Fast payments and banking: Costa Rica’s SINPE Móvil

Launched in 2015, the Costa Rican retail fast payment system SINPE Móvil has seen rapid adoption since 2020. As of 2025, >80% of the Costa Rica´s population older than 15 are active users, accumulating >65 million transactions each month. Higher SINPE Móvil use has been related to lower cash withdrawals, a greater number of users and lower average transaction values, suggesting SINPE Móvil has carved a prominent place in retail payments. With a synthetic controls approach comparing Costa Rica to peer countries, we show that wide adoption of SINPE Móvil led to lower non-interest expenses by Costa Rican banks after the pandemic. This suggests that payments innovation can enhance bank efficiency.