dLocal has published The Local Code, a report showing that adding a second local payment method brought merchants largely new transaction volume.
Cross-border payments platform dLocal has released The Local Code, a payments playbook for emerging markets based on its own merchant transaction data, third-party market data including PCMI, and its 2026 retail consumer survey across 17 markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Merchant case studies in the report indicate that adding a second local payment method generated new transaction volume, rather than drawing share away from existing payment options.
Merchant case studies
In Brazil, one merchant saw total transaction volume grow 55% within five months of adding Pix, the country’s instant payment system, alongside its existing options. In Peru, Yape overtook cards as a merchant’s leading payment method within three months and lifted its total transaction volume by more than 25% over six months. In Colombia, Nequi’s share of one merchant’s transaction volume rose from 63% to 68% within six months, almost entirely from new spending rather than from cardholders switching to Nequi.
The benefits extended beyond volume. In Mexico, a merchant that added Buy Now, Pay Later provider Kueski saw average order value rise 6.1% compared with debit card purchases. Processing costs also fell in the data set, by 19% in Colombia after a merchant added Nequi and by 30% in Peru after Yape became a merchant’s leading payment method. According to dLocal, each additional local method, whether an instant payment system, a local e-wallet, or a Buy Now, Pay Later provider, reaches a different group of customers, so the return on another integration often appears as volume that would not otherwise exist.
Access to digital commerce
Pedro Arnt, CEO of dLocal, stated that across its markets, the company repeatedly sees that a second local payment method reaches customers the first one did not, rather than cannibalising it. According to Arnt, millions of people in these markets have a phone but no credit history, and when merchants accept the payment methods people already use every day, that barrier is removed, creating a route into the digital economy for people who previously lacked access.
dLocal connects global enterprises with consumers in more than 60 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America through a single API, platform, and contract for accepting payments, sending payouts, and settling funds. The results in the report come from individual merchant case studies, so outcomes will vary by merchant and market, but they point to local payment methods as a driver of growth for merchants entering emerging markets, as well as a checkout requirement.
