How do people in Costa Rica pay online?
Cards and SINPE Móvil lead. The first national e-commerce survey, run by the University of Costa Rica’s development observatory for the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) and reported by CR Hoy in September 2022, found that 78% of online shoppers had paid with a debit, credit or virtual card, 73% with SINPE Móvil, 37.7% by bank transfer, 27.1% in cash and 20.3% through platforms such as PayPal. Many shoppers pay late in the process: 41.1% said they pay the full amount only on delivery.
SINPE Móvil is run by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) and moves money between bank accounts using a mobile phone number. Central bank data reported by Semanario Universidad show 747.51 million transfers worth CRC 12.53 trillion in 2025, with 4.52 million subscribers. In June 2026 the Ministry of Finance counted 4,801,297 active phone subscriptions at the end of May 2026.
Cards are accepted across the market, and their cost is regulated. Under the Maximum Card System Commissions Law, the BCCR sets the maximum commissions merchants pay to accept cards and reviews them at least once a year. In November 2025 it proposed keeping the local acquiring cap at 1.95% and the interchange cap at 1% for 2026, according to La Nación.
What rules shape online payments in Costa Rica?
VAT is 13%. It has applied since 1 July 2019, with reduced rates of 4%, 2%, 1% and 0.5% for listed goods and services, according to PwC. When a business buys services from a provider not domiciled in Costa Rica, it applies the reverse charge. For consumer purchases, article 30 of the VAT law requires card issuers to collect 13% VAT when cardholders buy listed digital services online. The tax authority keeps the list under resolution DGT-R-13-2020; EY reported 148 listed services after the update of 1 June 2023, and noted that a provider which registers as a taxpayer is taken off the list.
Invoices now name the payment method. From 1 September 2025, version 4.4 of the electronic invoice requires every business to state how the customer paid, with code 06 for SINPE Móvil. The BCCR said the change adds no tax on SINPE Móvil transfers. In June 2026 the Ministry of Finance also put out for consultation a draft decree that would make taxpayers register the phone numbers they use to receive electronic payments, including SINPE Móvil.
Online sales have their own consumer chapter. Decree 40703-MEIC of 3 October 2017 added a chapter on e-commerce to the regulation of the consumer law, Law 7472. Merchants must give the terms of the transaction clearly, completely and in Spanish, show the total price including taxes and shipping, and offer a free complaints channel. Article 40 of Law 7472 gives the consumer eight days from the contract to withdraw from a sale made outside the merchant’s premises, where the nature of the goods allows, and Pragma Legal reads this right as covering e-commerce.
Personal data needs written consent. Law 8968 requires prior, unequivocal, express and valid consent, in writing or electronically, and companies that distribute or sell personal data must register their databases with the data protection agency PRODHAB.
How would Omno route payments in Costa Rica?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Costa Rica:
- Card pay-ins would be routed by BIN and currency, so colón and dollar payments go to the providers set up for each, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- SINPE Móvil would be offered in the hosted checkout through a provider that supports it, with the order pending until the provider confirms the transfer.
- Customer groups could offer saved cards to returning customers, while first-time customers see SINPE Móvil next to the card form.
Webhooks would report the final status of every payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for cards and SINPE Móvil side by side. Most online shoppers have used both, and a checkout with only one of them asks part of the market to change habits.
Plan for electronic invoices that name the payment method. Each sale needs the right payment code, including 06 for SINPE Móvil, so payment records and invoices should match.
Plan for VAT on digital services. If you sell listed digital services to Costa Rican consumers from abroad, either register with the tax authority or expect card issuers to add 13% VAT to the charge.
Plan for local consumer rules. Write your terms in Spanish, show the total price with tax and shipping, and keep an eight-day withdrawal window in your returns process.