QR Codes And Mobile Wallets Are Changing How Ecuador Pays

What happened

Electronic payments are becoming more common in Ecuador, from QR-code payments to mobile wallets, payment buttons, card apps, and instant interbank transfers.

The Banco Central del Ecuador said greater use of electronic payment methods influenced a lower preference for cash in 2025. Savings-account cash withdrawals from private-bank channels fell from USD 42.060 billion in 2024 to USD 32.669 billion in 2025, a 22% drop.

The number of cash-withdrawal operations did not fall. It rose slightly from 371.01 million in 2024 to 374.69 million in 2025.

Digital channels are scaling

Point-of-sale and electronic payment channels billed USD 6.499 billion from January through May 2026, up from USD 4.8029 billion in the same period of 2024. That is a 35% increase in two years.

Card payment volume also rose. Credit, debit, and prepaid-card payment volume increased from USD 8.327 billion from January through May 2024 to USD 9.811 billion in the same period of 2026, an 18% increase.

Banred processed 268 million immediate interbank transfers in 2025, 99 million more than the year before, a 58% increase. Asobanca's 2024 study counted 1.790 billion banking transactions, equivalent to 57 operations per second, moving USD 535.843 billion.

Digital channels represented 67.7% of transaction count and 67% of the amount moved. The mobile channel had more than 970 million transactions, equal to 54.2% of the total.

Apps and wallets to know

Several names matter in the market.

DeUna began operating in 2020 and had more than 6 million users and more than 620,000 affiliated merchants by April 2026. From April, DeUna enabled merchants to accept debit and credit cards directly from a cell phone without a dataphone.

Produbanco enabled QR-code payments and collections in May 2026. In two months, the function reached about 10% of its target public, and activity among users of the service increased 30%.

PanaPay, a Coonecta Red Transaccional digital wallet, launched in December 2025 with three cooperatives. It now includes 10 cooperatives and 3,000 affiliated merchants.

What This Means for Expats

This is good news if you hate carrying cash for every errand. It is also a reminder that Ecuador is not moving uniformly. A polished restaurant, supermarket, pharmacy, or clinic may accept several digital options. A rural business or informal stand may still be cash-only.

For everyday life, the practical setup is mixed: keep a local bank account, debit card, and mobile-transfer option if possible, but do not stop carrying small bills. If you travel outside major cities, cash still solves problems that apps cannot.

The direction is clear, though. More Ecuador merchants are learning to accept digital payments, and more customers are getting used to paying from a phone.

Source: El Universo.