Sources: Banco Central de Reserva, SSF and provider disclosures, 2024–2025.
How El Salvador pays
El Salvador has used the US dollar since 2001, so there is no currency conversion for most cross-border merchants. Cards lead online, issued mainly by banks such as Banco Agrícola and BAC Credomatic, and Transfer365, the central bank's instant transfer system, moves money between bank accounts in real time.
The country made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, then made its acceptance voluntary in 2025; everyday commerce still runs mainly on dollars, cards and cash. For an enterprise merchant, the value is approvals and reach: cards, wallets and local methods behind one integration, routing across acquirers, frictionless 3DS and retries, with Spanish-language checkout and dollar settlement.
Why merchants run on us here
Instant bank transfers
Transfer365 moves money between Salvadoran bank accounts in real time.
Card approvals
Visa and Mastercard lead online, with routing across acquirers and retries to protect approvals.
Frictionless 3DS
3DS applied where it helps, so authentication protects against fraud without costing conversion.
One integration, dollar settlement
Cards, wallets and local methods behind one integration, in US dollars, with Spanish-language checkout.
Payment methods
Cards
Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
Diners Club
JCB
UnionPayBuy Now, Pay Later
Sandbox BNPLDigital wallets
PayPalExpress checkout
Apple Pay
Google PayGateways
Sandbox BNPLPayPal
Airwallex
Stripe
Adyen
Unlimit
Worldpay
Checkout.com
Authorize.net
MPGS
Cybersource
Sandbox GatewayAirwallex (Enterprise)
Braintree
CommerceHub
Fiserve
NMI
Nuvei
OrbitalBuilt for enterprise
Everything it takes to run payments in El Salvador
Local payment methods are only half the job. We carry the operational weight — acquiring, settlement, FX, licensing and reconciliation — so you can treat El Salvador like any other market in your stack.
One integration, every local method
Connect once and reach every card scheme, wallet, bank rail and installment provider in El Salvador through a single API — no separate contract or integration per provider.
Local acquiring, higher approvals
We route to local acquirers and retry failed payments across alternate rails, so domestic cards and wallets authorize at local rates instead of being declined as cross-border traffic.
Settlement, FX & repatriation
Collect in the US dollar (USD) and settle in your base currency. We handle the FX conversion and the local rules for moving funds out of the country — the part most global merchants underestimate.
Licensing handled locally
Process through our locally licensed partner entities. You launch without standing up a local entity or chasing a payments license of your own.
Payouts & reconciliation
Pay out to sellers and process refunds on the same rails you collect on, and reconcile every flow — pay-in, payout, refund — in one ledger, in local or base currency.
Fraud, disputes & compliance
Real-time screening, chargeback and dispute handling, and KYC/AML that matches local regulator expectations — built in, not bolted on.
Ready to launch in El Salvador?
Talk to our payments team about going live in El Salvador — coverage, local acquiring, settlement and timelines for your business.