What Is the Best Cross-Border Payment Solution for LATAM Businesses in 2026?

Introduction

If you're a business in Latin America—whether exporting to global markets, importing from overseas suppliers, or serving customers across borders—you've probably asked this question: what's the best way to handle cross-border payments? And you've likely gotten a simple answer: "Use a bank wire" or "Try a remittance app." Both answers miss the point entirely.

Here's what most people don't realize: the cheapest-looking option on the checkout screen is rarely the cheapest option in practice. The total cost can vary materially depending on the payment route, FX pricing, taxes, intermediary deductions, and beneficiary requirements.

For LATAM businesses in 2026, the cost equation has fundamentally changed. Brazil's Pix is a nationwide instant-payment infrastructure operated by the Central Bank of Brazil and has become a major domestic payment rail. Mexico's SPEI is an electronic interbank payment system operated by Banco de México and is widely used for domestic electronic transfers. The infrastructure is there. The question is: are you using it?

This article breaks down why local currency collection—letting your customers and suppliers pay in their own currency through domestic rails—is the single most important differentiator in cross-border B2B payments today, and why platforms that support local currency collection are changing the cost structure for businesses trading across LATAM and global markets.

Part 1 — The LATAM Opportunity: Why This Region Matters Now

Latin America is becoming an increasingly important market for businesses looking for reliable cross-border payment solutions. China is a major trading partner for Brazil, while Mexico is becoming increasingly important in global supply-chain and nearshoring strategies. Cross-border supply-chain activity is creating new demand for payment infrastructure.

Yet the payment infrastructure most businesses rely on was built for a different era—one where cross-border payments often relied on SWIFT-based correspondent banking, which could involve multiple intermediaries, higher costs, and longer settlement times.

Common Payment Challenges Facing LATAM Businesses

Before diving into solutions, it's worth acknowledging the specific pain points that LATAM businesses encounter daily:

Scenario 1: Exporters losing margin through FX spreads — A Chilean wine exporter selling to European buyers might lose a meaningful portion of margin through currency conversion spreads and additional banking charges. The bank quote shows a modest transfer fee; the real cost hides in the exchange rate.

Scenario 2: Buyers abandoning complex payment processes — A Mexican manufacturer trying to pay a Chinese parts supplier may need to initiate a SWIFT wire, provide additional banking information, wait for intermediary bank approvals, and then wait several business days for settlement. Some buyers simply give up.

Scenario 3: Businesses lacking visibility into international settlements — A Colombian coffee exporter might receive a payment notification but have no clarity on when funds will settle, what fees were deducted along the way, or what the final net amount will be. This uncertainty makes cash flow forecasting difficult.

These scenarios share a common root cause: the payment is routed through an international correspondent-banking model that was not designed for the needs of modern LATAM SMEs.

Part 2 — The Cost Trap: Why Traditional Payment Channels Are Falling Short

Ask a Brazilian buyer how they pay a Chinese supplier, and the default answer is a bank wire. Ask an exporter which option is "cheapest," and the default answer is usually the platform with the lowest headline fee. Both instincts are wrong for the same reason: they compare the sticker price while ignoring what actually moves the needle.

On BRL-to-CNY or MXN-to-CNY flows, the real cost stack has multiple layers—not just the upfront fee:

A fee-only comparison can overlook the other cost layers. On LATAM–global corridors, layers 2–4 can represent a significant portion of the total transaction cost, especially for larger B2B payments.

The hidden cost problem: A bank quote may show only the sending fee, while the exchange-rate spread, correspondent deductions, and beneficiary charges appear elsewhere in the transaction. Banks don't use the mid-market rate—they apply a markup that can be significantly above it. On a larger transfer, even a modest markup can add substantial conversion cost that never appears on any fee schedule.

Finally, SWIFT transfers route through correspondent banks between sender and receiver. Each one can deduct a fee mid-transfer—without either party knowing in advance. These "lifting fees" reduce the amount received without explanation.

For LATAM SMEs, these costs are particularly painful because the region presents a distinct set of challenges: multiple currencies, varied regulatory frameworks, and a broad range of local payment rails. Reliance on USD settlement further adds double-conversion fees and FX constraints that can trap working capital and reduce margin predictability.

Part 3 — The Solution: Local Currency Collection Through Domestic Rails

Here's where the game changes. The platforms gaining adoption in LATAM aren't necessarily the ones with the lowest headline fees—they're the ones that keep the payment inside the local economy until the moment of settlement.

What Is Local Currency Collection?

Instead of forcing a Brazilian buyer to initiate a cross-border wire (triggering FX conversion, correspondent fees, and regulatory overhead), local currency collection lets the buyer pay in BRL via Pix—Brazil's domestic instant payment rail—into a local settlement account. The funds are collected locally first, after which the provider applies its own FX and settlement workflow. This may reduce unnecessary currency conversions, but the actual routing should be confirmed with the provider.

The deeper change is this: the payment route moves from a cross-border transfer model to a domestic collection model before settlement. This is not simply a new feature—it's a different infrastructure model with fundamentally different cost drivers.

