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Payment methods · Argentina · Colombia · Mexico · Peru

Card payments in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru

Accept credit and debit cards with one API, from one-time payments to tokenized cards, with 3DS, installments and subscriptions where documented.

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  • Card
  • Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru
  • Pay-in

Key facts

Cards in Argentina, by the numbers

Figures attributed to the Central Bank of Argentina and the sources cited there.

What it is

International networks and local schemes, one integration

Localpayment accepts credit and debit cards in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Visa and Mastercard are available in all four; Argentina adds American Express, Diners Club and the local schemes Naranja and Cabal, and Colombia adds American Express and Diners. In Peru you can charge in PEN or USD. Tokenization, refunds and chargeback handling are documented everywhere, and 3DS and installments in Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

  • Visa and Mastercard in all four countries, plus Amex, Diners, Naranja and Cabal (Argentina) and Amex and Diners (Colombia)
  • 3DS and installments in Colombia, Mexico and Peru; tokenization, refunds and chargebacks in all four
  • Scheduled and on-demand subscription charges, with retries, in Colombia, Mexico and Peru

How it works

How a card payment works

Actors and steps follow the documented flow. The final status always arrives by signed webhook.

  1. 1

    CustomerYour business:

    Card entry

    In hosted checkout or Smart Fields; card data is tokenized. POST /api/payin/ with the card token, amount and installments if any.

  2. 2

    LocalpaymentCard issuer:

    Authorization (3DS where available)

    With 3D Secure where applicable (Colombia, Mexico and Peru).

  3. 3

    Card issuerLocalpayment:

    Confirmation

    Approved or declined; card authorization is real-time.

  4. 4

    LocalpaymentYour business:

    Webhook

    Refunds and chargebacks are also notified by signed webhook.

Simplified diagram. Timing depends on the rail and the bank; see the key facts below.

How it works

See Cards in action

A simplified, fictitious walkthrough. Names and amounts are examples.

  1. 1Comercio EjemploThe customer picks Cards to pay MXN 1,250.00.
  2. 2Comercio EjemploCard data is entered in secure fields and tokenized.
  3. 3Payment confirmedYour system receives the signed webhook and releases the order.
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Key facts

Cards: key facts

  • Countries

    Detail
    🇦🇷 Argentina · 🇨🇴 Colombia · 🇲🇽 Mexico · 🇵🇪 Peru

  • Currency

    Detail
    ARS · COP · MXN · PEN

  • Direction

    Detail
    Pay-in only

  • Brands

    Detail
    Visa, Mastercard (AR, CO, MX, PE) · American Express (AR, CO) · Naranja, Cabal (AR) · Diners Club (AR, CO)

  • 3DS

    Detail
    Colombia, Mexico, Peru

  • Installments

    Detail
    Colombia, Mexico, Peru

  • Subscriptions

    Detail
    Colombia, Mexico, Peru

Taken from the Localpayment documentation for each country. Limits and availability can change; confirm them with your account manager.

Consumer experience

What your customer sees with Cards

Authorization, limits and refunds as documented on docs.localpayment.com. Limits are shown only where the documentation states them.

  • How the customer authorizes

    The customer enters the card number, expiry, CVV and cardholder name in your checkout (or selects a tokenized card saved earlier) and, in Colombia, Mexico and Peru, chooses the number of installments where offered. If 3DS applies, the issuer may show a challenge: a one-time code or confirmation in the bank app. The authorization result returns synchronously and the final status also arrives by webhook.

  • Documented limits

    Credit cards (Pay-in): Min. ARS 50 · Debit cards (Pay-in): ARS 50 – 10,000,000 · Credit cards (Pay-in): COP 1,000 – 5,000,000 · Debit cards (Pay-in): COP 1,000 – 5,000,000 · Credit cards (Pay-in): MXN 10 – 300,000 · Debit cards (Pay-in): MXN 10 – 300,000 · Credit cards (Pay-in): PEN 1 – 30,000 · Debit cards (Pay-in): PEN 1 – 30,000. Per transaction, as published in the documentation; contractual limits may differ.

  • Refunds and returns

    Refunds are direct and full only, via PATCH /api/payin/{externalId}/refund, using just the externalId. Chargebacks arrive by webhook and in the Business Portal; you have 7 days to upload evidence, otherwise the dispute closes in favor of the cardholder.

