Digital โคWallets Threaten โCredit Card Dominanceโค in Peru’s Booming ecommerceโ Market
LIMA, Peru – Credit cards, โขlong the king of Peruvian ecommerce, face a growing challenge from digital wallets as transaction volume shifts dramatically toward the convenient, mobile-based paymentโ method. While cards still lead โคin total amountโ spent, digital โwallets now โaccount for a majority of โคtransactions – 59.2% โขofโ the 988 million operations in the first nine months โof the year – and are projectedโข to surpass cards in overall volumeโ by 2026, according to the Peruvian chamber of Commerce (CAPECE).
This surge in wallet usage, driven by โคplatforms โlike โYape and Plin, signals aโฃ essential change โin โconsumerโ behavior. Theโ total volume traded in ecommerce reached โข$19.9 billion, โฃwith wallets โalready responsible for $7.1 billion. thoughโ debit cards represent 32.8% and credit cards 5.5% of transactions,โข the โtrend indicates a move towardsโ smaller, โฃmore frequent purchases. Despite cards currently handlingโ $11.9โข billion of the $19.9 billion total – $6.7 โขbillion debit and $5.2 billion credit – CAPECE emphasizes the momentum is withโข wallets.โฃ
The shift โขis fueled by purchases of digital โservices, basic services, games, โand tickets, with increasing adoption in retail through โmarketplaces and payment buttons. โฃThis growth โฃhas โalso lowered the averageโ ecommerce โฃticketโ price, dropping from S/ 200 in 2024 to S/ 180โ in โ2025, โขas users make โmore frequent, lower-value purchases. Currently, credit cardsโฃ boastโฃ the โhighest average ticket at S/ 324, while digital wallets average just S/ 50. Specialists aren’tโฃ concerned by the lower โticket, viewing it โคas a sign of a more dynamic userโฃ base โคfocusedโ on โฃcategories like telecommunications, basic services, and food delivery.