Tarjetas Peruanas Prepago, issuer of the digital solutions Ligo and LigoPay, has been selected by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru to participate in the first pilot of the country’s forthcoming Retail Payments Platform. The initiative represents a major step toward modernizing Peru’s payment rails, drawing inspiration from the Unified Payments Interface model that transformed digital transactions in India. By entering the pilot’s first group, Ligo and LigoPay are positioning themselves at the front line of a system designed to deliver faster, simpler, and fully interoperable payments nationwide.
Background: Building a New Retail Payments Infrastructure
The Retail Payments Platform, known as PPM, is designed as a shared national system that connects banks, fintechs, and electronic money issuers on equal footing. Inspired by the UPI framework, the platform aims to enable real-time transfers, QR payments, and alias-based transactions for both consumers and businesses. In Peru, the goal is to replicate the efficiency and scale of the UPI model while adapting it to local market realities, regulatory structures, and existing financial behavior.
This effort follows a period of design and planning that included adapting UPI’s architecture to Peru’s technical and legal environment. The central bank has worked on defining governance models and interoperability standards to ensure that institutions of all sizes can participate under uniform rules. The PPM will complement Peru’s existing clearing and settlement systems, focusing on high-volume, low-value retail transactions where speed and simplicity are essential.
Ligo and LigoPay’s Role in the Pilot
Ligo, a Peruvian digital wallet, and LigoPay, a B2B payments platform, are both operated by Tarjetas Peruanas Prepago. With the company’s selection for the first pilot cohort, the two solutions will play a direct role in shaping the platform’s early testing and user experience. This participation gives TPP early access to integration processes, allowing the company to build new capabilities that reflect the performance, security, and interoperability requirements of the PPM.
Ligo is expected to incorporate real-time person to person transfers, person to merchant payments, interoperable QR codes, and alias-based functions once connected to the platform. LigoPay will focus on enabling merchants and enterprises to process and reconcile payments with greater speed and fewer steps, using the same shared national infrastructure. The combination of consumer and enterprise reach makes TPP an important participant in evaluating how the system performs across different transaction types.
A Push for Faster, Simpler, Interoperable Payments
One of the central objectives of the PPM is to eliminate fragmentation between wallets and financial institutions by allowing all connected entities to send and receive payments seamlessly. Users will no longer need to navigate compatibility issues between providers, as the system will operate on uniform standards and shared technical rails. This shift is expected to create a national QR code that works everywhere and instant transfers that function across any connected account.
The platform also supports alias-based payments, reducing reliance on complex account identifiers and making transactions more intuitive. Users and merchants will benefit from faster settlement times, fewer operational steps, and simpler payment requests. For businesses, the unified infrastructure could reduce friction at the point of sale and streamline back-office operations involved in payment tracking and reconciliation.
Project Timeline and Implementation Roadmap
The project has completed its first phase, which focused on translating the UPI model to Peru’s regulatory and market realities. The second phase, currently underway, centers on technological development and industry-wide testing. The controlled pilot, which will involve TPP and other selected participants, is scheduled to begin in December 2026.
During the pilot phase, Ligo and LigoPay will undergo supervised integration with the live system to validate operational readiness, user experience, and security measures. Outcomes from this stage will guide refinement of rules, APIs, and operational procedures before the platform expands to more entities. TPP has stated that it will collaborate closely with the central bank and industry stakeholders to ensure that the transition is secure, gradual, and beneficial for users across Peru.
The decision to include Ligo and LigoPay in the first PPM pilot underscores Peru’s ambition to build a modern, interoperable payment system capable of supporting millions of daily transactions. By integrating both consumer and enterprise-focused solutions into the national infrastructure, Tarjetas Peruanas Prepago is preparing to deliver meaningful improvements in speed, simplicity, and accessibility. If the pilot proceeds as planned, the initiative could mark a turning point in how Peruvians pay, get paid, and participate in the digital economy.