---
title: The Future of Payments in Latin America - BoaCompra
description: Local payment strategies are essential for companies interested in expanding their business in Latin America. For this reason, we invited the LATAM Payments Expert, Fernando Estevez Vazquez, to talk about this intriguing market on our blog.
---

[PagSeguro Blog | Local payments and business in Latin America ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en)

# [The Future of Payments in Latin America - BoaCompra](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/the-future-of-payments-in-latin-america)

 Written by [PagSeguro Team](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/author/pagseguro-team) | Jul 30, 2018 3:00:00 AM

**By Fernando Estevez Vazquez, LATAM Payments Expert**

A lot is happening in Latin America with several announcements like [Amazon opening offices](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-argentina/amazon-eyes-latam-expansion-opens-argentina-office-idUSKCN1IM1VZ) in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and more recently, Argentina. Even [Alibaba](https://www.alibaba.com/?src=sem_ggl&cmpgn=678190955&adgrp=34276573373&fditm=&tgt=kwd-14739453&locintrst=&locphyscl=2276&mtchtyp=e&ntwrk=g&device=c&dvcmdl=&creative=148007444327&plcmnt=&plcmntcat=&p1=&p2=&aceid=&position=1t1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqLbVyabz2wIVimwbCh0IVACJEAAYASAAEgL84vD_BwE) is already actively selling in most LATAM countries and we find several examples of disruption **on digital companies such as** [Mercadolibre](https://www.mercadolibre.com/), [Nubank](https://www.nubank.com.br/), [PagSeguro](https://pagseguro.uol.com.br/), [Multicaja](https://www.multicaja.cl/) and [PayPal](http://paypal.com/) (operating locally in Mexico and Brazil), just to name a few.

Despite the economic issues on the largest LATAM country (Brazil), [e-commerce and online purchases](https://www.ecommercebrasil.com.br/noticias/e-commerce-deve-crescer-15-em-2018-e-chegar-a-r-69-bi-de-faturamento/) are growing 2 digits yearly, meaning that Latin American consumers love buying online. Nevertheless [LATAM is still an unbanked territory](http://latintrade.com/reaching-the-unbanked-400-million-potential-customers-are-still-waiting-for-a-bank-to-find-them/) and alternative payment options are no longer a commodity but a necessity.

Payment options in Latin America are diverse, from **cards** that offer online** installments** (Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay) to exclusive local card schemes for each country: **Naranja **in Argentina, **Oca** in Uruguay, **Exito **in Colombia, **Elo** and **Hipercard** in Brazil and **Carnet** in Mexico that can only be processed via local companies.

Regarding **online banking **systems, which allow users to pay via their online banking or make cash deposits, some cases come to mind: [Safetypay](https://www.safetypay.com/en/), [Spei](http://www.banxico.org.mx/sistemas-de-pago/servicios/sistema-de-pagos-electronicos-interbancarios-spei/interbanking-electronic-payme.html) in Mexico, or [Khipu](https://khipu.com/) and [Servipag](https://www.servipag.com/wps/portal/servipag/servipag.pagoAnonimo/!ut/p/b1/vVPbjqJAEP2W-QCHS3PrR6BbGkYuQrciL0QEFVTA8QLy9ctONpNMsrPzsrH6qVKn6tQ56eISLuaSen0vd-tr2dTr4-88UVLRmsse0GVM8XTK2wYKTWJavK_LI2A1AixPjBxbIWbk-SpvgzcwDSQKNE_66P8sSwxJY1nWLBdDoM1FbsnFZHPpUeN2CKPwrBqHyurZqYlCS6Bnw7k5NY0Wm6nuBDEM-8cEou5yYfm9iCs927rv9RJkb0ZZXJfvyVnDlpyXfR5glpF5tvdLqZzhrTM5w5VlJYDAothmM8cXJ-RhhUS51srFba5toXe-V5lF2hhVtC6B_vLyRxv_Tej8T944XFJmp9duc3rlXwFUoSzIigR5qEq8PCpPvprzF-8-AP9YYDUC1G9XUGSOcjEvpVH1aO3hMITVMB-urHtQNA3GCYM3BLHHjn6URwJFocvTJYhwI9DDbXCR37leEOSLkBm6Oa1B1f5A6ApPJsTisxWqTyZkyn8n_PItRRmIEPAClDRJUWRV4RZk0_XoYo_3mO3PaoSE9LwVs53B2q2ZtHZT5XTFqHUAjvKmzsUtKaEWQ5DtGWruLD0u1_nuGCNGFxN8PV4OISF9xt_wym-dOkxT3-nirh1EKp4ic7ERZjmzPe0g9ijCUKqPaWAu-xSTrrxtaDfeoUeaU8G1J3afyQ4Z4s9X_AK_vj_Q/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/)in Chile. As for **wallets**, **PayPal **in Brazil and Mexico and **PagSeguro** in Brazilian territory are the best examples, and on the **mobile payments** we see companies like [Yellowpepper](http://www.yellowpepper.com/) or [Bim](https://mibim.pe/) starting to make some noise in LATAM.

**Cash payments** are the biggest and most important differential in LATAM, with several local systems serving the unbanked to make purchases online: **Oxxo** and **7-Eleven** in Mexico, **Efecty** and **Baloto** in Colombia, **Multicaja** and **Servipag** in Chile, **Pagoefectivo** in Peru, **Boleto** in Brazil, **Redpagos** in Uruguay or **Pagofacil** and **Rapipago **in Argentina.

These systems were, in many cases, originally designed to allow the unbanked consumers to pay utility bills, and it has been adopted for online purchases, representing a significant percentage of online sales. Cash is culturally a sign of trust in LATAM, with many people still being paid through this method, making it an absolute must, not just as a payment option, but as a tool to develop trust and loyalty for buyers.

The market is changing so fast that **Oxxo** is launching [Oxxo Pay](http://www.femsa.com/en/press/oxxo-pay/) and studying [offering contactless payments](https://www.planetretail.net/NewsAndInsight/Article/164004). [Multicaja](http://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/ict/could-chiles-credit-card-processing-monopoly-be-coming-to-an-end/) is trying to become the second acquirer in Chile and **PayPal** has acquired [Izettle](http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/18/technology/paypal-izettle-deal/index.html) (with operations in **Mexico** and **Brazil**), which shows that LATAM is being taken seriously by international players.

The future of payments in LATAM requires this kind of diversity to be able to succeed in this territory. It is expected that there will be an expansion in the array of services and markets offered by some of the mentioned players. Whoever gets it right will have much success ahead!

[View full post](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/the-future-of-payments-in-latin-america)

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