Costa Rica · Pay-ins & payouts
SINPE collections and payouts in Costa Rica
Collect with IBAN virtual accounts in colones and US dollars, and pay out over SINPE or instantly to SINPE Móvil, 24/7.
- SINPE Móvil · real-time rail
- Currencies: CRC · USD
- Registered
SINPE Móvil · real-time railVirtual account
Customer #000123
IBAN
CR05 0152 •••• •••• ••48 21
- SINPE · ref 7F2A009309:41₡ 485,000.00Matched
- SINPE · ref 3B7Q021109:12₡ 126,750.00Matched
- SINPE · ref 9A1C1189Yesterday₡ 1,240,000.00Matched
- Virtual accounts
- IBAN
- Real-time, 24/7
- SINPE Móvil
- Same day or T+1
- SINPE
- Supervised by
- SUGEF
Market snapshot
Costa Rica in figures
Public, dated figures from official sources. Every number links to its source.
SINPE Móvil value as share of GDP (% of GDP, 2024)
Individuals using the Internet (% of population, 2024)
Adults with an account, financial institution or mobile money (% of adults 15+, 2024)
Source: World Bank, Global Findex Database 2025 (FX.OWN.TOTL.ZS), 2024
Adults owning a debit card (% of adults 15+, 2024)
Source: World Bank, Global Findex Database 2025 (fin2.t.d), 2024
- Fee-free threshold for payment receivers (cumulative, 2025)CRC 2,000,000
- Fee-free threshold for payment originators (cumulative, 2025)CRC 100,000
650 million
SINPE Móvil transactions (2024)
44
Entities subscribed to SINPE Móvil (institutions, 2025)
5,152,950
Population (2025)
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), 2025
15.8%
Adults owning a credit card (% of adults 15+, 2024)
Source: World Bank, Global Findex Database 2025 (fin10), 2024
Market overview
Colones on SINPE and SINPE Móvil
In Costa Rica, Localpayment collects in colones (CRC) and US dollars through SINPE virtual accounts identified by IBAN, and pays out to bank accounts over SINPE or directly to SINPE Móvil. Localpayment is a Supervised Legal Entity before SUGEF.
- IBAN virtual accounts in CRC and USD
- SINPE Móvil payouts in real time, 24/7
- SINPE bank payouts the same day or T+1, with a 17:25 cut-off
- Accepted documents: CI, CEJ, DIMEX and RUT
- 09:41:02.11409:41:02PayIn100 INPROGRESS20084 ms
- 09:41:05.90209:41:05PayIn200 COMPLETED20091 ms
- 09:42:18.33009:42:18PayOut100 INPROGRESS20077 ms
- 09:42:40.01809:42:40PayOut200 COMPLETED20088 ms
- 09:43:00.55109:43:00VirtualAccount200 COMPLETED20080 ms
POST https://example-merchant.com/webhooks/localpayment
x-Signature: HMAC-SHA256 3f9a1c0e…b47e2b
{ "transactionType": "PayIn", "transactionFlow": "DIRECT",
"data": { "externalId": "order_8F2K-1043",
"status": { "code": "200", "description": "COMPLETED" } } }Checkout experience
How customers pay in Costa Rica
Pick a payment method to watch the checkout, step by step. Screens and amounts are illustrative.
Virtual account (SINPE, CRC)
- 1Comercio EjemploCheckout shows the account details to pay CRC 50,000.
- 2Banco EjemploThe payer transfers CRC 50,000 to the account shown.
- 3Payment confirmedYour system receives the signed webhook and releases the order.
Virtual account (SINPE, USD)
- 1Comercio EjemploCheckout shows the account details to pay CRC 50,000.
- 2Banco EjemploThe payer transfers CRC 50,000 to the account shown.
- 3Payment confirmedYour system receives the signed webhook and releases the order.
Payout · SINPE Móvil (direct wallet)
- 1Comercio EjemploYour platform sends a CRC 50,000 payout through SINPE Móvil (direct wallet).
- 2Banco EjemploThe beneficiary sees the CRC 50,000 credit in their account or wallet.
- 3Payout completedYour system receives the signed webhook and updates the order.
Pay-ins
Pay-in methods in Costa Rica
Every documented method, with its API code, limits and how each payment is confirmed.
