# DiMo

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/dimo
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [SINPE Móvil — BCCR](https://www.bccr.fi.cr/en/payments-system/public-services/sinpe-m%C3%B3vil)
- [BCCR Virtual Wallet](https://qcostarica.com/costa-rica-central-bank-introduces-virtual-wallet-monedero-virtual/)

## Overview

> **Note on classification.** This entry was originally bucketed as a QR standard, but dimo is **not a QR-symbol standard** — it is a phone-number-addressed transfer service. Reclassified as `Phone-based`. The wiki shows no playground because there is no QR payload to encode; the slug is retained to avoid breaking incoming links.

**DIMO** is a **Costa Rican mobile-payment product** operating within the broader **Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR)** payment-system framework, primarily on **SINPE Móvil** — Costa Rica's national mobile-payment rail launched in **2015** <sup>[1][1], [Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup>. SINPE Móvil is structurally distinctive among national mobile-payment rails — operated directly by Costa Rica's central bank, with all major Costa Rican banks (BAC San José, Banco Nacional, BCR, Banco Popular, etc.) connected. DIMO is a consumer-facing layer / product variant within this ecosystem; the BCCR has also introduced a **Virtual Wallet (Monedero Virtual)** offering for Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica, and BAC San José customers to make SINPE transfers from smartphones.

SINPE Móvil + Costa Rica's broader payment ecosystem aim at the **~35 % of population that doesn't currently use formal banking** — making this a financial-inclusion-focused infrastructure. Recent additions include **SINPE-TP** for public-transport fare payments (open-loop contactless + QR-code) and the planned **"Monedero Sinpe-TP"** dedicated transport card. Costa Rica's central-bank-direct operation of national-mobile-payment rails is structurally similar to [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr) Moldova (NBM direct), but less common than the bank-consortium-coordinated peer pattern.

## History

**Background — Costa Rican payment landscape** <sup>[Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup>:
- **Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR)** — central bank, operator of SINPE.
- **SINPE** (Sistema Nacional de Pagos Electrónicos) — national payment system.
- ~35 % of Costa Rican population unbanked.

**2015 — SINPE Móvil launches** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- BCCR launches SINPE Móvil as mobile-payment service.
- Targets retail-payment segment for small amounts.
- Enables transfers to accounts linked to mobile phones.

**Subsequent expansion** <sup>[Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup>:
- Virtual Wallet (Monedero Virtual) for major banks' customers.
- SINPE-TP for public transport.

**Recent — Monedero Sinpe-TP**:
- Costa Rica planning dedicated transport-payment card.
- Spearheaded by BCCR.

## Technical specification

DIMO / SINPE Móvil is **BCCR-operated mobile-payment rail** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Operator** | **Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR)** |
| **National system** | **SINPE Móvil** (since 2015) |
| **Currency** | CRC (Costa Rican colón) + USD support |
| **Identifier** | Mobile phone number → bank account |
| **Channels** | Bank mobile apps, BCCR Virtual Wallet |
| **Transit extension** | **SINPE-TP** (open-loop contactless + QR for public transport) |
| **Major banks** | Banco Nacional, BCR, BAC San José, Banco Popular, others |

**Phone-number-to-account mapping** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- BCCR maintains directory linking mobile phone numbers to bank accounts.
- Senders address recipients by phone number.

**SINPE-TP transit extension** <sup>[Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup>:
- Open-loop contactless cards + QR-code support for public transport.
- Planned Monedero Sinpe-TP dedicated card.

## Use cases

**P2P mobile transfers** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Send to phone number — cross-bank.

**Bill payment** <sup>[Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup>: Utilities + government services.

**Public transport (SINPE-TP)**: Bus + transit fare payment.

**Financial inclusion for unbanked** <sup>[Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup>: Virtual Wallet enables previously-unbanked access.

**Cross-bank without account-number friction** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Phone-number addressing.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Operator**: **BCCR** (Banco Central de Costa Rica).

**Major Costa Rican banks connected**:
- **Banco Nacional de Costa Rica** (state, largest).
- **Banco de Costa Rica (BCR)** (state).
- **BAC San José** (private).
- **Banco Popular** (worker cooperative).
- **Scotiabank Costa Rica**.
- **Davivienda Costa Rica** (Davivienda subsidiary).

**Transit infrastructure**: SINPE-TP partners with Costa Rican public transport operators.

## Fun facts

- **BCCR-direct operation**: Costa Rica's central bank operates SINPE directly — structurally similar to [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr) Moldova (NBM direct). Most peer central banks delegate to bank-consortium or NPO operators.
- **35 % unbanked target**: BCCR's Virtual Wallet explicitly targets financial-inclusion for ~35 % of population without formal banking.
- **SINPE since 2015**: Among Latin America's earlier national mobile-payment rails — predates [Pix](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/pix) Brazil (2020).
- **SINPE-TP transit**: Dedicated transit-payment infrastructure illustrates SINPE's expansion beyond pure retail payments.
- **Limited public DIMO-specific documentation**: DIMO appears to be a specific product within the broader SINPE Móvil ecosystem; English-language documentation focuses primarily on the broader BCCR/SINPE infrastructure.
- **Davivienda Costa Rica connection**: Davivienda (operator of [Daviplata](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/daviplata) in Colombia) operates a Costa Rican subsidiary — bringing similar mobile-money expertise.

## Comparison

| Feature | DIMO/SINPE Móvil (CR) | [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr) (MD) | [PayNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/paynow-qr) (SG) | [Pix](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/pix) (BR) | [MACH](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mach) (CL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **BCCR (central bank direct)** | NBM (central bank direct) | ABS (banks) | BCB (central bank rail) | Banco Bci (commercial bank) |
| Launch | 2015 | Mar 2024 | Jul 2017 | Nov 2020 | 2017 |
| Identifier | Mobile phone | Mobile phone + NRIC + UEN | Mobile phone | Aliases | App-based |
| Transit integration | **SINPE-TP** | n/a | EZ-Link | n/a | n/a |
| Population reach | Growing | 900K (~50 % MD adults) | Universal | 159M unique users | 4.2M+ (22 % CL) |

## Status

**Active, BCCR-coordinated Costa Rican payment infrastructure** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- **BCCR direct operator**.
- **SINPE Móvil since 2015**.
- **Virtual Wallet** + **SINPE-TP** + **Monedero Sinpe-TP** (planned).
- **All major Costa Rican banks** participating.
- **Financial-inclusion mission** for ~35 % unbanked.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.bccr.fi.cr/en/payments-system/public-services/sinpe-m%C3%B3vil "SINPE Móvil — BCCR"
[2]: https://qcostarica.com/costa-rica-central-bank-introduces-virtual-wallet-monedero-virtual/ "BCCR Virtual Wallet"
[3]: https://www.transfi.com/blog/costa-ricas-payment-rails-how-they-work---sinpe-mobile-payments-instant-transfers "Costa Rica payment rails — TransFi"

- [1] [SINPE Móvil — BCCR][1]
- [2] [BCCR Virtual Wallet][2]
- [3] [Costa Rica payment rails — TransFi][3]
- <sup>[Costa Rica report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CR)</sup> `reports/countries/CR-costa-rica.md`

## Deployments

Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`):

- **MX** — [MX-mexico.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MX)