How people pay in Peru in 2026
Peru went from cash to phone payments faster than almost any market in Latin America. The central bank (BCRP) counted 767 digital payments per adult in the 12 months to June 2026, about 2.1 a day, with the number of operations up 37.2% year on year. In 2021 the same indicator stood at only 90 payments per adult. Payments sent to a phone number or a QR code, the so-called alias payments, rose from 2% of digital payments in 2019 to 75% in June 2026.
Two wallets drive this shift. Yape, owned by Credicorp, had 16.7 million monthly active users in the second quarter of 2026, and Plin connects the apps of BBVA, Interbank, Scotiabank and other banks. Since the BCRP made wallets talk to each other, interoperable transactions averaged 271 million a month in the first half of 2026. Cards remain the main tool for larger and online tickets, often paid in cuotas, while cash vouchers such as PagoEfectivo still serve shoppers without a bank card. A Peruvian checkout in 2026 needs cards, Yape and Plin, and a cash option.
- 767 digital payments per adult in the 12 months to June 2026 (BCRP via Infomercado)
- 75% of digital payments made to a phone number or QR code in June 2026 (BCRP via Infomercado)
- 16.7 million Yape monthly active users in Q2 2026 (Credicorp)
- 271 million interoperable wallet and QR transactions per month in H1 2026 (BCRP via Infomercado)
Payment by card in Peru
Peru has no domestic card scheme. Banks issue Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, and Diners Club and American Express are also accepted by large gateways such as Mercado Pago. Two acquirers dominate card acceptance. Niubiz, the market leader, processed 632 million transactions worth about S/ 75 billion in 2024, up 25% in number, and serves more than 650,000 merchants. Izipay, part of Intercorp, is the second network.
Card penetration has grown but remains moderate. A Kantar Worldpanel study found that 63% of Peruvian households paid with a card at least once in 2023, yet cards still covered only 7.3% of everyday grocery spending. Credit cards matter most for higher tickets and online purchases, where shoppers split payments into cuotas. At BCP, the largest bank, credit card loans reached S/ 6.86 billion in June 2026, up 12% in a year. For PSPs, routing and approval rates on local cards weigh heavily on conversion, and our guide to how card networks work explains the role of interchange fees.
Card schemes in Peru
Visa
International scheme
The most common card brand in Peru, on debit and credit cards from nearly every bank, accepted through Niubiz, Izipay and online gateways.
Mastercard
International scheme
The second scheme in Peru, issued as debit, credit and prepaid cards and accepted by all major acquirers and gateways.
Diners Club
Licensed scheme
A long-standing premium credit card brand in Peru, still listed among accepted cards by gateways such as Mercado Pago.
Debit cards
Debit card
Visa and Mastercard debit cards linked to savings accounts, used in stores and increasingly online; gateways charge lower rates on debit than on credit.
632 million transactions processed by Niubiz in 2024, Niubiz via Gestión
Credit cards with cuotas
Installment credit card
Peruvian shoppers often split credit card purchases into monthly cuotas, with or without interest depending on the bank and merchant campaign.
S/ 6.86 billion in BCP credit card loans in June 2026, Credicorp
Payment by cash in Peru
Cash is losing ground in Peru, but it has not gone away. The BCRP says digital payments are replacing cash quickly, and reports quoted by the Cámara de Comercio de Lima state that 64% of purchases are still made in cash. In neighborhood shops the gap is wider: Kantar found that 98.7% of payments in bodegas were in cash in 2023.
Online, cash means a payment code. The shopper receives a reference number, the CIP for PagoEfectivo, and pays it at a bank branch, an agent or in online banking. PagoEfectivo can be paid at more than 45,000 physical locations, including BCP, BBVA, Interbank and Scotiabank branches and agent networks such as Kasnet and Western Union. Bank agents are also expanding: Niubiz alone ran more than 1,300 agents in Lima in 2025, with a target of 5,000 nationwide. Cash on delivery survives in some segments of e-commerce, often next to wallet payments on delivery.
Cash payment methods in Peru
PagoEfectivo
Cash voucher
Peru's best-known cash payment method for e-commerce: the shopper gets a CIP code and pays it in cash at agents and bank branches, or through online banking.