Integration checklist

Go live with Cards in five steps

The same sequence for every rail. Watch the animated checkout for this country before you build.

  1. Get Stage credentials

    Request access, receive sandbox credentials and obtain a JWT with POST /api/token/.

  2. Create the pay-in

    POST /api/payin/ with the Localpayment code from the key facts table, ISO-3 country, currency, amount and payer data.

  3. Show the instructions

    Render the QR, code, redirect or account details from the response and respect the expiration date.

  4. Verify the webhook

    Validate x-Signature (HMAC-SHA256), release the order on status 200 and deduplicate on externalId.

  5. Watch the animated checkout

    Every method of this country, screen by screen, in the checkout experiences gallery.

History

How card acceptance was shaped in Argentina and Mexico

Sources: Law 25.065 (Argentina); Banco Central de la República Argentina, Comunicación “A” 6212; Banco de México, card-payment regulation 2004–2014; EMVCo, EMV 3-D Secure specification.

  1. Argentina: Credit Card Law

    Law 25.065, published on 14 January 1999, sets the rules for credit, debit and purchase card systems in Argentina, with the central bank as authority on financial matters.

  2. Mexico: lower interchange

    The Bank of Mexico pushes interchange fees down: the weighted average for credit cards falls from 2.4% in 2004 to 1.84% in 2006, with lower fees for debit than for credit.

  3. Mexico: Financial Reform rules

    Following the Financial Reform, the Bank of Mexico and the banking commission issue general provisions for card networks and, in October 2014, rules for card-payment clearing houses, lowering processing costs and increasing transparency.

  4. EMV 3-D Secure 2.0

    EMVCo publishes the EMV 3-D Secure 2.0 specification on 25 October 2016, the authentication protocol behind the 3DS flows documented for Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

  5. Argentina: interchange caps

    Through Comunicación “A” 6212 (31 March 2017), the central bank caps interchange fees, with a path to 1.5% for credit and 0.6% for debit by 2021.

Why Localpayment

Why use Cards with Localpayment

  • One API for pay-ins and payouts

    Cards runs on the same API as every other method: POST /api/payin/ to collect, POST /api/payout/ to pay out, and new markets by configuration.

  • Webhook status on every transaction

    Every status change is pushed to your endpoint, signed with HMAC-SHA256, so you can verify and automate.

  • Reconciliation in the Business Portal

    Match every transaction through your externalId and our internalId, with Business Portal reports and balance APIs.

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FAQ

Cards: frequently asked questions

Which cards can I accept?

Visa and Mastercard in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; American Express, Diners Club, Naranja and Cabal in Argentina; American Express and Diners in Colombia. In Peru each brand has its own code for PEN and for USD. Codes per brand and country are in the key facts table above.

Are 3DS, installments and subscriptions available everywhere?

3DS, installments and card subscriptions (scheduled and on-demand, with retries) are documented for Colombia, Mexico and Peru. For Argentina the documentation covers one-time payments, tokenization, refunds and chargebacks. Confirm your setup with your account manager.

Can I accept cards in Brazil?

No. Cards are offered in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. For Brazil, see Pix.

How does tokenization work?

On the first payment you can request a token; Localpayment stores the card data under PCI DSS and returns a token that you reuse for later charges, subscriptions or one-click checkout. Your systems never store the PAN.

How are chargebacks handled?

When the issuer opens a dispute, Localpayment notifies you with the case and its deadline, you submit your evidence, and the outcome is notified back to you. A refund issued before a dispute is opened usually prevents it. See the chargeback section of the card documentation for each country.

Can I refund a card payment partially?

Card refunds are requested with PATCH /api/payin/{externalId}/refund and the funds return to the same card. Check the refund window and whether partial refunds are enabled for your account in each country before building the flow.

Does 3DS reduce approval rates?

A 3DS challenge adds a step, but it shifts fraud liability to the issuer and is often frictionless under EMV 3DS 2.0. Use it where documented (Colombia, Mexico and Peru) and tune its use with your account manager based on your risk profile.

Add Cards to your payments

Tell us your markets and volumes. We start you on Stage (sandbox) credentials and guide you to go-live.

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