EXCLUSIVE: “Crossings and Corridors” – Therese Hudak, PPRO in ‘The Fintech Magazine’

How PPRO’s Therese Hudak sees the next frontier for US to LATAM payments

When Therese Hudak talks about payments in LATAM, she does so with the conviction of someone who has watched an entire continent’s financial DNA reprogram itself in real time. She is Vice President, Commercial Americas at PPRO, the local payments platform which enables merchants and payment service providers to access local payment methods worldwide.

This role means Hudak has had a front-row seat to watch the drama unfold in one of the most complex and dynamic corridors in global commerce – the digital trade route connecting the United States to Latin America.

“It’s an incredibly diverse market,” she says. “No two countries in Latin America look the same when it comes to payments – not culturally, not technologically, and certainly not in regulation. For US merchants, that’s both the challenge and the opportunity.”

PPRO’s new Almanac Corridor Series: US→LATAM – designed to act as a data-rich ‘how-to’ guide for businesses looking to expand into the region – quantifies that opportunity in eyecatching terms. E-commerce volumes across the top six Latin American markets are projected to hit $870billion by 2026, with cross-border trade between the US and LATAM already exceeding $440billion in goods exports.

Yet beneath those headline numbers lies a patchwork of payment ecosystems, each shaped by local policy, consumer preference and digital innovation.

Geography defined by complexity

The US to LATAM payments corridor is unlike any other. As Hudak explains: “For every country that’s opening up with real-time payment infrastructure or new digital wallet ecosystems, there’s another where cash still dominates or where regulation adds friction. To succeed, merchants have to localise, not just translate, checkout pages.”

She adds: “When we speak to US merchants looking south, we often find that they underestimate just how localised the payment experience must be. It’s not about switching on a global processor and hoping for the best; it’s about connecting to the rails that local consumers already trust.”

According to the PPRO Almanac, 87 per cent of Latin America’s population is now online, but nearly half of Mexico’s adults, for example, remain unbanked. Across the region, credit cards account for just 42 per cent of e-commerce payments, while bank transfers (led by the Brazilian government’s phenomenally successful real-time service Pix and Mexico’s SPEI) and digital wallets like the region-wide Mercado Pago are rapidly overtaking them.

PPRO’s research finds that one-in-five consumers in Latin America will abandon a purchase if their preferred local payment method isn’t offered. “That’s the defining difference between this market and, say, Europe or North America,” says Hudak. “Here, local means everything. Payment is cultural.”

Trade winds and tariff clouds

For all the progress in digital commerce, the macro-economic context remains volatile. The re-imposition of tariffs under US President Donald Trump’s new trade regime has reshaped commercial dynamics across the hemisphere. In a recent Yahoo! Finance interview, Sergio Diaz-Granados, President of CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, suggested the impact ‘has been less than expected’, thanks to well-established trade networks and the deep cultural ties linking US and Latin American markets. Yet uncertainty persists.

“Tariffs always have knock-on effects,” Hudak explains. “They influence the cost of goods, logistics planning, and the payment preferences of consumers who feel inflationary pressure. When the macro environment shifts, payment behaviour shifts at the same time.”

Across Latin America, those behavioural shifts are being channelled through technology. Governments and central banks are not just enabling, they’re driving the evolution of payments as policy tools.

“Government-backed infrastructure has been one of the biggest accelerators,” Hudak notes. “When central banks launch instant payment systems or push financial inclusion, they’re effectively setting the pace for private-sector innovation.”

Government-fuelled transformation

Few regions illustrate the interplay between politics, technology and commerce as vividly as Latin America. From Brazil’s state-backed Pix network to Mexico’s SPEI interbank system and Colombia’s digital-identity integration, the public sector has become a prime mover in payments modernisation.

“LATAM is the story of governments using payments to drive inclusion,” says Hudak. “In Brazil, Pix has brought tens of millions of people into the financial system. These systems aren’t just financial tools, they’re social infrastructure.“

PPRO’s Almanac data underscores this: Pix now represents 45 per cent of all payments in Brazil and is projected to overtake credit cards as the leading e-commerce method by 2030. SPEI, used by six-in-10 Mexicans, processes more than three million transactions daily, while digital wallets make up 10 per cent of e-commerce transactions region-wide, led by Mercado Pago’s 60 million users.

“Consumers in Latin America expect seamless, mobile-first payment experiences,” Hudak says. “But they also want trust and, in many cases, trust still comes from the methods and brands they know locally.”

LATAM’s eclectic payments palette

In the PPRO Almanac, local payment methods are grouped into five categories: bank transfers, buy now, pay later (BNPL), local cards, digital wallets and cash-based options – each reflecting a different stage of financial inclusion.

“When US merchants approach LATAM, the instinct is to think globally, in terms of Visa, Mastercard and PayPal,” Hudak says. “But those only get them part of the way. To convert at scale, they need local rails like Pix, SPEI, [cash-based] OXXO Pay and Boleto, and Naranja X. That’s where PPRO’s platform makes the difference.

“Local payments aren’t niche anymore; they’re the mainstream rails of commerce. If you’re not offering them, you’re closing the door on entire customer segments.”

According to the Almanac, cash-based systems such as OXXO Pay in Mexico and Boleto Bancário in Brazil still account for seven-to-eight per cent of online purchases, a reminder that digital doesn’t always mean cashless. Meanwhile, BNPL is modernising Latin America’s traditional culture of instalment payments, offering consumers credit access without bank cards.

“BNPL is resonating because it’s familiar,” Hudak says. “Consumers here have always paid in instalments, BNPL just digitises that habit.”

