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Payments in Latin America

Cardflo offers local acquiring across Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, with native local APMs and installments support.

Currencies supported in Latin America

BRL · MXN · COP · CLP · ARS · USD

Local payment methods in Latin America

Pix, Boleto, OXXO, SPEI, Mercado Pago, PSE

Acquiring

Local LATAM acquiring is essential: cross-border cards see approval rates 20–40% lower than domestic. Cardflo routes per issuer country to local MIDs in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile.

Regulation

Each country has its own framework, Brazilian Central Bank (Pix), Mexican CNBV, Colombian SFC, Argentine BCRA. Installments (parcelado) are commercially essential and require local acquirers.

Market context in Latin America

Latin America's payments market processes over $1 trillion in card and account-to-account volume annually, with Brazil alone accounting for roughly half. Pix, launched by the Banco Central do Brasil in November 2020, now exceeds 5 billion transactions per month and is the dominant payment rail for sub-R$500 baskets. Mexico's SPEI handles over 4 billion transactions per year. Cash-out vouchers (Boleto, OXXO) still account for 15 to 25% of e-commerce in many segments despite the wallet shift.

Card scheme mix in Latin America

Brazil is dominated by Elo (the domestic scheme) plus Visa and Mastercard. Mexico is roughly 55% Visa, 40% Mastercard with Carnet on top for some debit. Argentina has Cabal and Naranja alongside the global networks, with installment (cuotas) volume often routed exclusively through Mastercard or Visa programmes. Domestic scheme routing is essential for cost on cross-issuer Brazilian volume.

Interchange and fees in Latin America

Brazilian debit interchange is capped at 0.5% under Central Bank rules, with credit averaging around 1.5%. Installment (parcelado) acquiring carries an additional MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) that scales with installment count, typically 1.5 to 3.5% on top of base interchange. Cross-border interchange on LATAM-issued cards is multiples of domestic, which is why local MIDs are non-negotiable for sustainable margins.

Common payment challenges in Latin America

Cross-border BIN routing kills approval rates: Brazilian issuers reject 30 to 50% of foreign-acquirer transactions on subscription. Currency volatility (ARS, COP) requires daily FX repricing for USD-denominated catalogues. Pix and SPEI refunds are merchant-initiated and instant, which changes reconciliation patterns versus card chargebacks.

Recommended setup for Latin America

  • Local MIDs in Brazil (BRL), Mexico (MXN), Colombia (COP) and Chile (CLP) for domestic acquiring
  • Pix and Boleto in Brazil, SPEI and OXXO in Mexico, PSE in Colombia at checkout
  • Installments (parcelado / cuotas) configured per country with merchant-side or consumer-side cost models
  • Cabal, Elo and Naranja scheme support where issuer share justifies it
  • Daily FX repricing on USD-denominated catalogues for ARS and COP

Popular verticals in Latin America

MarketplacesTravelStreamingGamingDirect-to-consumer

FAQ

Do you support Pix?

Yes. Pix is the dominant payment method in Brazil and is available at checkout via local acquirer partners.

Can I offer installments (parcelado)?

Yes. Installments are supported in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia via local acquiring.

How big is the approval-rate uplift from local versus cross-border acquiring?

On Brazilian, Mexican and Colombian cards, switching from cross-border to local acquiring typically lifts approvals by 20 to 40 percentage points, especially on subscription and high-ticket flows.

Which currencies can I settle in?

Cardflo can settle in local currency (BRL, MXN, COP, CLP, ARS) where the acquirer supports it, or convert to USD for consolidated treasury management.

Are Pix and SPEI refunds handled the same way as card refunds?

No. Pix and SPEI are push-payment rails, so refunds are merchant-initiated transfers rather than reversals of the original authorisation. Cardflo's reconciliation engine treats them as discrete debits and ties them back to the original transaction for accounting.

Do I need a local entity to acquire in Brazil?

Cardflo's Brazilian acquirer partners can settle to either a Brazilian-resident CNPJ or to an offshore entity through a registered fluxo cambial. The latter route is slower and more expensive on FX, so an in-country CNPJ is recommended for material volume.

How does settlement work across LATAM currencies?

Local acquirers settle in BRL, MXN, COP and CLP to local IBANs, typically D+1 for card and D+0 for Pix and SPEI. Argentine ARS settlement is constrained by BCRA capital controls, so most cross-border merchants settle to USD via a registered channel. Cardflo consolidates all rails into one ledger with FX applied at each acquirer's daily rate.

How are chargebacks handled across Brazilian and Mexican schemes?

Elo, Cabal and Naranja disputes flow through the domestic scheme arbitration process with 60 to 90 day pre-arbitration windows. Visa and Mastercard follow the standard global timelines. Cardflo's dispute queue merges all four surfaces per merchant with issuer deadlines and evidence templates pre-populated from your order data.

How does local acquiring in Brazil and Mexico compare to cross-border?

Brazilian issuers approve local BRL acquiring at 85 to 95%, while the same cards routed cross-border to a US or EU acquirer often see 30 to 55% approval rates because of foreign-transaction risk rules. Mexico shows a similar gap on MXN issuers. Local acquiring plus installment (parcelamento) support is effectively required for any material LATAM revenue.

What role do local APMs like Pix, Boleto and OXXO play?

Pix is now over 40% of Brazilian e-commerce basket completion, especially on higher-AOV items, and Boleto still matters for unbanked cohorts. Mexico relies on OXXO cash vouchers for a meaningful share of e-commerce. Cardflo integrates each APM alongside local card acquiring under a single checkout, reconciled per method.

How is installment (parcelamento) processing handled?

Brazilian issuers expect installment terms (typically 2 to 12x) to be requested at authorisation. Cardflo passes installment data through to the local acquirer, reconciles the receivable schedule and settles either as a lump sum (with issuer discount) or over the installment schedule, depending on merchant preference and cash-flow needs.

Related guides.

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