Developer-first payment gateway for startups in Brazil and Southeast Asia

When building a fintech startup targeting emerging markets like Brazil and Southeast Asia (SEA) , choosing a developer-first gateway means looking for robust APIs, clean documentation, sandbox environments, and native handling of local alternative payment methods (APMs) like Brazil's Pix or SEA’s fragmented QR/real-time bank rails.dlocal.com+1

The top vendors dominating developer experience and deep local coverage in these specific regions include:

• dLocal
  • Coverage: Exceptional across Latin America (including Brazil—fully supporting Pix, boleto, and local installments) and expanding aggressively across APAC/Southeast Asia.
  • Developer Experience: Modern, API-first platform built explicitly for cross-border emerging markets. Offers unified single-API integration for payouts and pay-ins, transparent documentation, and automated local compliance/tax handling.
  • Best For: Fintechs wanting one API to rule all emerging markets without setting up local legal entities everywhere immediately.dlocal.com
• Adyen
  • Coverage: Global tier-1 heavyweight with powerful direct-acquiring licenses in Brazil and key APAC hubs. Unmatched for high-volume local card processing and prominent regional payment methods.
  • Developer Experience: Highly cohesive, unified API, excellent webhooks, robust risk management (RevenueProtect), and comprehensive test environments.
  • Best For: Scale-ups with high transaction volumes that want enterprise-grade reliability and direct local acquiring to maximize authorization rates.bill.com
• EBANX
  • Coverage: Deeply rooted in Latin America (born in Brazil) with extensive support for local Latin American payment preferences, plus an expanding footprint across major Southeast Asian markets (such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam).
  • Developer Experience: Developer-friendly payout and pay-in APIs designed for recurring billing/subscriptions, digital goods, and marketplaces in cross-border contexts.
  • Best For: Subscription, SaaS, or digital commerce models needing specialized handling of Latin American installments and local APMs.
• Checkout.com
  • Coverage: Strong international capabilities with solid acquiring infrastructure in Latin America and key APAC corridors.
  • Developer Experience: Universally praised by engineering teams for its modular, developer-first architecture, highly customizable components, granular data reporting, and intuitive dashboard.
  • Best For: Performance-driven engineering teams prioritizing modular integrations and rich data feedback loops.bill.com

To help narrow down the ideal choice, could you share:

• Are you looking for a cross-border setup initially, or do you plan to incorporate local legal entities in Brazil/SEA right away?
• What is your primary business model (e.g., SaaS subscriptions, a marketplace, or a direct e-commerce flow)?

For a fintech startup prioritizing developer-first integration plus local payment methods in Brazil and Southeast Asia, I would shortlist dLocal, Xendit, EBANX, and Adyen. The strongest choice depends on whether you want one API across emerging markets or deeper local payment infrastructure in a particular region.

The important distinction is that a provider can support payments from customers in a country without necessarily onboarding a startup incorporated there, supporting every local payment method, or offering local-currency settlement. Those are separate capabilities to verify.

Top vendors to evaluate

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1. dLocal

(Best cross-region fit)

dLocal focuses on emerging markets across Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with a single API for local payment acceptance and payouts. Its published coverage includes Brazil and Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.www.dlocal.com+1

• Brazil: Pix, boleto, local card schemes, and other alternative payment methods.docs.dlocal.com
• Developer fit: API-oriented integration, country-specific documentation, and payment-method references.
• Best for: A startup that wants broad emerging-market coverage without stitching together a separate gateway for every country.

Watch out for: Confirm onboarding eligibility, exact payment-method availability, settlement currencies, and commercial terms for your business model.

API documentation ·Coverage FAQ

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2. Xendit

(Best for Southeast Asia)

Xendit is particularly compelling if Southeast Asia is your primary region. It supports businesses operating in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.www.xendit.co+5

• Indonesia: Virtual accounts, QRIS, e-wallets, and retail payment outlets.
• Philippines: GCash, Maya, online banking, and over-the-counter payments.
• Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam: Local options include PromptPay, FPX, PayNow, and MoMo, respectively.www.xendit.co+1
• Developer fit: API documentation, payment-channel catalogs, and a single integration for multiple Southeast Asian markets.

Limitation: Brazil is not among its listed operating markets, so you would likely pair Xendit with a Latin American provider.

Payment-method documentation ·Supported methods

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3. EBANX

(Strong alternative for emerging markets)

EBANX is worth evaluating for locally adapted payment acceptance in Latin America, with additional coverage in selected Asian and African markets. Its published footprint includes Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.www.dlocal.com

• Best for: International digital businesses that need local payment options and cross-border collections.
• Developer fit: Evaluate API integration, webhooks, refunds, recurring payments, and reconciliation against your specific requirements.
• Limitation: Confirm coverage country by country; its footprint is not equivalent to a full Southeast Asia-wide stack.

