Carnet

What Carnet does

Carnet is a Mexico-based payment acceptance brand operated by Promocion y Operacion S.A. de C.V. (PROSA) that connects card-issuing financial institutions and acquirers to a national electronic transaction network spanning POS terminals, ATMs, and e-commerce portals. The company has operated for over 50 years and serves more than 60 financial institutions across 200,000+ acceptance points, advertising a 99% transaction effectiveness rate and total interoperability for debit, credit, and prepaid cards. The product portfolio is anchored by the core Carnet acceptance brand and Soluciones de Pago/Adquirente offerings, supplemented by Contactless (Chip Dual Interface) technology, Carnet E-Secure for online transaction security, PROALERTA for real-time fraud monitoring and predictive risk scoring, Analytics Carnet/Prosa Analytics for market intelligence and behavioral analysis, and a Multichannel Notification System covering RCS, WhatsApp Enterprise, BLASTER calls, and email.

Under the hood, the network processes transactions using ISO 8583 messaging and complies with the RED MX national standard, with fraud and analytics capabilities delivered through PROALERTA's anomaly detection and predictive scoring layers. Carnet is privately held under PROSA with no public listing, no disclosed funding rounds, and a headcount in the 11-50 range; revenue, financial performance, and ownership details beyond PROSA's corporate control are not publicly disclosed.

Carnet makes money primarily through transaction fees charged to financial institutions and merchants for processing debit, credit, and prepaid card payments across its national acceptance network, with pricing on a quote-based B2B model rather than published rates. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales to issuers, acquirers, and certified terminal manufacturers, supported by direct institutional contact channels and a corporate website plus LinkedIn and Instagram presence aimed at brand credibility rather than direct conversion.

Name

Carnet

Legal name

Promoción y Operación S.A. de C.V.

Website

https://carnet.mx

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carnet is the Mexican card acceptance brand of PROSA, providing interoperable debit, credit, and prepaid transaction processing across 200,000+ POS, ATM, and e-commerce acceptance points for 60+ financial institutions, with add-on fraud, security, analytics, and notification services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Network Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAGABAC

Payment Processing & Acquiring Infrastructure

Financial & Insurance/Financial Technology (Fintech)/Payment Orchestration & Fintech Infrastructure (APIs, Issuing, Processing)

Keywords

• Payment processing network
• Card acceptance services
• Electronic transactions Mexico
• Payment switch operator
• Contactless payment solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Transaction Fees: Carnet generates revenue through transaction fees charged to financial institutions and merchants for processing debit, credit, and prepaid card payments through its national acceptance network.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Carnet operates Mexico's national electronic payment acceptance network, providing total interoperability for debit, credit, and prepaid cards across 200,000+ POS terminals, ATMs, and e-commerce portals. The company routes and settles transactions between 60+ issuing financial institutions, acquirers, and merchants using ISO 8583 messaging and the RED MX standard. Its offering is complemented by security (Carnet E-Secure), fraud prevention (PROALERTA), contactless technology, and analytics services that together form an integrated payment ecosystem for the Mexican market.

Product overview

Carnet is a payment acceptance brand operated by PROSA that offers a comprehensive portfolio of payment solutions in Mexico. The core offering centers on Carnet as the main acceptance brand providing total interoperability for debit, credit, and prepaid cards across physical and digital commerce. The product suite includes payment solutions (Soluciones de Pago), Contactless technology, and Adquirer solutions (Soluciones para Adquirente) as primary offerings. Add-on modules include Carnet E-Secure for transaction security, PROALERTA for fraud prevention, analytical products for market intelligence, a multichannel notification system, and Analytics Carnet for data-driven decision support. The ecosystem is designed to serve both issuing financial institutions and acquiring businesses across 200,000+ acceptance points nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carnet E-Secure: Security solution that guarantees reliable, secure, and fast electronic transactions involving Issuers, Acquirers, and Merchants.
• PROALERTA

