Payment Profiles by Country

Durbin Amendment caps debit interchange at $0.21 + 0.05%. High fraud liability for non-EMV merchants. Magstripe still common at gas pumps (EMV mandate extended to 2025).

Interac dominates domestic debit. CA$250 contactless limit is scheme limit; some issuers set lower. No signature fallback — all EMV chip.

Chip-and-PIN is the baseline CVM; signatures not accepted. £100 contactless limit (raised from £45 in 2021). Open Banking / PSD2 driving A2A payment growth.

girocard (formerly EC-Karte) dominates domestic debit. High preference for cash and PIN entry. Visa/MC used for international acceptance. Conservative contactless adoption historically — now growing rapidly.

All cards co-badged with CB network. CB and Visa/MC process differently — acquirers need both license types. Cumulative contactless limit: up to 5 transactions or €150 before PIN fallback.

iDEAL covers ~70% of Dutch e-commerce payments. Maestro being replaced by Mastercard Debit. Very high contactless and digital payment adoption.

Vipps is Norway's most-used payment app, covering P2P and merchants. BankAxept processes domestic debit. Among the least cash-using countries globally.

Bizum covers P2P and merchant payments for most Spanish banks. Strong contactless adoption. Cumulative no-CVM limit applies (PSD2 SCA rules).

Mobile QR payments (Alipay/WeChat Pay) dominate everyday spending, surpassing cards at point of sale. UnionPay required on all domestic cards. International Visa/MC only permitted with foreign issuer.

IC transit cards (Suica, PASMO) used widely for transit and retail. JCB is the domestic premium scheme. Cash still common at traditional establishments. Contactless via FeliCa (not ISO 14443).

Australia leads global contactless adoption — tap rate exceeds 95% of in-person transactions. eftpos processes domestic debit transactions. NPP (PayID) enables real-time bank transfers. Surcharging permitted by merchants.

PayNow via mobile number or NRIC number links to bank accounts. SGQR standard unifies all payment QR codes at merchants. Transit (EZ-Link/NETS FlashPay) uses contactless. Very high digital banking penetration.

UPI processes billions of transactions monthly and dominates digital payments. RuPay is government-backed, mandatory on many government scheme cards. Mandatory 2FA for all online card transactions (Visa secure, OTP). Contactless limit was raised from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 in 2023.

Samsung Pay's MST (magnetic secure transmission) technology allows use at older terminals. High credit card usage, generous rewards programs, and credit card tax deductions incentivize usage. Domestic BC card network co-processes most local debit.

High cash usage historically. SPEI real-time transfers are ubiquitous. EMV chip penetration high in urban areas; some rural ATM magstripe fallback.

PIX launched by Banco Central do Brasil in 2020 and now handles over 80 million transactions/day. Elo is the domestic scheme owned by major Brazilian banks. Installment credit (parcelamento) is culturally central — cards often allow splitting purchases into 6–24 installments.

Mercado Pago dominates fintech and P2P payments. High inflation creates frequent limit adjustments. Foreign card acceptance limited by currency controls; USD card transactions often charged at official rate.

High credit card penetration. Strong adoption of Apple Pay and contactless across malls and hospitality. Significant UnionPay usage from Chinese tourists. VAT (5%) applies on most transactions since 2018.

Load-shedding (rolling blackouts) affects POS terminal availability; merchants often use mobile card readers with battery backup. 3D Secure mandatory for all CNP. High EMV chip adoption. QR codes growing at informal traders.

NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) handles the majority of interbank transfers. Verve is the domestic scheme (Interswitch). Fintech growth explosive. Significant agent banking network for underbanked population.