In Latin America, financial digitalization has accelerated at a remarkable pace. The rise of e-commerce, the popularization of digital wallets, and the consolidation of instant payments have transformed the market into a highly competitive and heavily regulated environment. Within this context, many companies face a strategic question: is it worth operating a proprietary payment system, or is it safer and more efficient to rely on an experienced processor?
The decision may seem simple when viewed strictly from a control perspective: owning the entire payment journey, customer data, and experience. But once you dive into the specifics, it becomes clear that the complexity is far greater. Scalability, security, regulatory compliance, and the ongoing cost of innovation quickly become obstacles that can turn the operation into a burden if not approached with proper preparation and resources.
More than technology — it’s strategy
It’s not just about building a system that works. A proprietary payment solution must integrate with issuers, acquirers, card networks, wallets, and APIs. Each country in the region has its particularities: local regulations, settlement standards, banking hours, and different clearing systems.
For example, while Brazil’s PIX enables 24/7 instant settlement, other countries in the region still face limitations. In Chile and Argentina, immediate transfer systems are still evolving and do not always operate fully outside banking hours. In Peru, interoperability among digital wallets has advanced significantly, but still does not cover all banks on a continuous basis. These differences require operational adjustments. Ignoring them can result in liquidity failures, reconciliation errors, and customer dissatisfaction.
Additionally, each integration demands continuous monitoring: APIs change, new versions roll out, card networks update security protocols — and without a dedicated team, the system quickly becomes outdated or vulnerable.
The real test of the operation
It is common to underestimate the impact of transaction spikes during strategic moments such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or major regional sales periods. A proprietary system must be resilient and scalable, capable of processing millions of simultaneous transactions without interruption.
This requires investment in distributed architecture, redundancy, load balancing, real-time monitoring, and contingency planning. Every second of downtime is not just an operational issue — it represents lost revenue, credibility, and customer trust.
Risks that cannot be outsourced
Fraud and cyberattacks are constant threats, and a proprietary operation is fully responsible for protecting sensitive data through encryption, implementing multi-factor authentication and biometrics, monitoring fraud in real time, and responding quickly to security incidents. Companies must also comply with local and international standards, such as PCI DSS, as well as the specific regulations of each Latin American country. Regulatory compliance is not optional — it is essential to ensure that operations remain secure and lawful.
The invisible cost
Running a proprietary payment system goes far beyond the initial technology investment. Maintaining the operation requires specialized teams, high-availability infrastructure, continuous monitoring, security audits, and frequent testing. Every regulatory update, new card-network requirement, or adaptation to different countries adds additional costs that are often underestimated.
What many companies fail to realize is that these “invisible” costs accumulate quickly: hours of work from IT and compliance specialists, expenses for maintaining servers and software, time spent resolving failures or security incidents, and even impacts on customer experience when something doesn’t work perfectly.
Therefore, even if full control sounds appealing, the true cost of running a proprietary operation often outweighs the autonomy benefits — especially for companies whose core business is not payment technology. Working with a specialized partner transfers these burdens and risks, ensuring security, scalability, and continuous innovation while the company focuses on growth and customer experience.
When going solo makes sense
The decision to own a payment system should consider whether payments are central to the company’s value proposition, its technological and operational capacity — infrastructure, security, team, and budget — the regional scope (as operating in multiple countries significantly increases complexity and cost), and the desired speed of innovation, since proprietary systems require constant updates. For many companies, relying on a specialized processor becomes the most efficient strategic choice, ensuring security, scalability, and compliance while allowing them to focus on their core business.
Why partnering with a specialist is the smarter path
In Latin America, Evertec is a leading reference in payment processing. With a consolidated regional presence, resilient infrastructure, and deep regulatory expertise, Evertec processes over 6 billion transactions per year, ensuring secure, scalable, and innovative operations. This means your company can focus on what truly matters — growth and customer experience — while Evertec handles all the technological and regulatory complexity.
With 24/7 protection against fraud and cyberattacks, full compliance across all countries in the region, and uninterrupted performance even during peak demand, specialized partners are not just an option — they are a strategic advantage in an ever-evolving market.
Still unsure? Learn more about our processing solutions: https://evertecinc.com/pt-br/solucao/rocessamento-de-pagamentos-br/