The PPRO story

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in London, PPRO enables payment service providers, banks, and enterprises to digitise their payments by integrating and offering local payment methods around the world. It operates across more than 100 markets, connecting merchants to regional payment ecosystems through a single, unified platform. The company’s mission is to simplify global commerce by removing cross-border payment friction, improving conversion rates, and helping businesses reach new customers through seamless access to the payment methods people actually use and trust.

Across Latin America, that payments story increasingly converges with the rise of super apps – digital ecosystems that merge payments, lending, shopping and more. Nubank, Rappi, Mercado Pago and PicPay now compete not just for transactions but for consumer loyalty.

“These platforms are redefining financial behaviour,” says Hudak. “They’ve built trust in markets where traditional banks often haven’t. That trust is the currency of digital growth.”

The PPRO Almanac points to a coming wave of tokenised, one-click checkout experiences, biometric authentication and embedded payment flows. For US merchants, this means localisation isn’t only about method, it’s about experience.

“Latin American consumers expect the same convenience as shoppers in the US or Europe,” Hudak says, “but delivered through the local apps and payment rails they already use.” PPRO clearly believes that local is the new global. In the conclusion to its Almanac, one line stands out: “Local payments should no longer be seen as alternative payment methods but as the foundation of a merchant’s international growth strategy.”

Hudak echoes the sentiment: “Payments used to be the last mile of commerce. Now they’re the first consideration. In Latin America, if you don’t speak the language of local payments, you’re not really in the market. The opportunity here is huge, but it rewards respect. If you take the time to understand how people pay and why, the region will open up to you.

Brazil: Pix and the power of inclusion

Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, epitomises how public policy can ignite payment innovation. With a GDP exceeding $2.1trillion and a population of 213 million, it’s the region’s financial bellwether. Since its 2020 launch, Pix has transformed the Brazilian payments landscape, accounting for 41 per cent of e-commerce payments today and projected to reach 58 per cent by 2030.

The forthcoming Pix Automático, rolling out from mid-2025, enables recurring payments for 60 million uncarded consumers – a milestone Hudak calls ‘a giant leap for inclusion’.

“Pix is more than a payment method,” she says. “It’s a state-backed ecosystem that’s changing how businesses operate and how consumers interact with money. It’s built inclusion into the core of commerce.”

Brazil’s card market remains robust. Mastercard and Visa together handle nearly 88 per cent of transactions, but domestic networks like Elo (12 per cent) ensure local flavour endures. From PPRO’s perspective, US merchants entering Brazil must adopt a local-first strategy, processing payments domestically to avoid high foreign exchange (FX) rates and maximise approval.

“Cross-border card transactions can see decline rates 10-to-15 points higher than local ones,” Hudak warns. “That’s lost revenue organisations can’t afford.”

Mexico: Bridging the cash gap

Mexico’s payments story is one of contrasts. With a GDP of $1.85trillion and 132 million people, it boasts the second-largest e-commerce market in the region. Yet 48 per cent of adults remain unbanked.

Here, OXXO Pay plays an outsized role. Operated through a network of more than 20,000 convenience stores, it allows online shoppers to complete transactions with cash, generating half of Mexico’s total cash-based e-commerce volume.

“Mexico is fascinating because it blends digital sophistication with deep-rooted cash culture,” Hudak says. “If providers want reach, they can’t ignore OXXO.”

She adds: “At the same time, you’re seeing a younger generation leapfrog straight to wallets and instant payments. It’s not about linear growth, it’s two tracks moving at once.”

Digital wallets already account for 28 per cent of e-commerce payments, and Mexico’s SPEI continues to expand as a real-time transfer alternative. By 2030, PPRO expects digital wallets to reach 38 per cent share, overtaking credit cards (30 per cent). Retail remains Mexico’s dominant online vertical, responsible for 75 per cent of all e-commerce, and global players are taking note. TikTok Shop launched there in early 2025, betting on the country’s 78 per cent mobile-commerce share.

Argentina: Inflation drives innovation

If Brazil showcases policy-led inclusion and Mexico demonstrates hybrid evolution, Argentina is the laboratory for payment innovation under pressure. With inflation still in triple digits, Argentine consumers have turned to digital wallets and credit-based solutions to preserve purchasing power. PPRO projects that by 2030, nearly half (49 per cent) of e-commerce transactions will run through digital wallets, up from 35 per cent today.

“Argentina proves that payments evolve fastest where the need is greatest,” Hudak says. “Wallets like Mercado Pago and Naranja X are not just convenience tools; they’re a means of survival.

“What’s exciting is that out of this volatility comes creativity. Argentine fintechs are some of the most inventive in the world because they’ve had to be.”

Recent government reforms easing import restrictions and liberalising currency controls are also improving the outlook for cross-border merchants. Yet volatility remains a fact of life.

“The key is agility,” Hudak adds. “Merchants that can adapt pricing, currency and payment acceptance quickly will win consumer trust – and keep it.”

Payments politics: Navigating the tariff era

Global Finance Magazine recently described LATAM economies as facing ‘their greatest disruption in a generation’. Brazil, hit with tariffs of up to 50 per cent on exports to the US, has seen trade reroute towards China and the Gulf states. Venezuela remains sanctioned but growing in pockets. Peru and Chile are diversifying toward Asia. Against that backdrop, payments modernisation offers stability where politics can’t.

“Trade may fluctuate, but payments need to flow,” Hudak notes. “That’s why reliable local infrastructure matters. Merchants can’t control tariffs, but they can control how effectively they transact.”

This article was published in The Fintech Magazine Issue #37, Page 36-38

The post EXCLUSIVE: “Crossings and Corridors” – Therese Hudak, PPRO in ‘The Fintech Magazine’ appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.