iGB Q&A: Building differently in LatAm’s payments future
Summary
Edward Chandler, CEO of OKTO, outlines how the company is tackling the unique complexity of Latin American payments — particularly in iGaming — by being “AI-native” and focusing on operational precision. OKTO’s approach, called Precision Mode, prioritises a narrowed set of high-conversion local payment methods, real-time settlement, AI-driven risk and reconciliation, and compliance-by-design. The platform emphasises faster onboarding, resilient infrastructure and treasury tools to help merchants scale across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile.
Key Points
- LatAm is now a proving ground for next-era payments: fragmented regulation and local preferences demand specialised solutions.
- OKTO’s “Precision Mode” focuses on excellence in core capabilities (instant pay-ins/payouts, settlement, liquidity and reconciliation) rather than offering every method.
- Being AI-native delivers practical benefits: predictive fraud detection, automated KYC/KYB, smarter routing and faster onboarding (up to ~60% quicker reported).
- Compliance-by-design lets merchants pivot quickly when local rules change — from hours rather than months.
- OKTO processed over €6 billion across LatAm in H1, launched 10 local methods and improved acceptance rates for partners (example: ~3 percentage-point uplift for a Brazilian iGaming client).
- The next major disruption will be the convergence of instant payments, embedded finance and AI-driven personalisation (PIX, SPEI, CVU and other local rails leading the shift).
- OKTO emphasises merchant-driven product development through Merchant Excellence Pods that translate operator KPIs into engineering priorities.
- Real-time settlement, intelligent failover and high-volume, low-latency infrastructure are core to maintaining uptime during peak events.
Content summary
Chandler argues that winners in LatAm will be those who combine localisation, frictionless onboarding and instant payouts with rigorous compliance. OKTO’s strategy is to embed AI across its stack, focus engineering on the essentials that drive conversion, and build compliance into the platform architecture so merchants can expand rapidly across borders. The firm has already demonstrated commercial impact through improved acceptance rates, faster go-to-market and expanded treasury and FX capabilities.
Context and Relevance
This interview is important for operators and payments teams targeting LatAm: it summarises how local instant rails (PIX, SPEI, CVU) plus AI and tighter treasury controls are reshaping acceptance, cost and player experience. For iGaming — where trust, speed and uptime directly affect revenue — the trends Chandler describes indicate a broader industry shift away from legacy card rails toward local payment methods and real-time settlement.
Author style
Punchy — the piece cuts through the noise to spotlight practical engineering and compliance choices that deliver measurable merchant outcomes. If you work in payments or LatAm markets, this is directly actionable insight, not abstract theory.
Why should I read this?
Quick and useful: if you’re scaling payments in Brazil, Mexico or elsewhere in LatAm, this interview tells you what actually moves the needle — local rails, AI for ops and reconciliation, and compliance baked into the product. Saves you time by highlighting where to focus engineering and commercial effort to win market share.