Is there buy now, pay later in Costa Rica?
Not as a standalone fintech product. Installments are a credit card feature: BAC's Tasa Cero runs from 3 to 24 months at affiliated merchants, and BCR, Banco Popular, Davivienda and Scotiabank sell similar plans, often with a one-off fee of 2% to 7%.
In detail
Not as a standalone fintech product. Installments are a credit card feature: BAC's Tasa Cero runs from 3 to 24 months at affiliated merchants, and BCR, Banco Popular, Davivienda and Scotiabank sell similar plans, often with a one-off fee of 2% to 7%.
How people pay in Costa Rica in 2026
Costa Rica is one of the most digital payment markets in Latin America, and the central bank built the rail that made it so. SINPE Móvil, the Banco Central de Costa Rica's phone-number transfer service, settled 747.5 million transfers worth more than ₡12 trillion in 2025, up 15% in volume, and 4.5 million phone numbers were registered on it by December.
Payment by installment and BNPL in Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, buy now, pay later lives inside the credit card. Every large bank sells interest-free or low-fee installment plans under its own brand: BAC Credomatic's Tasa Cero runs from 3 to 24 months at participating merchants, BCR's Plan BCR 0% charges a one-off fee of 2% to 7% for 3 to 12 months, Banco Popular has BP Tasa Cero, Davivienda sells A Paguitos, and Scotiabank converts purchases into up to 24 interest-free installments from its app.
More detail in our #PayWorldTour guide Payment methods in Costa Rica.