Brazil's card market has a deeply rooted installment (parcelamento) culture, where a 2-to-12-installment option often determines the purchase decision for higher-priced items. Elo is a domestic card network jointly established by Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, and Caixa in 2011, issuing a wide range of debit, credit, and prepaid cards and holding a strong grip on the local-only card user base. If you only enable international brands, this customer segment's payments drop off at the approval stage.

For online merchants with high average order values and strong installment demand — such as fashion, electronics, and ticketing — and for own-site stores targeting a middle-aged-to-older customer base with a high share of card payments, accepting Elo directly stops the leakage of card revenue. Deploying it alongside Pix lets you cover both real-time-transfer users and installment-preference users.

When a consumer enters their Elo card details at checkout, the transaction is approved in real time after online identity verification such as the issuing bank's 3-D Secure authentication, and at this point the consumer can choose to pay in a single payment or in installments (parcelamento). Hecto Financial receives the approved funds in BRL, converts them, and settles them in the contracted currency among USD, KRW, or JPY. Even for installment transactions, the merchant settlement terms are set separately according to the contract.

Through Hecto Financial's integration, merchants in Korea can consider accepting Elo cards without entering into a direct acquiring contract in Brazil. Because card-based methods come with industry restrictions and chargeback policies, it's a good idea to confirm the range of supported installment terms and dispute-handling procedures before signing the contract.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for merchants registered in Korea

• Sales channel

  The integration method and priorities differ depending on your online sales channel mix, such as your own site, open marketplaces, or mobile apps

• Product category

  Confirm in advance whether your category falls under restricted industries per ELO's operator merchant policy

• Local regulatory compliance

  Confirm compliance with Brazil's payment and foreign exchange regulations (see official sources below)

Elo card sales are received in BRL, converted, and settled in the currency chosen in the contract among USD, KRW, or JPY. Even if the consumer chooses installments, the settlement method follows the contract terms first. Card refunds are processed as cancellations of the original transaction, and since canceling an installment transaction can take time to reflect across each billing cycle, it's good practice to inform customers of the expected refund timeframe.

• Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil)Official information on Brazil's payment systems and related regulations. If this page's content differs from the actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.