized representative), the mandate must expressly authorize the execution of pagarés under the rules of mandato commercial.

Interest Rate (Tasa de Interés): While not a mandatory element under Article 102, the vast majority of commercial pagarés specify a conventional interest rate (tasa de interés convencional) for both the regular period (intereses corrientes or remuneratorios) and for late payment (intereses moratorios or penales). Under Ley N° 18.010 Article 6, the maximum conventional interest rate (TMC — Tasa Máxima Convencional) is 1.5 times the tasa de interés corriente published by the CMF for the corresponding amount and term. Interest exceeding the TMC is automatically reduced to the tasa de interés corriente, and the creditor forfeits all excess interest. The pagaré should specify whether interest is calculated on a monthly, annual, or daily basis, and whether it compounds (capitaliza).

Acceleration Clause (Cláusula de Aceleración): For installment pagarés, a clause providing that default on any installment (cuota) — typically after a grace period of five to fifteen days — accelerates the maturity of all remaining installments, making the entire outstanding balance immediately due and payable. The Corte Suprema de Chile has validated acceleration clauses as consistent with Ley N° 18.092 and the principle of autonomy of will (autonomía de la voluntad) under Código Civil Article 1545. The clause should specify whether acceleration is ipso facto (automatic upon default) or facultativa (at the creditor's election).

Guarantor / Co-Signer (Aval): An optional but common element — one or more avales (guarantors) who guarantee payment of the pagaré by signing the instrument under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 46–47. The aval is jointly and severally liable (solidariamente responsable) with the suscriptor for the full amount of the pagaré. The aval's signature, full name, and RUT must appear on the pagaré itself (typically on the reverse) with the express indication of being an aval.

Forms-legal.com provides this Promissory Note Chile template as a reference for creditors and debtors formalizing payment obligations under Chilean law. For high-value commercial transactions, pagarés securing loan facilities, and consumer credit pagarés subject to Ley N° 19.496 (Consumer Protection Law) and SERNAC oversight, both parties should consult with an abogado to ensure compliance with Ley N° 18.092 and Ley N° 18.010 interest rate regulations. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.