Virtual account (SINPE, CRC)
- Type
- Virtual account
- Code
- 1420
- Limits
- Min. CRC 1, no published maximum
- Confirmation
- Asynchronous, confirmed by webhook
- Notes
- Account identified by IBAN
Virtual account (SINPE, USD)
- Type
- Virtual account
- Code
- 1421
- Limits
- Min. USD 1, no published maximum
- Confirmation
- Asynchronous, confirmed by webhook
- Notes
- Account identified by IBAN
Codes are the paymentMethod.code values in the API. Limits as documented at docs.localpayment.com; final availability depends on your agreement.
Payouts
Payout rails in Costa Rica
Every documented rail, with speed, cut-off and limits.
SINPE Móvil (direct wallet)
- Type
- Wallet
- Code
- 0071
- Speed / cut-off
- Real-time, 24/7
- Limits
- Up to ≈ USD 10,000
- Notes
- Maximum expressed as a USD equivalent
Bank transfer (SINPE)
- Type
- Bank transfer
- Code
- 0070
- Speed / cut-off
- Same day or T+1, cut-off 17:25 local time
- Limits
- Up to ≈ USD 10,000
- Notes
- —
Codes are the paymentMethod.code values in the API. Limits as documented at docs.localpayment.com; final availability depends on your agreement.
License & regulation
Costa Rica: supervised presence
Supervised Legal Entity — General Superintendence of Financial Entities (SUGEF). Before go-live, every merchant completes a compliance review (due diligence or enhanced due diligence) and business verification (KYB).
- Status: Registered
- Production credentials after Stage testing, a security review and KYB
- Accepted documents: CI, CEJ, DIMEX, RUT
- TLS 1.2+, AES-256 encryption at rest, MFA and HMAC-signed webhooks
- PCI DSS v4.0.1
- SOC 2 Type II
- ISO 27001
- AML/KYC
- TLS 1.2+ · AES-256
For developers
Send your first payout in Costa Rica
Get an access token with POST /api/token/, then call POST /api/payout/ with the rail code and the ISO-3 country code. Test it in Stage first: no real money moves.
- Country CRI · currency CRC
- Rail: Bank transfer (SINPE) · code 0070
- Final status by HMAC-signed webhook
# Illustrative request with simplified fields — see the Costa Rica page at docs.localpayment.com
# ACCESS_TOKEN comes from POST /api/token/ and is valid for 5 minutes
curl -X POST https://api.stage.localpayment.com/api/payout/ \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"externalId": "payout-cr-000184",
"country": "CRI",
"currency": "CRC",
"amount": 50000,
"paymentMethod": {
"type": "BankTransfer",
"code": "0070",
"flow": "DIRECT"
},
"accountNumber": "<your-account-number>",
"conceptCode": "0001",
"beneficiary": {
"type": "INDIVIDUAL",
"name": "Daniel",
"lastname": "Mora",
"document": { "type": "CI", "id": "000000000" },
"bank": {
"account": { "number": "<beneficiary-account-number>" }
}
}
}'Nearby markets
Keep expanding across the region
Same API, same Business Portal: a new market is a configuration, not a new integration.
Frequently asked questions
Which methods are available in Costa Rica?
Pay-ins: Virtual account (SINPE, CRC) and Virtual account (SINPE, USD). Payouts: SINPE Móvil (direct wallet) and Bank transfer (SINPE). The tables above show codes, limits and speeds.
Can I collect in USD in Costa Rica?
Yes. SINPE USD virtual accounts (code 1421) receive dollar transfers, alongside colón accounts (code 1420).
What is SINPE Móvil?
Costa Rica’s mobile transfer service. Payouts to SINPE Móvil are real-time, 24/7, up to roughly USD 10,000 equivalent.
How fast are SINPE bank payouts?
The same day or T+1, with a 17:25 local cut-off.
How do I go live in Costa Rica?
Talk to sales about your flows. After the agreement and a compliance review (due diligence or enhanced due diligence), you receive Stage (sandbox) credentials to integrate without moving real money. Production credentials follow Stage testing, a security review and business verification (KYB), so you can go live in weeks.
Launch in Costa Rica
Get Stage (sandbox) credentials when the partnership starts and go live in weeks. Adding countries later is a configuration, not a reintegration.