The Central Bank of Costa Rica announced an expansion of payment card interoperability that allows more merchants to accept American Express, Mastercard and Visa payments using the point-of-sale terminal they already have, for both in-person transactions and e-commerce. The measure is framed as compliance with Law 9831 (Maximum Fees for the Card System Law), under which the central bank must regulate the payment card system to promote efficiency and security and to ensure the lowest possible cost for merchants. Merchants using acquiring services from BAC San José, Banco de Costa Rica, Banco Lafise, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Banco Promerica, dLocal, mPOS Global, Tilopay or ONVO will be able to accept the three brands without needing more than one acquiring provider to receive settlement of sales. The enablement process has already started, and merchants are expected to confirm with their acquiring provider the specific date on which this functionality will be activated.
Central Bank of Costa Rica 2025-07-24
Central Bank of Costa Rica expands POS terminal interoperability to accept American Express, Mastercard and Visa on one terminal
The Central Bank of Costa Rica has expanded payment card interoperability, allowing merchants to accept American Express, Mastercard, and Visa using existing point-of-sale terminals for in-person and e-commerce transactions. This complies with Law 9831, enhancing efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness in the payment card system. Merchants with acquiring services from specified banks and providers can now accept all three card brands without needing multiple acquiring providers.