How to get paid online in Latin America without a payment gateway
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Across most of Latin America you don't need a payment gateway to get paid online. People pay with whatever wallet everyone already uses in their country — Yape in Peru, Pago Móvil in Venezuela, Nequi in Colombia, SINPE Móvil in Costa Rica — and the buyer sends the money straight to the seller's phone or account.
International gateways charge a per-transaction fee, require business paperwork, and in several countries they don't even operate. For a small business selling on WhatsApp or Instagram, the shortcut is different: show your payment details at the end of the order and confirm the payment by hand.
What people use in each country
Every country has one or two dominant methods that the rest of the population recognizes instantly. Offering the right local method matters more than accepting cards: if a Peruvian buyer doesn't see "Yape," she assumes she can't pay you.
| Country | What people use | What detail the seller asks for |
|---|---|---|
| Peru | Yape, Plin | Phone number |
| Venezuela | Pago Móvil, Zelle, Binance | Phone / email / Pay ID |
| Colombia | Nequi, Daviplata, Bancolombia a la Mano | Phone number |
| Ecuador | DeUna, PayPhone | Phone number |
| Chile | Transfer by RUT, MACH, Tenpo, Mercado Pago | RUT and account number |
| Argentina | Mercado Pago, Ualá, Naranja X, Cuenta DNI | Alias or CVU |
| Mexico | SPEI, Mercado Pago | CLABE |
| Brazil | Pix | Chave Pix |
| Costa Rica | SINPE Móvil | Phone number |
| Panama | Yappy, Nequi Panamá | Phone number |
| Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador | Tigo Money | Phone number |
| Paraguay | Tigo Money, Zimple | Phone number |
| Uruguay | Mercado Pago, Prex | Alias or account number |
| Bolivia | Tigo Money, QR Simple | Phone (the bank generates the QR) |
| Dominican Republic | tPago | Phone number |
| Puerto Rico | ATH Móvil | Phone number |
| Spain | Bizum | Phone number |
The four cases that cause the most confusion
Peru: Yape and Plin, not a gateway
Yape and Plin work with a phone number and are interoperable across banks. A small business charges by showing its number; the buyer sends the money and shares the screenshot or the transaction code. No contract, no sales commission, no merchant sign-up.
Venezuela: three methods living side by side
Pago Móvil (in bolívares, between Venezuelan banks) for day-to-day sales, Zelle (in dollars, a US account) for larger amounts, and Binance for anyone operating in crypto or stablecoins. Many businesses offer all three and let the customer choose based on the currency they hold.
Chile: the bank transfer still rules
Even as wallets grow — according to a Deloitte survey covered by the Chilean press, the most used are Mercado Pago (71%), MACH (42%) and Tenpo (37%) — the bank transfer by RUT remains the most common method between individuals and small businesses. Publishing your RUT, bank, account type and number covers almost everyone.
Costa Rica: SINPE Móvil is practically universal
SINPE Móvil transfers money using the phone number linked to a bank account. Its adoption is so high that thousands of small businesses, market stalls and street vendors use it as their main way of getting paid, ahead of card terminals.
How to get paid without a gateway, step by step
The flow has three steps: the buyer sees where to send the money when the order is placed, transfers from their app and pastes the transaction code, and the seller confirms the payment once it shows up in their bank. Nothing gets marked as paid automatically.
- Publish the destination, not just the method's name. "We accept Yape" doesn't get you paid: you need the number to send to and the account holder's name, so the buyer can confirm before sending the money.
- Ask for the transaction code. All of these apps return a receipt number. It's what lets you match the payment without chasing screenshots through chat.
- Confirm the payment yourself. None of these methods notify your website when the money arrives. It's you who marks the order as paid, after checking your account.
The rule that prevents fraud: the customer declares they paid, the seller confirms it arrived. Never the other way around. A screenshot gets faked in thirty seconds; a deposit in your account doesn't.
When a payment gateway is actually worth it
Manual charging has a clear ceiling. If you handle dozens of orders a day, checking payments one by one stops paying off and a gateway with automatic confirmation saves you hours. The same applies if you sell to customers in other countries who only pay by card, or if you need recurring charges. Below that volume, the per-transaction fee costs more than the time spent checking the bank.
Charge with local methods in your catalog
MyShopLink lets you set up your country's methods with your payment details and shows them to the buyer at checkout, with the amount and the transaction code. No sales commissions.
Sources (in Spanish)
- Digital wallets in Chile, Deloitte survey — tasas.cl
- SINPE Móvil, how it works and its adoption — Costa Rica Consejos
- Digital payments in Panama — La Prensa
- Instant payment systems in Latin America — FinteChile