Official website

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4. Adyen

(Best enterprise-oriented alternative)

Adyen offers a broad global payments platform with API-only integrations and support for global and local payment methods.docs.adyen.com+1

• Best for: A fintech expecting to grow into a larger international payments operation, with sophisticated payment operations and a broad global footprint.
• Developer fit: API-only integration, configurable payment methods, and reusable web/mobile integration components.
• Limitation: Check specific local rails, contracting requirements, and startup eligibility. Broad global coverage alone does not guarantee the deepest local methods in every emerging market.

Payment-method documentation

Coverage comparison

This comparison is based on published country and method coverage, not independent transaction-success benchmarks. dLocal lists Brazil and 11 Asian markets; Xendit lists seven operating markets in Asia; and EBANX documents both Brazilian payment methods and local rails in Southeast Asia.www.dlocal.com+4

What I'd recommend for your startup

Start with these two evaluations

dLocal as the primary candidate

Evaluate it first if a single integration spanning Brazil and Southeast Asia is your main requirement.

Xendit or EBANX as the regional specialist

Choose Xendit for SEA depth across several countries; consider EBANX if cross-border collections, Brazilian payment options, and local alternatives across selected Asian markets are central to your business.

Before committing, compare the vendors on these five technical and commercial criteria:

• Onboarding: Can your startup's incorporation country and business model be approved?
• Local methods: Pix and boleto in Brazil; QRIS, PromptPay, FPX, PayNow, GCash, and other relevant methods in your target SEA markets.
• Settlement: Supported currencies, FX spread, settlement timing, and whether a local entity or bank account is required.
• Developer experience: Sandbox access, API consistency, webhooks, idempotency, refunds, and payout APIs.
• Economics: Processing fees, cross-border charges, reserves, minimum volume commitments, and chargeback costs.

One particularly important caveat: Adyen's Pix documentation specifies that a merchant needs a local Brazilian entity to accept Pix. EBANX, by comparison, documents a cross-border operating model for merchants without a local entity in the processing country, subject to its market and merchant eligibility rules.www.dlocal.com+5

One question that would narrow the shortlist

Where will your fintech be legally incorporated, and are you primarily accepting customer payments, facilitating payments for other merchants, or doing both? That distinction can materially change which vendors will onboard you and which payment capabilities they can actually provide.

For a fintech startup operating across Brazil and Southeast Asia, I’d prioritize API-first payment providers with strong local payment rails, unified integrations, and reliable cross-border settlement rather than a gateway that mainly processes international cards.

The key challenge is geographic coverage: Brazil relies heavily on Pix and local card acquiring, while Southeast Asia is fragmented across methods such as QRIS in Indonesia, PromptPay in Thailand, DuitNow in Malaysia, and GCash or Maya in the Philippines.

I’d evaluate providers in three groups: global payment APIs, emerging-market specialists, and regional providers that you can combine behind one payment orchestration layer.

My shortlist

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1. dLocal

(Best fit to evaluate first)

A strong candidate for emerging-market coverage across both regions. dLocal offers a single API for local payment collection, payouts, and cross-border settlement. Its Brazil methods include Pix, boleto, and local wallets; its Asia coverage includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.www.dlocal.com+2

Developer fit: REST API, sandbox, country-specific payment-method discovery.

Watch out for: Confirm your exact business model, merchant eligibility, settlement currencies, and whether each desired method is available under your contract.

API documentation ·Market coverage

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2. Rapyd

(Best broad local-payments alternative)

Rapyd's documented country coverage includes Brazil and major Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its Collect API supports local payment methods, wallets, bank transfers, and hosted checkout.docs.rapyd.net+1

Developer fit: API-driven payment-method discovery, required-field lookup, payment creation, and webhook-based confirmation.

Watch out for: Verify which collection methods are enabled for your entity and whether the provider's onboarding and settlement model suits a regulated fintech.

Developer documentation ·Integrate payment methods

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3. Adyen

Best to assess if you need a mature global payments platform with sophisticated acquiring, risk management, and enterprise-grade operations. Adyen supports Pix in Brazil, but its Pix documentation specifies that merchants need a local Brazilian entity.docs.adyen.com

Developer fit: Established integrations, API-based payment flows, and unified payment operations.

Watch out for: Validate coverage method by method across Southeast Asia and your eligibility as a startup. Don't assume that global card acceptance means local-rail coverage in every target market.

Pix integration documentation

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4. Xendit

A strong regional specialist if Southeast Asia is a major part of your launch. Xendit documents support for Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with methods such as QRIS, virtual accounts, GCash, Maya, PromptPay, FPX, and PayNow.www.xendit.co+1

Developer fit: A local-method-focused API and a useful set of country-specific payment channels.

Watch out for: Brazil is not in its listed core operating-market coverage, so plan on a second provider for Brazil unless Xendit confirms a suitable solution for your specific needs.

Payment methods and coverage ·API reference

How I would choose

Coverage is not the same as eligibility: country availability, individual payment methods, merchant domicile, settlement, and regulated-business approval all need confirmation.