45,000+ physical payment locations, Reach documentation
Bank agents
Agent network
Agentes corresponsales in shops and pharmacies, run by banks or networks such as Kasnet and Niubiz, where people deposit cash, pay bills and pay e-commerce codes.
1,300+ Niubiz bank agents in Lima in 2025, Niubiz via Gestión
Cash on delivery
Cash on delivery
Payment to the courier when the order arrives, still offered by some retailers and marketplaces, often with the option to pay by Yape or Plin at the door.
Payment by bank transfer in Peru
Bank transfers in Peru run on two layers. The Cámara de Compensación Electrónica (CCE) clears interbank transfers, and its share of immediate interbank transfers rose from 21% to 26% in the first half of 2026, with Visa Direct handling the other 74%. On top of this, the BCRP's interoperability strategy forced wallets, bank apps and e-money issuers to connect, so a payment sent to a phone number or QR reaches any participating entity. Interoperable transactions passed 176 million a month, worth more than S/ 12.1 billion, in March 2025, and reached 271 million a month in the first half of 2026, up 57.4%.
In 2024, transfers through wallets accounted for 68% of all payment operations, the largest share of any instrument. The BCRP is also preparing TAPP, a public platform for instant payments from any bank account through third-party apps, expected to start operating toward the end of 2026 under a new payment system regulation in force since April 2026. For e-commerce, shoppers also pay with bank codes such as the PagoEfectivo CIP in their online banking. Our article on account-to-account payments explains why this model suits PSPs.
Bank transfer methods in Peru
CCE immediate transfers
Instant transfer
Interbank transfers cleared by the CCE in real time, used from bank apps and online banking with the destination account number or phone number.
Interoperable phone and QR transfers
Interoperable transfer
Payments to a phone number or QR code across Yape, Plin, bank apps and e-money issuers, made possible by the BCRP interoperability rules.
271 million interoperable transactions per month in H1 2026, BCRP via Infomercado
Online banking payment codes
Bank payment code
Shoppers pay an e-commerce order from their bank's app or website by entering a payment code, such as the PagoEfectivo CIP, in the bill payment menu of BCP, BBVA, Interbank and other banks.
Payment by installment and BNPL in Peru
In Peru, paying in installments mostly means credit card cuotas. Banks and acquirers run interest-free campaigns, and Niubiz was building interest-free cuotas and BNPL services expected to bring in about US$ 4 million in 2025. Many Peruvians have no credit card, which leaves room for new models.
BNPL is still young. PowerPay, created by the BBVA and Breca groups, started operations in April 2023 and had 75,000 users and about 300 merchants by May 2025. BCP offers Cuotéalo to its own debit card holders in its app. Wallet credit is growing faster: Yape's loan book reached S/ 1.8 billion in Q2 2026, about four times its level a year earlier, with 6.4 million disbursements in the quarter. In July 2026 the press still described BNPL as a model that is starting to operate in Peru.
Installment and BNPL providers in Peru
PowerPay
BNPL
Peru's first dedicated BNPL, backed by BBVA and Breca, that splits purchases into 3, 6 or 12 installments online and in store without using the shopper's card limit.
75,000 users through May 2025, Forbes Perú
Cuotéalo BCP
Bank BNPL
BCP's installment option for its own debit card holders, available in the bank's app at around 1,000 merchants, according to Forbes Perú.
Credit card cuotas
Card installments
The default way to pay in installments in Peru: the shopper chooses the number of monthly cuotas at checkout, with interest-free campaigns funded by banks or merchants.
Mercado Pago installments
Gateway installments
Mercado Pago's checkout offers interest-free installments with some banks on Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners cards.
Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in Peru
Peru is a wallet market, and its wallets are bank products. Yape, from Credicorp's BCP, had 19.8 million users and 16.7 million monthly active users in Q2 2026, processing 3.38 billion transactions in the quarter. Plin is not a separate app but a function inside the apps of BBVA, Interbank, Scotiabank and smaller entities, and its users sent 114 million payments a month to Yape in the first half of 2026. Both can now pay each other and scan any registered QR at Niubiz or Izipay terminals.
