Card instalments in Brazil and Latin America: who pays and when you get paid

An electronics store or software business that starts selling to Latin America soon finds that the price on the product page is not the price shoppers compare. In Brazil it is “10x sem juros”, in Mexico “12 meses sin intereses”, in Chile and Colombia the number of cuotas. A checkout that only takes the full amount on a card loses the larger baskets first.

This article explains how card instalments work in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru, who pays the interest, when the merchant gets paid, how refunds and chargebacks work, whether a merchant outside the region can offer them, and how to show them at checkout. For choosing providers in the region, see our article on choosing PSPs for Latin America; for the markets, our Brazil and Mexico guides.

Why do instalments matter in Latin America?

Because a large share of credit card spending already runs on them. In Brazil, CNN Brasil reports figures from the card industry association Abecs for the first half of 2025: card payments reached R$2.2 trillion, up 9.9%, and credit cards R$1.5 trillion. Parcelado sem juros, interest-free instalments, made up 41.2% of credit card operations, against 57.3% paid in one go. Remote purchases, online and through apps, reached R$537 billion, up 16.7%.

Adyen’s documentation calls paying in instalments a popular form of credit card purchase in Brazil, Mexico and Japan. The mechanics look like a normal card payment: the first instalment is charged at once, and the following ones are charged to the shopper’s card every 30 days until the purchase is paid.

How do instalment plans differ by country, and who pays the interest?

The biggest difference is who prices the plan. EBANX’s documentation splits the region into two models. In Brazil and Mexico, EBANX applies the interest rates in the merchant’s contract, and the merchant sends the total with interest already included. In Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay, the issuing bank or acquirer handles the instalments and any interest, and the merchant sends the original amount and the number of instalments.

Country	Local name	Who sets the terms	Plans documented by providers
Brazil	Parcelado, parcelado sem juros	Merchant and provider	Adyen accepts 1 to 99 instalments
Mexico	Meses sin intereses (MSI)	Merchant and provider, by supported issuer	3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months at Stripe
Argentina	Cuotas	Issuer or acquirer	Set by the issuer
Colombia	Cuotas	Issuer or acquirer	Shopper chooses the number
Chile	Cuotas	Merchant for interest-free, issuer for regular	Up to 12 interest-free; issuer 2 to 48
Peru	Cuotas	Issuer or acquirer	Set by the issuer

Who pays the interest is a contract choice. EBANX describes two options: the customer pays, and sees a higher total at checkout, or the merchant absorbs it, the customer pays the original price and the cost is deducted from settlement. Parcelado sem juros is the second option. Brazil also has issuer-financed plans (parcelado emissor), in which the bank charges the shopper interest; ask your acquirer whether it supports them and how they settle.

In Mexico the merchant pays for MSI through a fee. Stripe’s documentation sets an additional fee on top of the card fee of 5% for 3 months, 7.5% for 6, 10% for 9, 12.5% for 12, 17.5% for 18 and 22.5% for 24, with default minimum amounts from MXN 300 to MXN 2,400. Adyen notes that card schemes charge an extra fee for instalment purchases in Mexico.

In Chile, Transbank’s Webpay lets the merchant offer 2 or 3 interest-free instalments, or a range up to N set by the merchant with a maximum of 12. Separately, the issuer can offer regular instalments of 2 to 48 and decides whether they carry interest. In Argentina, check the status of any government programme before you advertise it: Argentina’s official legal database lists Resolution 12/2026 of the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce, published on 9 June 2026, as repealing earlier rules including the unified regulation of the Cuota Simple programme.

When does the merchant get paid?

It depends on the country and the provider, and it changes your cash flow more than the fee does. Adyen’s documentation sets out three patterns:

• Brazil. The merchant receives the money for each instalment as it settles, with a settlement delay of 30 days. A 10-instalment sale arrives over 10 months.
• Brazil, with advancements. Adyen offers advancements, its name for anticipação de recebíveis, for an additional fee, paid within one day, so the merchant does not wait for each instalment.
• Mexico. The merchant receives the full amount when the first instalment settles. Stripe’s documentation says the same in other words: the merchant receives the full amount minus a fee, and the customer’s bank collects over time.

Other providers choose their own model. dLocal’s documentation says the merchant receives the full amount of the payment at settlement. EBANX says that, depending on the contract, the merchant may be paid the full amount upfront or in increments as each instalment is paid. Transbank says that for issuer instalments the merchant is always paid within 48 business hours, whatever the number of instalments. Ask every provider for its model in writing, and for the cost of early payment where it is not the default.

