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Payment methods · Costa Rica

SINPE in Costa Rica: IBAN accounts in, transfers out

Give customers an IBAN virtual account in colones or dollars, and pay beneficiaries by SINPE or straight to their SINPE Móvil wallet in real time, 24/7.

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  • Virtual account
  • Costa Rica
  • Pay-in · Payout

Key facts

SINPE Móvil at national scale

Figures published by the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

What it is

Costa Rica’s national payment system, in and out

SINPE is the national electronic payment system of Costa Rica, and SINPE Móvil is its mobile-wallet service. With Localpayment you assign each customer an IBAN virtual account in colones (CRC) or dollars (USD) and reconcile credits automatically; each pay-in is confirmed by signed webhook. For payouts you can send a SINPE bank transfer, or pay a SINPE Móvil wallet directly in real time.

  • IBAN virtual accounts in CRC and in USD
  • SINPE bank payouts, same day or T+1
  • SINPE Móvil direct-to-wallet payouts in real time, 24/7, up to roughly USD 10,000 equivalent

How it works

How a SINPE transfer is collected

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

  1. 1

    Your businessLocalpayment:

    Creates the virtual account

    POST /api/virtual-account, one by one or in batches. The number or key in the local format, ready to share.

  2. 2

    Your businessCustomer:

    Shares the payment details

    In your checkout, invoice or app.

  3. 3

    CustomerBank · SINPE:

    Transfers from their bank

    Electronic transfers only; cash deposits are not credited.

  4. 4

    LocalpaymentYour business:

    Webhook: payment received

    Localpayment matches the transfer to the virtual account automatically. Signed webhook with payer data and amount; funds are credited to your Localpayment balance.

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

How it works

How a SINPE payout works

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

  1. 1

    Your businessLocalpayment:

    Sends the payout request

    POST /api/payout/ with the beneficiary details, amount and externalId. Compliance checks run; with requireAuth, a second approver signs off before funds move.

  2. 2

    LocalpaymentBank · SINPE:

    Locks the funds and sends the instruction

    The payout moves from Locked to In Progress over SINPE.

  3. 3

    Bank · SINPEBeneficiary:

    Credits the beneficiary

    Timing depends on the rail; see the key facts below.

  4. 4

    LocalpaymentYour business:

    Webhook: payout completed

    Localpayment updates the payout to its final status. Signed webhook with the final status; the proof of payment can be downloaded.

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

How it works

See SINPE in action

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

  1. 1Comercio EjemploCheckout shows the account details to pay CRC 25,000.00.
  2. 2Banco EjemploThe payer transfers CRC 25,000.00 to the account shown.
  3. 3Payment confirmedYour system receives the signed webhook and releases the order.
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Key facts

SINPE: key facts

  • Country

    Detail
    🇨🇷 Costa Rica

  • Currency

    Detail
    CRC · USD

  • Direction

    Detail
    Pay-in and payout

  • Pay-in · Virtual account (SINPE, CRC)

    Detail
    Asynchronous, confirmed by webhook · Min. CRC 1, no published maximum

  • Pay-in · Virtual account (SINPE, USD)

    Detail
    Asynchronous, confirmed by webhook · Min. USD 1, no published maximum

  • Payout · Bank transfer (SINPE)

    Detail
    Same day or T+1, cut-off 17:25 local time · Up to ≈ USD 10,000

  • Payout · SINPE Móvil (direct wallet)

    Detail
    Real-time, 24/7 · Up to ≈ USD 10,000

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 SINPE

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

  • How the customer authorizes

    Your checkout shows the IBAN of the virtual account (in CRC or USD) with the beneficiary name. The customer opens their bank app, adds the IBAN as a destination, enters the amount and confirms. The credit is matched to the account automatically and you receive the final status by webhook.

  • Documented limits

    Virtual account (SINPE, CRC) (Pay-in): Min. CRC 1, no published maximum · Virtual account (SINPE, USD) (Pay-in): Min. USD 1, no published maximum · Bank transfer (SINPE) (Payout): Up to ≈ USD 10,000 · SINPE Móvil (direct wallet) (Payout): Up to ≈ USD 10,000. Per transaction, as published in the documentation; contractual limits may differ.

  • Refunds and returns

    A credited transfer can be refunded with PATCH /api/payin/{externalId}/refund. Only full refunds are supported and the funds are routed back to the payer’s original account automatically, with no extra beneficiary data. Cash deposits are never credited.

Integration checklist

Go live with SINPE 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

From cheque clearing to payments by phone number

Sources: Banco Central de Costa Rica, SINPE general information and brand manuals.

  1. SINPE goes live

    The Central Bank of Costa Rica launches the National Electronic Payment System on 17 April 1997, starting with cheque clearing and settlement for the whole financial sector.

  2. SINPE Móvil

    On 7 May 2015 the central bank launches SINPE Móvil: low-value transfers to accounts linked to a mobile phone number, from any participating institution.

  3. 650 million transactions

    SINPE Móvil processes about 650 million transactions in the year, a value equivalent to roughly 14% of GDP.

  4. 44 institutions, under a second

    44 institutions are subscribed to SINPE Móvil and the average processing time of a payment is 0.7 seconds.

Why Localpayment

Why use SINPE with Localpayment

  • One API for pay-ins and payouts

    SINPE 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.

Keep exploring

FAQ

SINPE: frequently asked questions

How do SINPE pay-ins work?

Each customer, order or invoice gets an IBAN virtual account in CRC or USD and pays by transfer from their own bank. The final status reaches you by signed webhook, so drive your order flow from that notification.

How fast are SINPE payouts?

SINPE Móvil direct-to-wallet payouts are real-time and confirm in seconds, 24/7, with a maximum of roughly USD 10,000 equivalent. SINPE bank transfers settle the same day or T+1.

Can I collect in both colones and dollars?

Yes. IBAN virtual accounts are available in CRC and in USD, so each account is denominated in the currency you choose.

Which documents are accepted in Costa Rica?

The documented document types are CI, CEJ, DIMEX and RUT.

How is an IBAN virtual-account pay-in confirmed?

Once the transfer reaches the IBAN account, the credit is matched to it and you receive a signed webhook. SINPE Móvil is used for payouts only.

How do I pay a SINPE Móvil wallet?

Send POST /api/payout/ with code 0071 and the beneficiary’s mobile number as the wallet identifier. The payout confirms in seconds, 24/7, up to roughly USD 10,000 equivalent.

Can I pay out in USD?

SINPE bank payouts (code 0070) are documented for Costa Rica; confirm the currencies enabled for your account with your account manager. Collections are available in both CRC and USD.

How are returned transfers handled?

If a payout is rejected by the beneficiary bank, you receive status 300 (Rejected) by webhook with the reason, and the funds stay in your balance. Pay-ins can be refunded in full through the API or the Business Portal.

Add SINPE 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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