How people pay in Ecuador in 2026
Ecuador has used the US dollar as its currency since 2000, so merchants settle in USD and there is no exchange risk on local sales. Cash is still common, but it is losing ground fast: money withdrawn from bank accounts fell 20% to USD 21.9 billion in the first eight months of 2025, according to Superintendencia de Bancos data reported by Primicias, while debit card spending rose 32% over the same period. Interbank transfers cleared by the Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE) passed USD 124 billion across 79.3 million transfers between January and August 2025. Financial inclusion reached 91.6% at the end of 2025, with 11.6 million clients in the formal system, according to the BCE.
Online, credit cards dominate. They carried 74% of e-commerce value in 2024, ahead of debit cards at 16%, wallets at 6% and bank transfers at 3%, according to PCMI, and many purchases are split into diferidos, installment plans set by the issuing bank. In stores and between people, QR wallets such as Deuna, Payphone and PeiGo are spreading quickly, and the BCE is building an interoperable real-time payment system. A checkout in Ecuador needs cards with diferidos, QR wallets and a cash option for the unbanked.
- 74% of e-commerce value paid by credit card in 2024 (PCMI)
- 6 million+ Deuna users and 620,000+ merchants in April 2026 (Deuna via Primicias)
- USD 124 billion in interbank transfers from January to August 2025 (BCE via El Diario)
- 3.4 million active credit cards in April 2026 (Primicias)
Payment by card in Ecuador
Ecuador has no domestic card scheme. Banks issue Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, and Diners Club holds an unusually strong position: present since 1968, it claims more than one million members and 100,000 partner merchants in 2025. Primicias counted 3.4 million active credit cards in April 2026, 136,725 more than a year earlier, and credit card purchases reached USD 5.45 billion in the first four months of 2026, up 11% according to the Superintendencia de Bancos. Debit cards are catching up in stores, with 189.7 million debit card transactions worth USD 4.26 billion from January to August 2025.
Online, the credit card is the default and took 74% of e-commerce value in 2024. The local specificity is the diferido: shoppers split a purchase into monthly installments, with or without interest and sometimes with grace months, and gateways such as Kushki pass these deferred options to the issuer at authorization. Card routing and approval rates therefore depend on handling diferidos correctly. Our guide to how card networks work explains the economics behind interchange fees.
Card schemes in Ecuador
Visa
International scheme
The most common brand on Ecuadorian debit and credit cards, issued by banks such as Banco Pichincha, Banco Guayaquil, Produbanco and Banco Bolivariano, and usable in Apple Pay with local issuers.
Mastercard
International scheme
The second international scheme, on bank debit and credit cards and on wallet-linked cards such as the PeiGo virtual debit card.
Diners Club
Local card leader
Issued locally since 1968, Diners Club is a mainstream credit card in Ecuador, widely used for diferido purchases, not a niche travel card as in most markets.
1 million+ personal and corporate members and 100,000 partner merchants in 2025, Diners Club via Primicias (sponsored)
Credit cards with diferidos
Installment credit card
Ecuadorian credit cards let shoppers choose a deferred plan at checkout, from interest-free installments to plans with grace months, set by the issuing bank.
USD 5.45 billion in credit card purchases from January to April 2026, up 11%, Superintendencia de Bancos via Primicias
Debit cards
Debit card
Bank debit cards, mostly Visa and Mastercard, are the everyday card at the point of sale and are increasingly used online and from phones.
189.7 million debit card transactions from January to August 2025, worth USD 4.26 billion, up 32% in value, Primicias
Payment by cash in Ecuador
Cash in Ecuador means US dollar notes and coins, and it remains the habit of many small shops, transport and informal workers. A McKinsey survey cited by Primicias found that 49% of Ecuadorians preferred cash in 2023. The trend is clearly down: the amount withdrawn from banks fell 20% in the first eight months of 2025, even as the number of withdrawals rose slightly and the average withdrawal dropped from USD 112 to USD 88.9.
Online, cash is marginal, at 1% of e-commerce value in 2024, but it matters for unbanked shoppers. They pay with a reference at bank agents and retail networks. Banco Pichincha's Mi Vecino agents reached 10,116 points in all 221 cantons in 2024, Banco Guayaquil runs Banco del Barrio, and Deuna added a cash-in and cash-out network of 3,500 shops in March 2026. Gateways also collect through Facilito and the Western Union agent network in pharmacies and supermarkets such as TÍA and Mi Comisariato, as listed by Kushki. Our article on the transition from cash to digital payments puts this shift in context.
Cash payment methods in Ecuador
Cash
Banknotes and coins
US dollar cash, used daily in small shops, markets and transport, and still the main payment option outside large cities.
