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Transferring money between countries has always been expensive, slow, and bureaucratic. In 2025, Pix processed R$35.36 trillion and recorded 79.8 billion transactions, according to data from the Central Bank reported by G1. This contrast says a lot about the moment Latin America is experiencing and how the region is adapting to cross-border payments.
What worked for decades in the international financial system is beginning to be challenged by a more agile regional infrastructure. Open Finance, financial APIs, and instant payments are creating the conditions for transfers between countries to operate with the same convenience as everyday transactions.
Keep reading this article to understand how this process works in practice and what it means for businesses and consumers.
The Challenges of International Payments
For decades, cross-border payments have been marked by inefficient structures. Dependence on correspondent banking networks, foreign exchange conversion costs, and settlement times have made international transfers slower and more expensive than necessary.
In Latin America, this scenario has unique characteristics. The fragmentation of payment systems across countries, combined with distinct regulatory frameworks and some political instability in parts of the region, creates additional layers of complexity. Among the factors that weigh most heavily in this context are:
- Exchange-rate volatility, which creates risks for both consumers and businesses operating with multiple currencies;
- Rigid foreign exchange regulations that are poorly harmonized across countries;
- Technological infrastructure gaps that hinder connectivity between financial systems;
- High intermediation costs, which particularly burden lower-value remittances.
Together, these elements have always limited regional financial interoperability. What is changing is the speed at which alternatives are emerging to overcome these barriers.
Instant Payments: A New Benchmark
Pix is the most emblematic example of this transformation. Launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in November 2020, the system now has more than 170 million users and processed R$35.36 trillion in 2025, according to Central Bank data.
The practical impact has been the creation of a new expectation among consumers and businesses: payments should be immediate, free or low-cost, and available at any time. This standard is now beginning to put pressure on international payments as well.
Other countries in the region are moving in the same direction. In Colombia, Transfiya connects banks and fintechs for real-time transfers. In Peru, Plin and Yape together have tens of millions of users. In Argentina, Transferencias 3.0 is advancing with the same logic. The question the market is beginning to ask is: when will these systems connect with one another?
Financial Interoperability: What Is Missing for Regional Integration
For cross-border payments to achieve the same fluidity as domestic payments, systems from different countries must be able to exchange information in a standardized and secure manner. This ability for different infrastructures to communicate is known as financial interoperability, and it remains a key bottleneck in Latin America.
Open Finance plays a concrete role in this progress. By establishing rules for the structured sharing of financial data between banks and other institutions, it paves the way for payment services to operate beyond the boundaries of a single system. In Brazil, the model is already in operation. In other countries across the region, regulatory frameworks are still being developed, but the trend is toward convergence.
APIs and Stablecoins as Part of the Solution
Two technological elements are gaining traction in this process: financial APIs and stablecoins.
APIs function as connectors between systems that otherwise would not communicate. They allow fintechs and banks to integrate payment services without having to rebuild their entire infrastructure from scratch. In practice, this reduces the time and cost required to create functional cross-border solutions.
Stablecoins are digital assets pegged to currencies such as the U.S. dollar, reducing the volatility associated with other cryptocurrencies. In international payments, they enable faster settlement and lower conversion costs, which is particularly relevant in countries where exchange rates are more unstable or access to traditional banking services is limited. They are not a universal solution, but they represent a viable alternative for specific payment flows.
The numbers show that this adoption has already moved beyond theory. Latin America processed billions of dollars in stablecoin transactions in 2025, a 89% increase compared to the previous year, driven primarily by remittances and international payments. Brazil and Argentina are leading this movement, with companies such as Nubank, Bitso, and Ontop integrating stablecoins into payment processes in ways that are increasingly transparent to end users. What was once an alternative for those without access to the traditional banking system is becoming infrastructure for those seeking to operate more efficiently within it.
What Changes in Practice for Businesses and Consumers
For companies engaged in international trade or e-commerce, more efficient cross-border payments have a direct impact on operations. Faster settlement improves cash flow. Lower intermediation costs increase margins. And less friction in the payment process reduces cart abandonment in international transactions.
For consumers, the change is even more immediate: sending money abroad, paying for a foreign service, or receiving a remittance no longer requires bureaucracy and begins to work with the same convenience as the digital payment methods they already use every day.
The transformation of cross-border payments in Latin America does not depend on a technology that has yet to arrive. The building blocks already exist: established instant payment systems, Open Finance regulations under development, available APIs, and a growing base of digital users.
What is being built is the integration layer connecting these elements. Once it matures, transferring money between countries in the region should be as simple as making a Pix payment. And that moment, contrary to what many used to say, no longer seems so far away.
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