When people ask us why Mayanor is so focused on Costa Rica, the answer is simple: no other country in the region offers such a powerful combination of mobile payment infrastructure, existing customers, and favorable conditions for digital innovation.
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‍‍Launched by the Central Bank of Costa Rica in 2015, Sinpe Móvil allows users to make electronic transfers directly from their bank accounts using just a phone number. It’s interoperable across all major financial institutions, supports SMS, mobile apps, online banking, and ATMs, and has become second nature for Costa Ricans. By 2024, 76% of adults were active Sinpe Móvil users, and 92% had access to at least one fund account, according to the World Bank.

This central bank-led system puts Costa Rica years ahead of most of Latin America, where payment ecosystems are often fragmented or dominated by a few big players. As José Miguel Zamora, President of Costa Rica’s Fintech Association, told us:
“Costa Rica is a stress test every fintech dreams of,” says José Miguel Zamora, President of Costa Rica’s Fintech Association. “If a solution works here, it will likely work anywhere in LATAM.”

That’s why Mayanor, through its daughter company Olanzo, chose Costa Rica as its starting point. Mayanor’s Olanzo solution integrates directly with Sinpe Móvil, offering a platform that blends payment initiation services with marketing and loyalty tools. Unlike wallets that hold customer funds, Mayanor’s technology works within the country’s highly regulated system, helping businesses move from simple transactions to full customer relationships.

And there’s a clear market need.

“The payment rails are mature in Costa Rica, but the loyalty layer is still wide open,” explains José. “The concept of loyalty is still a bit immature. Each store does its own thing… there’s a clear opportunity for a better solution.”

Most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rely on outdated or fragmented loyalty efforts such as punch cards, single-store cashback offers, or bank-tied benefits that don’t scale. Mayanor steps in to bridge this gap.

Mayanor already has several paying customers in Costa Rica through white-label partners, proving that there’s real demand for solutions that help SMEs track customers (with consent), offer rewards, and drive repeat business, all without disrupting the existing payment system.

Beyond the payments story, Costa Rica itself offers uniquely favorable conditions for digital-first companies, adding to the reasons that Mayanor has set its sights on this country.

Costa Rica offers: 

• One of the highest GDPs per capita in Latin America ($14,168 in 2023)
• A projected 3.9% growth rate in 2024 (IMF)
• Over 150% mobile phone penetration (ITU)
• Ranked 39th globally on the 2023 Global Peace Index, making it one of the safest countries in the region

As José adds, “Costa Rica’s combination of advanced infrastructure and market gaps makes it the perfect proving ground for innovation.”

For Mayanor, this isn’t just a test market. It’s the first step toward transforming how payments and loyalty work across Latin America.

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