USD 21.9 billion withdrawn from banks from January to August 2025, down 20%, Superintendencia de Bancos via Primicias
Mi Vecino
Banking agent network
Banco Pichincha's network of neighborhood shops for withdrawals, bill payments, remittances and payment references, accepted for online cash payments by SafetyPay and Kushki.
10,116 points, 14 million transactions a month, 2024, Banco Pichincha via Primicias
Banco del Barrio
Banking agent network
Banco Guayaquil's network of agents in local shops, where shoppers can pay an online order with a reference, up to USD 500 per payment through Kushki.
Deuna Veci
Cash-in network
Deuna's network of partner shops where users deposit cash into the wallet for free and withdraw it for a fixed USD 0.36 fee, between USD 1 and USD 500 a day.
3,500+ partner shops at launch in March 2026, Latam Fintech Hub
Western Union agents
Cash collection network
Western Union's Ecuadorian agent network in pharmacies, supermarkets and courier offices such as Farmacias 911, TÍA, Mi Comisariato and Servientrega, used to pay online orders in cash up to USD 500, according to Kushki.
Facilito
Cash collection network
A payment and collection network for bills and online purchase references, listed by SafetyPay and Kushki for cash payments up to USD 300 to USD 500.
Payment by bank transfer in Ecuador
Transfers are a daily payment habit in Ecuador, for rent, invoices and many small online sellers who share their account details on WhatsApp. Interbank payments processed through the BCE reached USD 141.2 billion from January to September 2025, up 11% year on year. Yet bank transfers carried only 3% of e-commerce value in 2024, because interbank transfers could take up to 72 hours depending on the bank and the day.
That is changing. A December 2024 resolution of the Junta de Política y Regulación Monetaria requires real-time, 24/7 interoperable payments across banks and cooperatives, with keys and standardized QR codes capped at one basic salary, USD 470 in 2025. In March 2026 the BCE set an ISO 20022 standard for real-time payments, mandatory within each payment network by November 30, 2026, and in August 2026 it was studying Pix-style keys for a new 24-hour system. For merchants, instant payment would make transfers a serious checkout option. Our article on account-to-account payments explains why. Our real-time payments explorer compares instant payment systems country by country.
Bank transfer methods in Ecuador
Interbank transfer (SPI)
Bank transfer
Transfers between banks and cooperatives cleared by the BCE's interbank payment system, used for salaries, invoices, B2B payments and larger purchases.
79.3 million interbank transfers worth more than USD 124 billion from January to August 2025, BCE via El Diario
Immediate interbank transfers
Instant transfer
Real-time transfers between institutions, now required 24/7 by the JPRM-2024-029-M resolution, with payments by key or QR code capped at one basic salary.
Bank reference payments
Pay by bank
Shoppers pay an online order with a reference in the app, website or branch of Banco Pichincha, Banco Guayaquil and other banks, up to USD 10,000 through SafetyPay.
Interoperable QR payments
QR payment
Banks and cooperatives are aligning on standardized QR codes; Deuna already offers its QR button to more than 10 savings and credit cooperatives.
Payment by installment and BNPL in Ecuador
In Ecuador, installment payments run mostly through credit cards. At checkout, shoppers choose a diferido, an installment plan set by their issuing bank: with or without interest, with fixed installments, or with one to three grace months before the first payment, as documented by Kushki. Credit card purchases reached USD 5.45 billion in the first four months of 2026, with an average ticket of USD 66.19.
Diferidos come with consumer protection debates. In March 2025 the Junta de Política y Regulación Financiera allowed customers who are up to date to defer up to six months of loan and card installments, and the average credit card rate stood at 15.87% a year in May 2026. Pure buy now, pay later fintechs remain marginal: the market is served by card diferidos, Diners Club and retailers' own credit, so merchants should focus on clean diferido support across issuers.
Installment and BNPL providers in Ecuador
Diferido sin intereses
Card installments
Interest-free installments on a credit card, usually 3 to 12 months and funded by the merchant or a bank promotion; the most common way to sell high-ticket items online, as Primicias explains.
USD 66.19 average credit card ticket from January to April 2026, Primicias
Diferido con intereses
Card installments
Installments with interest charged by the issuer, chosen by the shopper for larger amounts or when no interest-free promotion applies.
15.87% average annual credit card interest rate in May 2026, Primicias
Diferido con meses de gracia
Card installments
A plan that delays the first installment by one to three months, with or without interest, passed to the issuer at authorization by gateways such as Kushki.
Diners Club
Installment credit card
The best-known local card for diferido purchases, with a large network of partner merchants offering interest-free plans.