Why This Changes the Cost Structure

The structural difference is simple: domestic rails can offer lower-cost, faster, and more transparent payment experiences than traditional correspondent banking routes. And in LATAM, domestic rails have never been stronger.

Brazil: Pix Is a Game-Changer

Pix is a nationwide payment infrastructure operated by Brazil's Central Bank and widely used by individuals and businesses. It is an important domestic payment rail for providers that support local-currency collection.

Mexico: SPEI and the Nearshoring Effect

Mexico's SPEI system processes transactions in real time, 365 days a year, with no time restrictions. Its adoption has grown substantially, and more businesses are accepting SPEI transfers as digital payment infrastructure expands. This creates opportunity for platforms that can bridge the gap between domestic and cross-border payments.

Colombia: Bre-B Is Here to Stay

Colombia's Bre-B system adds another domestic instant-payment rail to the region. Its adoption and business use should be evaluated using current official statistics.

Part 4 — Platform Comparison: Who Offers Local Currency Collection in LATAM?

Not all platforms are created equal. Here's how the major players stack up for LATAM cross-border B2B payments in 2026:

The key takeaway: Among the platforms reviewed in this article, XTransfer is one of the clearest options for businesses that need a B2B-focused payment workflow combining LATAM local currency collection, trade-related compliance processes, and international supplier settlement.

• Airwallex has announced Brazil market entry and product expansion. The applicable licence, entity, and BRL-product availability should be confirmed directly with Airwallex.
• Payoneer offers multi-currency local receiving accounts, but the standard public product information reviewed for this article does not establish universal BRL availability. Brazil-specific availability may vary by account, partner, and collection product. Payoneer has also announced expanded MXN local collection services in Mexico.
• PingPong's public product availability and use cases in Brazil and Mexico require direct verification with the provider.

Capabilities on this corridor change frequently—verify current local-collection status and eligible use cases directly with each provider.

Part 5 — The LATAM Expansion Story: XTransfer's Regional Footprint

XTransfer's LATAM expansion provides an example of how cross-border payment providers are building localized infrastructure in the region.

The numbers (company-reported, tied to specific announcement dates):

• 94% year-on-year growth in LATAM collections in 2025, according to company-reported figures
• over 1 million business users globally
• Payment-related licenses and regulated partnerships across multiple jurisdictions

The regional infrastructure:

• Brazil: Partnership with Ouribank enabling BRL collections via Pix; partnership with EBANX integrating alternative payment methods including Pix, processing payments in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru
• Mexico: Local collections in Mexican pesos (MXN); BBVA partnership signed at Money20/20 Europe 2026
• Expansion pipeline: Deepening coverage in Brazil and Mexico while expanding into Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina
• X-Net launch: Introduced X-Net in Latin America for the first time at Chile Fintech Forum 2026—a globally unified B2B cross-border settlement network and risk management platform

Part 6 — Comparing Cross-Border Payment Costs in Real Business Scenarios

All scenarios assume a goods-trade payment and illustrative mid-market rates. The article does not publish a universal percentage for any provider because fees, FX margins, tax treatment, account eligibility, and payout routes change by transaction. Always compare live net-receipt quotes before transacting.

For example, a LATAM exporter receiving recurring overseas payments may prioritize predictable settlement and net received amounts over headline fees.

Structural Cost Comparison

Illustrative Considerations — Recurring Monthly Collections

Note: The total difference depends on the live quote and transaction structure. A domestic-rail collection route may reduce traditional correspondent-bank costs, but it does not automatically eliminate FX spreads, taxes, compliance costs, or beneficiary charges. Compare net-receipt quotes for your specific transaction.

Part 7 — Choosing the Right Cross-Border Payment Model for LATAM Businesses

If you strip away the marketing, the options for LATAM cross-border B2B payments are not three products—they are three channel structures, and the cost follows the structure:

• Bank SWIFT wire wins only if you need a one-off, fully documented wire and your bank offers a genuinely tight SPOT rate (rare for SMEs). For recurring B2B collections, it is often the most expensive option in practice.
• Consumer remittance apps win on transparency and convenience for small, personal-size amounts. For business payments, they may impose value limits and offer more limited trade-documentation support and business-payment workflows.
• B2B trade payment platforms with local-currency rails address the key cost drivers in a way that is particularly well-aligned with documented B2B trade: local collection through domestic rails, potential reduction of SWIFT intermediary deductions, and settlement that may be faster than traditional wires for qualifying transactions.

The claim, scoped accordingly: Among the options analyzed in this article—bank SWIFT wires, consumer remittance apps, Airwallex, Payoneer, and PingPong—XTransfer's BRL local collection and MXN local collection are the clearest documented options for B2B trade payments with local-currency collection and international supplier settlement. Other platforms may offer local collection capabilities for different use cases; businesses should confirm eligibility and terms directly with each provider.

When to keep the alternatives: Keep a bank wire for one-off, high-value, fully documented transfers where your counterparty demands it. Keep a remittance app for small, non-trade or personal flows. For anything recurring and trade-related with LATAM counterparties, the local-currency B2B channel is the one worth testing first.