PagSeguro

PagSeguro: A Merchant-Focused Overview Of Cross-Border Payments For Latin America

PagSeguro is PagBank’s international division and provides payment acceptance and payout capabilities designed for merchants selling into Latin America and selected markets outside the region. The platform combines localized payment methods, multi-currency processing, and multiple integration approaches, from a hosted checkout to APIs that support custom payment forms, tokenization, subscriptions, and pre-authorization flows. For merchants, the core value proposition is operational coverage: access to local payment methods and local currencies in multiple countries, with settlement options designed for cross-border business models.

PagSeguro Overview

PagSeguro operates as the international arm of PagBank (NYSE: PAGS). The international division was formerly known as BoaCompra and was acquired by PagBank in 2012, later rebranded as PagSeguro. PagSeguro positions its international offering around cross-border payment processing into Latin America and supports a global merchant audience through a combination of product options, regional operational support, and localized buyer experiences.

Operational metrics disclosed by PagSeguro International include more than 250 employees, more than 20 years of experience, 9 offices worldwide, more than 15 million end-customers, and more than 300 merchants.

PagSeguro Coverage And Where It Can Be Used

For merchants, coverage should be evaluated at three levels: supported countries, supported currencies, and payment-method availability by market.

Supported Countries

PagSeguro’s developer hub and reference documentation list coverage across multiple geographies, including Latin America plus selected markets in North and Central America and Europe. Supported countries include:

• Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay

• North and Central America: Mexico, United States, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic

• Europe: Greece, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey

Supported Transaction Currencies

PagSeguro provides a published list of supported currencies (ISO 4217) that may be used in transactions, with availability varying by country and payment method. The supported currency list includes: ARS, BOB, BRL, CLP, COP, CRC, DOP, EUR, GTQ, MXN, NIO, PEN, PYG, RON, TRY, USD, UYU.

Payment Methods And Acceptance Capabilities

PagSeguro supports a broad set of payment method categories and method enums intended for integration and routing of local and international payment flows. At a category level, it supports:

• Credit cards and debit cards

• Digital wallets

• Electronic funds transfer (EFT) and online bank transfers (OBT)

• Post-payment and prepaid method types (as defined in its payment method taxonomy)

In practical terms, PagSeguro’s published method coverage includes a mix of international card brands, local card schemes, wallets, and local methods such as Pix and boleto (Brazil), Oxxo (Mexico), and PSE (Colombia), among others. Payment method availability can be country-specific, and merchants should validate which methods apply to each supported market in their intended integration.

Integration Options For Different Merchant Models

PagSeguro provides multiple integration paths that align to different merchant capabilities and compliance profiles. The same merchant can mix approaches depending on country, use case, and operational needs.

Hosted Checkout And Payment Page Flows

PagSeguro offers a hosted checkout option (Payment Page) where the customer is redirected to PagSeguro’s payment page to complete the purchase. This approach is positioned as a simpler path because sensitive data handling and protection are managed by PagSeguro.

PagSeguro’s Payment Page API documentation also highlights an API-led hosted checkout approach, including tools for creating a checkout, checking transaction status, requesting refunds, and searching transactions by period.

Direct API And Custom Checkout Experiences

For merchants that want the customer to complete payment without leaving the merchant’s environment, PagSeguro supports a Direct API approach with tokenization support for recurring payments. The developer hub describes the International Payin API as supporting custom payment forms, tokenization, subscriptions, and pre-authorization flows, enabling merchants to keep full control over the user experience.

PagSeguro also documents token-based card processing approaches, including token generation via a JavaScript library for credit card tokenization, designed to help merchants avoid storing sensitive card data while maintaining a PCI-aligned integration path. The Payin API documentation also includes Card on File support, enabling one-click purchases for returning customers and automated billing for subscriptions and recurring services.

Payment Links For Low-Development Or No-Website Use Cases

PagSeguro offers a payment link model where a merchant can create a payment page in a few clicks and share a link with customers. This option is explicitly positioned as requiring no integration and no website, supporting selling via channels such as social media or messaging platforms.

E-Commerce Plugins

PagSeguro also references e-commerce plugin availability in its official content, including plugins for WooCommerce and Magento, with Shopify described as “coming soon” in the same material. For merchants already operating on supported platforms, plugins may reduce implementation effort relative to a full custom integration.

Settlement, Payouts, And Cross-Border Operations

Settlement Timing And Settlement Currencies

For payment processing, PagSeguro describes an international settlement model where merchants can be paid monthly or weekly and receive settlement in USD, EUR, or GBP into an account “anywhere in the world.” This is relevant for merchants that want to avoid local entity complexity and reconcile cross-border sales into a small number of settlement currencies.

Payouts For Vendors, Partners, And Affiliate Networks

PagSeguro provides a Payout capability designed to automate vendor or affiliate payments via API or dashboard, with support for payout methods such as Pix, bank transfers, and wallets (availability depends on the model and market). For Brazil-focused payout flows, PagSeguro promotes instant transfers in local currency via Pix and also references the use of a dashboard (“My Account”) as an alternative to API integration.

The Payout API documentation also describes business onboarding and verification (KYC/KYB) as a prerequisite for integration and highlights data validation requirements that align to local standards (for example, CPF/CNPJ data requirements for Brazil).

Risk, Fraud, And Compliance Considerations

Fraud And Chargeback Controls

PagSeguro describes a proprietary risk management system using machine learning with anti-fraud and anti-risk features intended to reduce fraud and chargebacks. In its official materials, PagSeguro also references “Smart Fraud Prevention” and positions it as a toolset that helps decrease fraud occurrences while minimizing false positives.

Additionally, PagSeguro describes support for refunds and references integrated refund capabilities that can help prevent chargeback disputes by enabling automated refund processes, including partial or total refunds depending on the flow and integration.

3D Secure Support

PagSeguro provides a documented 3D Secure (3DS) flow for credit card transactions in its International Payin API materials. The described approach assumes the merchant performs authentication via an external MPI provider and submits the 3DS authentication data alongside the payment request.

AML Screening And Sanctions Checks For Payouts

PagSeguro’s legal and compliance content includes an AML and anti-terrorism financing policy that outlines principles and procedures intended to prevent the misuse of its services for money laundering or terrorism financing. For payouts, PagSeguro states that transactions undergo AML-CFT analysis and references checking names against the OFAC sanctions list as part of that analysis.

PCI And Data Security Posture

PagSeguro states PCI DSS compliance in multiple official materials. Its API documentation further differentiates integration approaches based on PCI scope, including methods intended to keep sensitive data from touching merchant servers via tokenization or encrypted approaches.

Industries And Typical Use Cases

PagSeguro positions its merchant offering as relevant for multiple cross-border and digital-first verticals, including:

• Digital goods

• SaaS

• Marketplaces and shared economy platforms (including payouts to workers or partners)

• Retail cross-border e-commerce

• Social media and streaming monetization models

• Online gaming and betting

For merchants evaluating fit, the most direct alignment is typically found where localized payment methods are essential for conversion, and where payouts to recipients in Brazil or Latin America are part of the operating model.

Conclusion

PagSeguro provides a cross-border merchant payments stack built around localized payment acceptance in Latin America, multi-country coverage, and multiple integration models ranging from low-development payment links to APIs that support custom checkout experiences. For merchants, its practical strengths are method diversity, documented support for tokenization and recurring billing patterns, and settlement and payout options designed for cross-border operating models. As with any multi-market PSP, deployment planning should start with country-by-country validation of supported methods, currencies, and the integration approach that best matches the merchant’s compliance scope and customer experience requirements.