100,000 partner merchants in 2025, Diners Club via Primicias (sponsored)
Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in Ecuador
Wallets in Ecuador are built by banks and fintechs around QR codes, after the BCE stopped running its own Dinero Electrónico mobile money in 2018 and left electronic money to banks and cooperatives. Deuna, backed by Banco Pichincha, passed 6 million users and 620,000 merchants in April 2026 and now lets small shops accept cards on their phone through Deuna Negocios. Banco Guayaquil's PeiGo reached about 550,000 users in 2025 with a Mastercard virtual debit card, and Payphone, born in Cuenca, was authorized by the BCE as an electronic payments company (SEDPE) in July 2025. Wallets carried 6% of e-commerce value in 2024.
X-Pay wallets arrived more recently. Apple Pay works with seven Ecuadorian issuers, including Banco Pichincha, Banco Guayaquil, Produbanco, Banco Bolivariano, Banco Internacional and Diners Club, and Google Pay is supported by banks such as Banco Bolivariano, Produbanco and Diners Club. In stores, both run on contactless card rails, so merchants accept them through their usual acquirer.
Digital wallets and X-Pay in Ecuador
Deuna
QR wallet
Banco Pichincha's payment app for QR payments, P2P transfers and online payments, with a Deuna Negocios app that turns a merchant's phone into a card terminal.
6 million+ users and 620,000+ merchants in April 2026, Deuna via Primicias
Payphone
Wallet and gateway
Cuenca-based app for paying and collecting by phone, payment links and card acceptance on NFC Android phones, licensed by the BCE as a SEDPE since July 2025.
600,000 app users and 50,000 businesses in 2025, Payphone via Primicias
PeiGo
Mobile wallet
Banco Guayaquil-backed wallet aimed at the unbanked, with transfers, a Mastercard virtual debit card and, since 2026, US-Ecuador remittances with Félix.
About 550,000 users in June 2025, Descubre
Apple Pay
Mobile wallet
Apple's wallet for contactless and in-app payments, supported by seven Ecuadorian issuers including Banco Pichincha, Produbanco and Diners Club.
Google Pay
Mobile wallet
The Android wallet for contactless payments, offered by Ecuadorian banks such as Banco Bolivariano, Produbanco and Diners Club.
Payments in Ecuador: FAQ
What is the most popular online payment method in Ecuador?
The credit card. It carried 74% of e-commerce value in 2024, according to PCMI, followed by debit cards at 16% and wallets at 6%. Many card purchases are split into diferidos, installment plans set by the issuing bank.
What currency do payments use in Ecuador?
The US dollar, which Ecuador adopted in 2000. Merchants charge and settle in USD, and the BCE says its new real-time payment system must be adapted to a dollarized economy.
What is Deuna?
Deuna is a payment app backed by Banco Pichincha for QR payments and transfers. It had more than 6 million users and 620,000 merchants in April 2026, and runs a cash network of 3,500 partner shops.
Are bank transfers instant in Ecuador?
Not always yet. A 2024 resolution requires real-time, 24/7 interoperable transfers, with key and QR payments capped at one basic salary, and the BCE's real-time payment messaging standard becomes mandatory within each payment network on November 30, 2026.
Accept local payments in Ecuador with NORBr
In Ecuador, cards run through bank-linked networks such as Datafast and Medianet, with Kushki, Payphone or Nuvei online. A PSP, PayFac, ISO or ISV should check diferidos codes for every issuer, BCE authorization, cash networks and Deuna QR.
With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers cards paid in diferidos, Deuna, Payphone and cash networks. Some are already in our connector catalog; Mapper™ gets the others live in days, and Smart Checkout shows each shopper the right methods. Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.
Local payment providers in Ecuador
Datafast
Acquirer and gateway
Long-standing Ecuadorian card processing network with POS terminals, the Dataweb online payment button and Datalink payment links, with 3D Secure, tokenization and recurring charges, according to Datafast.
Covers: Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, local debit and credit cards, diferidos, payment links
Medianet
Acquirer
Ecuadorian card acquiring and POS network serving retailers and service merchants with card-present and online acceptance.
Covers: Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, local debit and credit cards, diferidos
Kushki
Payment gateway
Quito-founded payment platform serving large merchants and platforms across Latin America; in Ecuador it handles cards with all diferido types plus cash payments at bank agents and retail networks.
Covers: Cards, diferidos, bank transfers, Mi Vecino, Banco del Barrio, Western Union agents, Facilito, payment links
Payphone
Aggregator
Cuenca-based fintech and BCE-licensed SEDPE that lets small businesses collect by payment link, phone and tap-to-phone card acceptance, with its own consumer wallet.
USD 350 million+ transactions forecast for 2025, Payphone via Primicias
Covers: Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, Payphone wallet, payment links, tap to phone
Nuvei
PSP
Global payment provider with a Latin American gateway business that serves Ecuadorian and international merchants with local card acceptance and diferidos.
Covers: Cards, diferidos, local payment methods