How do refunds and chargebacks work on an instalment purchase?

The order is refunded once, but the money is unwound instalment by instalment. Adyen’s documentation for Brazil shows a refund booked as one entry for the payment, then as a refund against each open instalment. Its reports mark instalments that were accelerated because of a refund, record a chargeback as a debit for the instalment reversed, and record a suspended instalment that will not settle because of a chargeback.

That has two consequences. A refund can be larger than the money you have received so far on a sale paid per instalment, so the provider may debit future settlements. Transbank says this directly for Chile: a refund after the merchant has been paid creates a holdback on future payments. And a dispute on month 7 of a 10-month plan can arrive long after delivery, so keep delivery evidence for the full plan length. Stripe lists refunds, partial refunds and disputes as supported for Mexican MSI. Our article on refunds across local methods covers the wider picture.

Can a merchant outside the region offer instalments?

Usually only through local processing. Stripe supports MSI only for Stripe Mexico accounts, on Mexican-issued consumer credit cards from supported issuers, in MXN. Adyen lists the Mexican issuers whose cards it supports for instalments and says merchants need a direct agreement with any other issuing bank. Regional providers such as EBANX and dLocal document instalment plans in their APIs. Ask each one which countries, plan lengths and issuers are available to a merchant with your setup, and whether the payment is processed in the shopper’s country.

Instalments are a credit card feature. EBANX says its instalments are available only for credit card payments, so debit and prepaid cards, and methods such as Pix, are paid in one go. Our article on local versus cross-border acquiring covers what changes when you process locally.

How should the checkout show instalment options?

After the card number, with the total. Stripe recommends collecting the card number first and then showing the available plans, because eligibility depends on the issuer. Adyen’s payment form can show the amount per instalment next to each option. EBANX describes showing the total cost and the instalment breakdown, including any fees, before the shopper confirms. In Colombia, Wompi’s documentation says the merchant must ask the shopper how many cuotas they want before creating a card transaction, so the field is part of the form, not an extra.

Show the instalment amount and the total side by side, mark plans the merchant funds as interest-free, and hide plans that fall below each provider’s minimum amount.

Worked example: per-instalment settlement or anticipation in Brazil?

Example figures, for illustration only.

An electronics store sells to Brazil with an average order of R$1,000. With single payments only it takes 400 card orders a month at a card fee of 3%. It adds 10x sem juros at a fee of 4%, and orders rise to 500. Paid per instalment, the money arrives over 10 months. Anticipated, it arrives within days at a cost of 8.25% of the net amount, an illustrative rate of 1.5% a month over an average wait of 5.5 months.

Setup	Gross sales	Card fee	Anticipation cost	Net cash	When it arrives
Single payment only	R$400,000	R$12,000	R$0	R$388,000	One settlement
10x sem juros, per instalment	R$500,000	R$20,000	R$0	R$480,000	R$48,000 a month for 10 months
10x sem juros, anticipated	R$500,000	R$20,000	R$39,600	R$440,400	Within days

Instalments add R$52,400 of net cash a month even after paying to receive it early. Without anticipation they add R$92,000, but only after 10 months, and every refund or chargeback in that time comes out of future instalments. The right choice depends on your margin and your cost of capital.

What are the common mistakes?

• Showing plans before the card number. Eligibility depends on the issuer and the card type. A plan offered on the product page and then refused at payment frustrates the shopper at the last step.
• Assuming one regional rule. Brazil and Mexico price plans through the merchant and provider, while Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina leave terms to the issuer. One configuration for the region sends the wrong amount somewhere.
• Forgetting the cash-flow gap. A Brazilian sale paid per instalment funds itself over months. Budget for it, or price anticipation in from the start.
• Mispricing MSI. At Stripe, a 24-month plan adds 22.5% on top of the card fee. Offer the longest plans only on baskets whose margin can carry them.
• Refunding outside the plan. A refund sent by bank transfer leaves the instalments running on the shopper’s card. Refund through the provider that took the payment.
• Advertising programmes without checking them. Government and bank programmes change. Check the current status with your provider before you promise a plan on the product page.

How does Omno support instalment payments in Latin America?

Omno can connect several providers behind one API, with routing and PSP eligibility rules by country, method, currency and customer group, so card payments from each market can go to providers that process them locally, and cascading to the next provider in the rule when one is unavailable or rejects the request. Webhooks confirm every payment, and the dashboard reports approvals and decline reasons by provider, method and country. The plans, interest and settlement terms stay in your contract with each provider. The payment orchestration page covers the setup.