What matters specifically for a fintech startup

Before committing, I would ask each provider these six questions:

1. Local rails: Can we accept Pix in Brazil, QRIS in Indonesia, PromptPay in Thailand, DuitNow in Malaysia, and GCash/Maya in the Philippines?
2. Developer experience: Are there sandbox credentials, SDKs, idempotency keys, signed webhooks, clear error codes, and test scenarios for failed or delayed payments?
3. Settlement: Can we settle in BRL and relevant local currencies, and what are the payout timelines, FX spreads, and reserve requirements?
4. Fintech eligibility: Do you support our specific business model—such as a wallet, marketplace, payment facilitator, lending platform, or remittance service?
5. Reconciliation and refunds: Can we trace each payment end-to-end, handle asynchronous confirmations, and reconcile refunds and disputes?
6. Commercials: What are the country-specific processing fees, minimum commitments, chargeback fees, and cross-border transfer costs?

One particularly important distinction: a gateway that accepts payments for your business is not necessarily authorized to provide payment services on behalf of your customers. If your startup will hold customer funds, move money between users, or provide stored-value accounts, confirm the regulatory and safeguarding arrangements separately.

My recommendation

Start with dLocal and Rapyd as your cross-region candidates. Run a technical proof of concept against the actual payment methods you need in Brazil and your first two Southeast Asian markets. Include Adyen as a benchmark if enterprise-grade acquiring and risk tooling are priorities; consider Xendit as a regional partner if Southeast Asia needs deeper local specialization.

One question would help me narrow this down considerably: What kind of fintech are you building?

Business model

E-commerce or merchant checkout

Wallet or money movement

Marketplace or platform payments

Remittance or cross-border transfers

B2B payments

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Initial markets

Brazil + Indonesia + Philippines

Brazil + all major Southeast Asian markets

Brazil + Singapore + Malaysia

Other / still deciding

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Expected payment volume

Pre-launch or early-stage

Growing, with established transaction volume

High-volume or enterprise scale

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Main priority

Excellent APIs and fast integration

Local acceptance and payment success rates

Lowest total processing and FX cost

Compliance, licensing, and settlement

[Compare providers for my use case]

For a fintech startup targeting Brazil and Southeast Asia (SEA) , finding a truly "developer-first" gateway means looking for clean REST APIs, comprehensive webhooks, robust sandbox environments, transparent documentation, and native handling of complex local rails (like Pix in Brazil, PromptPay in Thailand, or QRIS in Indonesia).dlocal.com

Depending on whether you want a single unified cross-border vendor or a best-of-breed regional stack, several top-tier providers cater heavily to developers.

Top Contenders to Consider

1. dLocal

• Best for: Cross-border emerging markets via a single API.dlocal.com
• Coverage: Deep coverage across Latin America (including Brazil—Pix, Boleto, local cards) and expanding parts of APAC/Southeast Asia.
• Developer Experience: Highly developer-focused documentation with clear object models for pay-ins, payouts, and complex multi-local compliance. They abstract away the local legal entity requirements.docs.dlocal.com
• Why consider them: If you want one API integration to handle localized payment methods, automated local tax/compliance rules, and payouts in both regions without setting up local entities everywhere immediately, dLocal is built precisely for this.dlocal.com

2. Adyen

• Best for: Scale, unified commerce, and high authorization rates.
• Coverage: Excellent native acquiring capabilities in Brazil (including domestic card processing and installments) alongside key markets in Southeast Asia.
• Developer Experience: Modern APIs, drop-in components, Web Components, and granular, event-driven webhooks. Their Adyen Docs are among the best-structured in the industry.
• Why consider them: Adyen holds direct local acquiring licenses in Brazil , which drastically improves conversion and lowers interchange friction for local card schemes and installments (parcelas ). Choose Adyen if you have engineering bandwidth for enterprise-grade setup and expect massive volume.adyen.com+1

3. EBANX

• Best for: Latin American hyper-localization with a growing APAC footprint.
• Coverage: Dominant in Brazil (Pix, Boleto, domestic credit like Elo/Hipercard) and aggressively scaling its cross-border infrastructure into Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Thailand.
• Developer Experience: Offers robust API integration, tokenization, and payout suites tailored to cross-border digital goods, SaaS, and fintech platforms.
• Why consider them: If Brazil is your primary volume driver and you want a partner that deeply understands high-approval-rate routing for Pix and installment processing, EBANX is a staple choice that now bridges into Asian corridors.support.stripe.com+1

4. Xendit (Pair with a LATAM specialist or use for SEA)

• Best for: Pure-play Southeast Asian local payment infrastructure.
• Coverage: Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand (virtual accounts, e-wallets, QRIS, direct debit).
• Developer Experience: Widely considered the "Stripe of Southeast Asia" due to its hyper-clean, developer-first API design, instant onboarding in the region, and exceptional sandbox tooling.
• Why consider them: If your Southeast Asian operations require bulletproof, lightning-fast integration with local SEA payment methods, Xendit is an exceptional regional layer. (Note: You would need a separate partner like dLocal or EBANX for Brazil).dlocal.com

Key Comparison Dimensions for Your Startup

To help narrow down the ideal architecture, could you share:

• Are you looking for a single global API to cover both regions, or are you open to combining regional gateways?
• What is the core transaction type—one-time pay-ins, recurring billing/subscriptions , or marketplace split-payouts?