The Central Bank of Bolivia published a release highlighting an Inter-American Development Bank study on digital payments in Latin America and the Caribbean, which points to Bolivia’s advances in payment-system interconnection and interoperability and the standardisation of QR codes as an example of effective financial digitalisation. The study notes that after the central bank, working with the banking industry, implemented an interoperable digital payments system in 2022, quarterly low-value interbank transactions increased more than sixfold, and low-value quarterly transactions per 1,000 adults rose fivefold over nine quarters. The central bank also referenced its Regulation on Payment Services, Electronic Payment Instruments, Clearing and Settlement, which includes mandatory interconnection and interoperability for in-scope entities, electronic transfer services for customers of non-bank financial entities, enablement of electronic channels, and free processing of transactions in digital channels. The release added that transactions using electronic payment instruments in Bolivia rose from 182 million in 2019 to more than 1.054 billion as of August 2025, while electronic payments per capita increased from 20 to 156. It reiterated that QR payments are being promoted as a single, mandatory interoperable standard across the Bolivian financial system.
Central Bank of Bolivia 2025-10-21
Central Bank of Bolivia cites IDB report showing sixfold jump in low-value interbank digital payments after QR interoperability reforms
The Central Bank of Bolivia highlighted an Inter-American Development Bank study on Bolivia's digital payments progress, emphasizing the 2022 implementation of an interoperable system. This boosted low-value interbank transactions and electronic payments per capita. The bank also underscored mandatory QR code standardization and its Regulation on Payment Services to enhance financial digitalization.