Local payment methods by region: a merchant's guide to APMs

Short answer: local payment methods (also called alternative payment methods, or APMs) are the ways people pay in a specific country other than international card networks: instant bank transfers such as Pix or UPI, wallets such as Alipay or GCash, mobile money such as M-Pesa, cash vouchers such as OXXO, and domestic card schemes. In many markets they account for most online payments, so a merchant that accepts only Visa and Mastercard leaves conversion on the table. The practical approach is to list your target countries, pick the two or three methods that dominate each one, and reach them through a provider that covers several markets with one integration.

This guide gives a region-by-region overview, explains how the main types of local methods differ, and offers a checklist for choosing a provider.

Why local payment methods matter

• Reach: in many countries a large part of the population does not hold a credit card, or prefers not to use it online.
• Conversion: customers abandon checkouts that do not show a familiar method.
• Cost: instant bank payments often cost merchants less than card acceptance and carry no card chargebacks.
• Trust: a local brand name at checkout signals that the merchant is serious about the market.

The main types of local methods

• Real-time account-to-account (A2A): instant bank transfers, often initiated by QR code or a phone-number alias. Examples: Pix, UPI, PayNow, PromptPay, SEPA Instant, Faster Payments. See the open banking and bank transfer method pages.
• Digital wallets: stored-value or pass-through wallets operated by tech or telecom companies, such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, GCash, Mercado Pago or PayPal. See e-wallets.
• Mobile money: accounts tied to a mobile phone number, common in Africa and parts of Asia, such as M-Pesa or MTN MoMo. See mobile money.
• QR payments: national QR standards that let any participating wallet or bank app pay any merchant, such as QRIS or SGQR. See QR payments.
• Cash-based vouchers: the customer receives a reference and pays in cash at a store or bank agent, such as OXXO or Boleto. See cash payments.
• Buy now, pay later: instalment products at checkout; see BNPL.
• Domestic card schemes: local debit networks such as mada in Saudi Arabia or RuPay in India.

Europe

• Euro area: SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant. Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, payment service providers in the euro area must offer instant euro transfers at no higher price than standard transfers. See SEPA.
• Netherlands: iDEAL, the dominant online bank payment, is being brought under the European Payments Initiative's Wero brand.
• Belgium: Bancontact. Poland: BLIK codes and pay-by-link transfers. Sweden: Swish. Denmark and Finland: MobilePay. Switzerland: TWINT.
• United Kingdom: cards dominate, but open-banking payments over Faster Payments are growing.
• Pan-European: open-banking providers such as Trustly, and wallets such as PayPal and Klarna.

Latin America

• Brazil: Pix, the central bank's instant payment system launched in 2020, has become a leading online method; Boleto remains in use for customers who prefer cash or bank slips. See Pix.
• Mexico: SPEI bank transfers and OXXO cash payments, alongside cards.
• Colombia: PSE bank payments and wallets such as Nequi.
• Peru: wallets such as Yape and Plin, plus bank transfers.
• Argentina: bank transfers via CBU/CVU and wallets such as Mercado Pago.

Cross-border merchants often reach the region through providers such as dLocal and EBANX.

Asia-Pacific

• India: UPI, operated by NPCI, is the default for most digital payments; net banking and RuPay cards complement it. See UPI and our article on UPI and IMPS for merchants.
• China: Alipay and WeChat Pay.
• Indonesia: QRIS, bank virtual accounts and wallets; see QRIS and BI-FAST.
• Vietnam: VietQR on the NAPAS network and wallets such as MoMo; see VietQR, NAPAS and MoMo.
• Philippines: GCash and Maya wallets, InstaPay transfers.
• Thailand: PromptPay. Malaysia: DuitNow and FPX. Singapore: PayNow; see our PayNow guide.
• Japan: konbini (convenience-store) payments and QR wallets such as PayPay. South Korea: virtual accounts and wallets such as KakaoPay and Toss; see South Korea checkout.
• Pakistan and Bangladesh: JazzCash, easypaisa and Raast; bKash and Nagad. See bKash and Nagad.
• Australia and New Zealand: PayTo and BPAY in Australia; POLi and open banking in New Zealand (see POLi payments in NZ).

Africa and the Middle East

• Kenya and East Africa: M-Pesa and other mobile-money services dominate everyday payments.
• Nigeria: bank transfers, USSD and cards through local gateways.
• South Africa: cards plus Instant EFT and PayShap; see Instant EFT in South Africa.
• Saudi Arabia: mada debit cards and wallets. Kuwait: KNET. Egypt: Fawry and wallets. UAE: cards and wallets.

North America

• United States: cards dominate; ACH bank payments are used for bills and larger amounts, and wallets such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Venmo are common. See ACH.
• Canada: Interac for debit and e-Transfers.

Common mistakes when adding local methods

• Adding too many methods at once. Each method brings its own refunds, reconciliation and support questions. Start with the leaders and add more only when data shows demand.
• Treating "pending" like "failed". Many bank-transfer and cash methods confirm minutes or days later. Orders need a pending state and an expiry, not an immediate cancellation.
• Ignoring refunds. Some methods cannot refund to the original source; you may need the customer's bank details or a payout provider to return money.
• Showing every method everywhere. Display methods by the customer's country and currency; a long list of irrelevant logos lowers conversion.
• Forgetting settlement currency and FX. Local collections often settle in local currency; check how and when funds are converted and repatriated (see the true cost of cross-border FX).
• Not localising the checkout. Language, currency formatting and familiar logos matter as much as the method itself.
• No fallback. If a single provider covers a market and goes down, revenue in that market stops; plan a second route for key methods.

How to choose a local payment method provider

1. 1.Rank countries by revenue potential, then list the top two or three methods in each.
2. 2.Check coverage per method, not per country: "supports Brazil" may mean cards only.
3. 3.Check settlement: currency, timing, and whether the provider repatriates funds cross-border.
4. 4.Check refunds and payouts: some methods cannot receive refunds automatically.
5. 5.Check restricted categories: many local methods have their own acceptable-use rules.
6. 6.Plan routing: an orchestration layer can switch providers per method and country.

Compare specialists in the local payment methods section of the catalog, global providers such as Rapyd and PayU, and the full list of payment methods.

FAQ

What is an APM?

An alternative payment method: any payment method other than international credit and debit cards, such as bank transfers, wallets, mobile money, QR payments or cash vouchers.

Which local payment methods should I add first?

Start with the method that dominates your largest market: Pix in Brazil, UPI in India, iDEAL or Wero in the Netherlands, BLIK in Poland, M-Pesa in Kenya. Then add the second most common method in each country.

Are local payment methods cheaper than cards?

Often, especially real-time bank payments, because there is no card interchange. Wallets and BNPL can cost as much as cards or more. Compare effective costs on your real ticket sizes.

Can local methods be charged back?

Most bank-transfer and QR methods have no card-style chargebacks, but they have their own dispute and refund rules. Wallets and BNPL providers often run buyer-protection programmes.

How many integrations do I need?

Usually one or two: a multi-market provider or an orchestration platform lets you add methods without integrating each scheme separately.