# Payment Gateways in Costa Rica

> Card and wallet payments for transfers in Costa Rica: Stripe and Airwallex in TransferArc, with account rules and setup compared.

https://www.transferarc.com/countries/costa-rica

Costa Rica’s shuttle and private-transfer operators move tourists between San José, Liberia and the beaches and volcanoes. A Costa Rican company can open an Airwallex account locally and take cards and wallets through TransferArc.

## In short

- 2 gateways work in TransferArc for Costa Rica: Stripe and Airwallex.
- A company registered in Costa Rica can open a Airwallex account locally. Stripe would need an entity in a country it serves.
- PayPal is not available because PayPal does not accept CRC.

## How Costa Rica pays

- **Currency**: Costa Rican colón (CRC)
- **Central bank**: Banco Central de Costa Rica
- **Local instant payments**: SINPE Móvil
- **Main airports**: San José (SJO), Liberia (LIR)

Tourism drives transfers in Costa Rica: visitors land in San José or Liberia and need shuttles or private cars to Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio and the Guanacaste beaches. Almost all of them pay with foreign cards, booked before the trip.

Airwallex lists Costa Rica as a supported registration location. Stripe does not open accounts for Costa Rican companies, and PayPal does not accept CRC, so an operator pricing in colones connects Airwallex. SINPE Móvil, used by residents, is not offered through the gateways in TransferArc.

## Payment gateways for Costa Rica in TransferArc

- **Stripe** (International gateways): Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Needs an account registered in a country the gateway serves. https://www.transferarc.com/payment-gateways/stripe
- **Airwallex** (International gateways): Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, WeChat Pay. Companies registered here can open an account. https://www.transferarc.com/payment-gateways/airwallex

## Where online payment helps operators in Costa Rica

- **Shuttles between destinations**: Shared vans between Arenal, Monteverde and the coast, paid at booking.
- **Airport transfers**: SJO and LIR pickups for tour groups and families.
- **Private drivers**: Multi-day driver hire for independent travellers.

## Which gateway to pick in Costa Rica

- **Visitors from Asia or multi-currency**: Airwallex: cards, wallets, Alipay and WeChat Pay on its Hosted Payment Page.
- **No PayPal**: PayPal does not accept CRC; use a card gateway.

## Sources and verification

- https://stripe.com/global
- https://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4408591334937
- Central bank or regulator: Banco Central de Costa Rica (https://www.bccr.fi.cr/)
- Last verified 2026-11-11

## Frequently asked questions.

### Which payment gateways can a transfer company in Costa Rica use in TransferArc?

Stripe and Airwallex. They are connected under Finance → Online payments with your own merchant account.

### Can a company registered in Costa Rica open a Stripe account?

No. Costa Rica is not on Stripe’s list of supported countries; Airwallex accepts companies registered there.

### Can a Costa Rican company price in US dollars?

TransferArc charges in your company currency; a company set up in CRC takes colones, and cards from abroad are converted by the issuer.

Request a demo: https://www.transferarc.com/contact