Payment Methods in Latin America
Connect over 100 local and global payment methods to accept payments and issue payouts to customers anywhere in the world
Payment Methods in Latin America
The priorities of local policy-makers within South American countries have helped to make the region a highly attractive proposition for e-commerce enterprises, with strong potential for growth. The percentage of individuals with bank accounts is much lower than in other regions, but this is projected by McKinsey to grow by around 10% through 2022. According to Statista, internet penetration stands at an average of 68.8% of Latin America. Within this statistic, there are over 300 million digital buyers, which is forecast to grow by more than 20% by 2027.
As is the case elsewhere, credit, debit or charge cards are the most popular payment methods in Latin America and account for most online transactions in the region. Brazil and Mexico are great examples of payment method adoption in Latin America: card-based payment methods coexist with a widespread network of local payment service providers like shops or post offices that can take cash payments for online purchases. E-wallets are used for an average of 11.5% of e-commerce purchases across the region – likely due to more limited mobile network coverage.
Brazilian Payment Methods For Online Purchases
With a population of more than 211 million people, Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the largest online market in the Latin American region. Thanks at least in part to 79% of the Brazilian population having a bank account, credit cards account for more than 60% of payments, and Brazil accounts for over 40% of the Latin America region's e-commerce sales. The revenue in the e-commerce market in Brazil alone is projected to reach $53.86bn in 2023.
Boleto Bancario is the most popular online payment method in Brazil, with over 24% of online purchases paid for via this method. Boleto allows customers to pay in a number of ways: bank transfer, credit card, or by converting currency into Boleto via a pre-paid voucher. SafetyPay is another popular payment method in Latin America, it's not just a Brazillian payment system though as it also operates in Mexico. SafetyPay offers online cardless bank transfers and offline payment methods for online purchases (by handing cash to a collection point). Local customers use SafetyPay to buy goods and services from retail, travel, finances, and other industries.
Boleto Bancário
Boleto Bancario is the leading payment system in Brazil, with over 24% of online purchases paid for via this method.
Boleto allows customers to pay in a number of ways: bank transfer, credit card, or by converting currency into boleto (a pre-paid voucher).
Learn more about the Boleto Bancario payment method.
SafetyPay
SafetyPay is a popular payment method in Latin America, operating in Brazil and Mexico. SafetyPay offers online cardless bank transfers and online cash system. Local customers use SafetyPay to buy goods and services from retail, travel, finances, and other industries.
Learn more about payment options with SafetyPay here.
Most popular payment methods in Brazil
- Visa
- Mastercard
- PayPal
- American Express
- Boleto Bancario
- SafetyPay
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
Online Payments in Mexico
Mexico represents the 15th largest e-commerce market in the world, just behind Brazil, and ahead of some countries that you might not expect, such as Spain.
E-commerce in Mexico saw a phenomenal growth rate of 27% in 2021 , which in and of itself made a noticeable contribution to the worldwide e-commerce sector, as well as the domestic economy. With a projected growth rate of 17% a year, Mexico is well ahead of the world average. In line with the general trend for the region, 46% of all e-commerce purchases in Mexico are made using some form of credit or charge card. The usual financial institutions of Visa, Mastercard and American Express are among those that you'll see most often in Mexico, along with local card issuers such as Banamex and Carnet. It is important to realise though that some 67% of these payments are made using localised credit cards that cannot be used for purchases from other countries. You will also see the same usual payment platforms that are used in Brazil and elsewhere, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and SafetyPay.
In addition to this, in Mexico (and other Latam countries that the brand serves), the Convenience store 'Oxxo' has struck a deal with Amazon which means that the brand's prepaid debit cards can be used as a payment method on Amazon, so shoppers can use an Oxxo card to make online purchases via Amazon, as if it were a prepaid Amazon voucher. There is also OxxoPay too – often used by people in Mexico to pay their utility bills, it can nonetheless be used to make online purchases too.
Payment methods in Colombia and Argentina
Argentina and Colombia find themselves in similar positions from an e-commerce standpoint. According to research from ecommerceDB, Colombia boasts the 32nd largest e-commerce market in the world, worth around $9.5 billion in 2021, and Argentina is right behind them in 33rd, with their market being valued at $9.3 billion - and incidentally Chile sits in 34th too. Again, card payments are the most popular option for making online payments and purchases in Colombia and Argentina, with more than half of all payments across both countries being made via card.
Once again, the main payment networks of Visa and Mastercard are most popular when it comes to cards, and again a proportion of these payments are made using localised cards which cannot be used internationally or for payments in other currencies. However, it should be noted that these are less common in Colombia (22% of online card transactions) and Argentina (34%) than they are in Mexico where they account for two-thirds of transactions.
In addition, digital wallet use is higher in these countries than the regional average of 11.5% - as in Colombia this figure stands at 13% and in Argentina it's an amazing 28%!