Products and services

• Carnet Payment Acceptance Network Mexico's national card payment acceptance brand connecting issuing financial institutions with a robust electronic transaction network, offering total interoperability for debit, credit, and prepaid cards across 200,000+ POS terminals, ATMs, and e-commerce portals in Mexico.
• Soluciones de Pago Configurable payment solutions that enable financial institutions to quickly launch debit, credit, and prepaid card products optimized for specific market niches.
• Contactless (Chip Dual Interface) Dual-interface chip technology enabling both contact and contactless card payment operations through short-range antennas for faster, more hygienic, and more secure transactions at the point of sale.
• Soluciones para Adquirente Acquiring switch solution that supports acquirers in integrating and efficiently operating a card payment media network under the POS scheme, using ISO 8583 messaging and the RED MX standard.
• Carnet E-Secure Electronic transaction security solution that protects online commerce by ensuring reliable, secure, and fast transactions involving issuers, acquirers, and merchants.
• PROALERTA Fraud administration and prevention system providing real-time analytical and predictive tools that monitor every transaction across all channels of the payment switch and assign a risk score to each operation.
• Analytics Carnet Data intelligence and analysis service for acquirers designed to maximize transaction value and optimize decision-making through real-time monitoring and behavioral insights.
• Sistema de Notificaciones Multicanal Multichannel customer notification platform that supports personalized messages via RCS, WhatsApp Enterprise, BLASTER (pre-recorded calls), and mass email (up to 1 million emails per day).
• Productos Analíticos (Prosa Analytics) Analytical products including performance studies, approval analysis, and behavioral analysis to help financial institutions and merchants understand customer performance and behavior for strategic decision-making.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% transaction effectiveness rate without issues
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PROSA (Promocion y Operación S.A. de C.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPROSA is the parent company and operator of the Carnet payment acceptance brand. PROSA provides the infrastructure, legal framework, and corporate governance for Carnet's national payment network services.
• Prosa AnalyticscoreTechnology or IntegrationAnalytics platform providing market intelligence and data analytics services for Carnet customers, offering performance studies, approval analysis, and behavioral analysis tools.
• Financial Institutions (60+)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 60 Mexican financial institutions partner with Carnet as issuers and acquirers, using the network for card acceptance and transaction processing across debit, credit, and prepaid products.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Global payments infrastructure provider expanding in Mexico; competes for the same digital merchants and acquirers with modern APIs that Carnet currently lacks.
• PROSA: Parent company of Carnet and the underlying payment switch operator in Mexico; direct parent and operator of the same acceptance network described here.
• Visa: Global card network operating in Mexico; Carnet effectively operates as a domestic acceptance brand interoperable with Visa rails, making Visa a benchmark and partial substitute.
• Mastercard: Global card network with deep Mexican issuer and acquirer relationships; competes with Carnet on acceptance coverage and increasingly on processing infrastructure.
• Mercado Pago: Major LatAm digital wallet and acquirer with strong Mexican footprint; competes for both merchant acceptance and consumer payment flows in Mexico.

Emerging players

• Conekta: Mexico-focused online payment gateway and PSP for merchants; competes for digital acceptance volumes that Carnet also targets via its e-commerce integration.
• Clip: Mexican mPOS and payments startup targeting SMBs with modern contactless terminals; overlaps with Carnet's POS acceptance value proposition.
• OpenPay: Mexican payment processor offering card acceptance and digital checkout APIs; competes in the same domestic acquiring/processing segment with a more developer-friendly stack.

Regional players

• Ebanx: LatAm-focused cross-border payment processor with Mexican coverage; competes for cross-border and e-commerce volumes that Carnet's domestic network also serves.

Direct peers

• Eglobal: Mexican payment processor/transactions switch serving issuers and acquirers with multi-channel processing (POS, ATM, e-commerce); directly comparable domestic processing infrastructure peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carnetmx
• Instagraminstagram.com/carnetmx
• Xx.com/CarnetMx
• Facebookfacebook.com/CarnetMx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carnet