Wallets have also overtaken cards online: the president of the e-commerce chamber Capece said that 6 in 10 Peruvians who shop online use digital wallets. Merchants usually accept Yape online through a gateway, with the shopper entering a phone number and an approval code, while Plin works through interoperable QR codes, as integration guides explain. BiPay, the BCRP's digital money pilot with Bitel, passed 5.2 million users in June 2026. Interbank's Tunki wallet, used by about 2.7 million people, was turned into the IzipayYa merchant QR app in May 2023. Global X-Pay wallets play a smaller role.
Digital wallets and X-Pay in Peru
Yape
Mobile wallet
Peru's leading wallet, owned by Credicorp, used for person-to-person transfers, QR payments in shops, bill payments, online checkout and small loans.
16.7 million monthly active users in Q2 2026, Credicorp
Plin
Bank wallet
Shared transfer and QR payment function built into the apps of BBVA, Interbank, Scotiabank, BanBif, Ligo and several cajas and financieras, interoperable with Yape and other entities.
114 million payments a month from Plin to Yape in H1 2026, BCRP via Mobile Time
Mercado Pago
Digital wallet
Mercado Libre's wallet and gateway, used to pay on Mercado Libre and on third-party sites with stored cards, account balance and installments.
BIM
E-money wallet
The interoperable e-money wallet built by Peruvian financial institutions for people without bank accounts, connected to Plin and Yape through the BCRP's third interoperability phase.
Payments in Peru: FAQ
What is the most popular payment method in Peru?
For everyday payments, Yape and other phone-based transfers. Alias payments to a phone number or QR made up 75% of digital payments in June 2026, and Yape alone had 16.7 million monthly active users. Cards remain important for online and higher-value purchases.
Can Yape and Plin users pay each other?
Yes. Under the BCRP interoperability rules, Yape, Plin, bank apps and e-money wallets can send money to each other and scan each other's QR codes. Interoperable transactions averaged 271 million a month in the first half of 2026.
Do online shoppers in Peru still pay in cash?
Some do, through payment codes. PagoEfectivo generates a CIP code that the shopper pays at more than 45,000 locations or in online banking. Cash is still used for 64% of purchases overall, according to BCRP data quoted by the Cámara de Comercio de Lima.
Is buy now, pay later available in Peru?
Yes, but it is small. PowerPay had 75,000 users by May 2025 and BCP offers Cuotéalo. Most installment purchases still go through credit card cuotas, and wallet credit from Yape is growing fast.
Accept local payments in Peru with NORBr
Card acceptance in Peru is concentrated in Niubiz and Izipay, which also accept Yape and Plin through interoperable QR codes, while Culqi and PagoEfectivo serve online sellers. Check Yape and Plin support, card cuotas, cash options and settlement in soles.
With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers Yape, Plin, PagoEfectivo and cards paid in cuotas. 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 Peru
Niubiz
Acquirer
Peru's leading card acquirer, serving large accounts and small shops, with QR acceptance of interoperable wallets, online payments and a growing bank agent network.
650,000+ merchant clients in 2025, Niubiz via Gestión
Covers: Cards, Yape, Plin, interoperable QR, credit card cuotas
Izipay
Acquirer
Card acquirer and payment network of Intercorp, integrated into Interbank since 2024, with POS, online payments and the IzipayYa QR app for small merchants.
1.2 million+ affiliated merchants in August 2023, Izipay via Gestión
Covers: Cards, Yape, Plin, interoperable QR
Culqi
Payment gateway
Peruvian online payment gateway with plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, PrestaShop and Magento, used by SMEs and larger e-commerce sites to accept cards and Yape.
Covers: Cards, Yape
PagoEfectivo
Aggregator
Peruvian payment platform, part of Paysafe, that issues CIP codes paid in cash at branches and agents or through online banking, widely used by e-commerce, travel and education merchants.
45,000+ physical payment locations, Reach documentation
Covers: PagoEfectivo cash, online banking payment codes
PowerPay
BNPL provider
BNPL company of the BBVA and Breca groups, offering installments at checkout online and in store for retailers, travel agencies, schools and clinics.
~300 affiliated merchants in May 2025, Forbes Perú
Covers: PowerPay installments
