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For the specialist Dmytro Rukin, treating the region as a single country with a shared checkout makes global companies lose money. While cards dominate markets like Ecuador and Mexico, in Brazil alternative methods are already tied, and Pix is advancing, in a payment map that changes from country to country.
There is no single payment market in Latin America, and what seems like a single market on the map are fifteen different realities, according to payment infrastructure specialist Dmytro Rukin. For him, a company that treats the region as a single country with a shared checkout will lose money in most of it.
According to Rukin, who works with payment infrastructure, companies that succeed in the region start from the principle that it is plural, while those that stumble treat it as uniform. The contrast is broader than most imagine, since in some markets almost nine out of ten online purchases still go through cards, while in others alternative methods already account for half, and according to 2023 data from Statista compiled in the Guide to Accessing Latin America, the share of cards in e-commerce ranges from 89% in Ecuador to 50% in Colombia.
Latin America, a plural payment market
For the specialist Dmytro Rukin, there is no single payment market in Latin America, and what seems like a single market are fifteen different realities, each with its dominant methods, consumption habits, and rules. According to him, a company that treats the region as a single country with a shared checkout loses money in most of it.
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In his analysis, companies that succeed in the region start from the principle that it is plural, while those that stumble treat it as uniform. The contrast is greater than most imagine, since in some markets almost nine out of ten online purchases still go through cards, while in others digital wallets and bank transfers already account for half of e-commerce, in a payment map with no possible average.
Where cards still dominate payments
According to 2023 data from Statista, compiled in the Guide to Accessing Latin America, cards continue to be the backbone of online payments in much of the region. Ecuador leads, with cards accounting for 89% of e-commerce, followed by Panama with 87%, the Dominican Republic with 86%, and Guatemala with 84%, with Costa Rica in the 80% range.
Mexico also belongs to this group, which surprises many, as despite all the attention on fintech innovation, cards still carry 66% of the country’s e-commerce transactions. For those entering these markets, card acceptance is not optional, and local acquiring, installment support, and high approval rates on domestic cards determine if the sale closes, which is why the infrastructure needs to treat card rails as the main path.
Where alternative methods are already tied
In some markets, the payment balance has already tilted towards a tie. According to the same Statista survey, Brazil operates with 51% cards against 49% alternative methods, Colombia has reached a clean 50 to 50 split, and El Salvador is not far off, with 54 against 46, and in these countries, ignoring wallets and account-to-account methods means ignoring half of the potential buyers.
Brazil is the clearest example, as its instant payment system, Pix, holds a 16% share in e-commerce and, according to the same source, is expected to grow at an annual rate of 26% between 2023 and 2026. Colombia tells a similar story from a different point, with alternative digital methods already tying with cards one to one, showing that a card-only integration leaves half of the checkout on the table.
What fragmentation means for global companies
For Rukin, a universal payment solution does not work in Latin America, and any provider promising one is selling a simplification that will cost dearly later, so the infrastructure needs to be adjusted country by country and method by method.
In practice, his prescription requires local acquiring where cards dominate and native support for wallets and account-to-account rails where they have reached parity.
“You are optimizing for a country that does not exist,” says Rukin about those targeting the regional average.
According to him, it is also necessary to understand that the same buyer behaves differently in Lima and Bogotá, in addition to a partner who has already done the integration in each market. As a payment infrastructure professional, Rukin has a commercial interest in this reading, which positions companies like his as those that absorb the fragmentation, a point the reader can weigh when evaluating the recommendation.
The payment map of Latin America is fragmented into fifteen different realities, with the share of cards in e-commerce ranging from 89% in Ecuador to 50% in Colombia, according to Statista data from 2023.
Cards still dominate much of the region, from Mexico to Panama, but in Brazil, Colombia, and El Salvador, alternative methods are already rivaling them, with Pix rising rapidly in the Brazilian case. For Dmytro Rukin, a payment infrastructure specialist, there is no universal solution, and global companies that want to convert need to build country by country, a perspective that, coming from someone who sells exactly this type of integration, the reader weighs alongside the numbers.
And you, what did you think of the fragmented payment map of Latin America, with cards dominating in some countries and Pix rising in Brazil? Do you believe there is a universal solution, or does each market require its own strategy? Share your opinion and exchange ideas with other readers about fintech and payment methods.
