How do people in Panama pay online?
Yappy is the local habit. Banco General’s payment app had about 1.4 million users in April 2024 and moved about USD 9.5 billion in 2023, La Prensa reported. In 2024 it processed 487 million transactions: 431 million between people, up more than 20.4% on the year, and more than 56 million with businesses, up 300% on 2023. Yappy is no longer limited to one bank. In October 2026 Banistmo added it to its own banking app, joining Banco General, St. Georges Bank, Caja de Ahorros, Credicorp Bank, Davivienda, MetroBank and Banisi. Online stores accept it through a Yappy Comercial account, which provides a Yappy payment button for websites.
Clave is the local debit network. Telered, which runs it, says more than 2.5 million Clave debit cards have been issued, connecting more than 30 financial institutions. Clave cards were long used mainly at shops and cash machines, with E-Clave online payments reaching 286,000 transactions in 2021, according to La Prensa. A wider alliance with Discover, announced in March 2026, lets Clave debit cards pay abroad, on streaming services, on PayPal and in online stores.
Transfers are getting faster. ACH Xpress, Telered’s immediate interbank transfer, handled more than 1.9 million transfers worth over USD 346 million in 2024, up 165.3% in volume, and 816,000 transfers worth USD 165.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Since Banco General joined in May 2025, 21 banks take part. International Visa and Mastercard cards complete the mix.
What rules shape online payments in Panama?
ITBMS is 7%. Panama’s sales tax applies at a general rate of 7%, with 10% on alcoholic drinks and hotel stays and 15% on tobacco, according to PwC. Exports are not taxed.
A digital services bill is on the way. In August 2026 the government presented bill 30-26, which would apply the 7% ITBMS to digital services such as Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Uber and Temu that bill from abroad, La Estrella de Panamá reported. Platforms would issue an electronic invoice for every charge, and the customer’s location would be set by criteria such as the payment instrument, billing address, IP address and SIM country code. The government said it had talked to banks and to Visa, Mastercard and American Express about collecting the tax through electronic payments. At the time the bill still needed approval by the National Assembly and implementing rules.
There is no general right of withdrawal. Under the consumer law, Law 45 of 2007, the only statutory right to return goods covers door-to-door sales, in article 71, La Estrella de Panamá explains. Returns of other purchases depend on the store’s own policy, while faulty goods fall under the warranty.
Personal data has a dedicated law. Law 81 of 2019, with Executive Decree 285 of 2021, makes consent the general rule, requires it to be documented, and obliges controllers to notify the regulator and affected people within 72 hours of a breach. The transparency authority ANTAI enforces it, with fines currently from USD 1,000 to USD 10,000.
How would Omno route payments in Panama?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Panama:
- Card pay-ins would be routed by BIN, so Clave cards go only to providers that accept them and Visa and Mastercard cards follow their own rule, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Yappy would be offered in the hosted checkout through a provider connected to Yappy Comercial, with the order pending until the provider confirms the payment.
- Customer groups could offer saved cards to returning customers, while one-off buyers see Yappy 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 Yappy. It carries tens of millions of business payments a year and now reaches customers of several banks, so a checkout without it misses a habit many Panamanians share.
Plan for local debit cards. Clave cards need a provider that accepts the network, so check acceptance before launch rather than relying on Visa and Mastercard alone.
Plan for ITBMS on digital sales. If you sell digital services into Panama from abroad, follow bill 30-26, which would add 7% ITBMS and an electronic invoice to every charge.
Plan for a clear returns policy and data handling. With no general withdrawal right, your published policy sets the rules, and a data breach must be reported within 72 hours.