QCOSTARICA -On December 31, 2023, all businesses must have ‘datafonos’ (card reader or point-of-sale terminal) that require a PIN or password, as a security measure, on purchases exceeding ¢50,000 colones.
It may be higher at some businesses, as it is now at retailers with high volume sales such as Pricesmart, for example.
According to the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), the international trend is to use reinforced customer authentication methods, including the PIN, in order to provide greater security to protect customers and businesses in card transactions.
As of September 30, 2023, some 75,000 dataphones were updated, meaning they require the PIN.
The Central Bank indicated that those businesses that do not yet have their datafonos updated must ask their financial institution to make the adjustment, otherwise, they will face problems processing the transactions of cardholders who do not know the PIN or password of their card. The change of equipment should not entail any additional cost to the business.