Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago

What Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago does

Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago (STMP) is the Spanish company that manages the Sistema Nacional de Compensación de Tarjetas (SNCT), the national card payment clearing and settlement infrastructure that aggregates card transactions across all participating payment service providers (PSPs) and calculates multilateral net positions for settlement through the SNCE (Sistema Nacional de Compensación Electrónica). In 2024, STMP became the first entity in Europe to implement TARGET-RTGS D settlement procedures for card transactions, eliminating principal risk in settlement. The company is recognized by the Eurosystem (ECB and Bank of Spain) as the manager of a Payment System of Prominent Importance (PIRPS) and serves 113 financial institutions (banks, payment institutions, and e-money institutions) including all major Spanish banks (BBVA, Santander, Caixabank, Banco Sabadell, Unicaja, Kutxabank, Bankinter, Abanca, Cajamar, Ibercaja, Cecabank, and others). STMP is consortium-owned by these same institutions and is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified.

Beyond the clearing utility, STMP develops and manages a portfolio of value-added payment products. Its flagship consumer-facing brand is plazox, a card-based Buy Now Pay Later installment service that splits purchases into 3, 6, or 12 monthly payments at the point of sale (physical or online), distributed exclusively through 68 partner banks and accepted at over 624,000 merchants, with 12M+ cards already activated and 40%+ year-over-year growth in deferred payment volume. STMP also operates xelmon, a domestic Spanish card payment scheme designed for payment sovereignty; ViaT, an automatic electronic toll payment scheme; and gasóleo bonificado, a specialized card scheme for discounted agricultural diesel. The company generates revenue from transaction-based clearing and settlement fees charged to PSPs, scheme management fees on value-added services, and ancillary business intelligence and legal advisory services to member entities, while offering plazox free to merchants and bundling pricing through issuing banks.

Name

Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago

Legal name

SISTEMA DE TARJETAS Y MEDIOS DE PAGO, S.A.

Website

https://sistemapay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

STMP manages Spain's national card payment clearing and settlement infrastructure (SNCT), serving 113 financial institutions as a B2B utility. It also operates plazox, a card-based BNPL installment service distributed through 68 partner banks to 624,000+ merchants and 12M+ cardholders, plus the xelmon domestic card scheme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Infrastructure

NAICS

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

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Domestic / National Card Schemes (FSAMAAAC)

Keywords

• Card payment clearing
• Payment settlement infrastructure
• Buy now pay later
• Domestic payment scheme
• Card transaction processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SNCT Clearing and Settlement Services: STMP charges participating PSPs (banks, payment institutions, e-money institutions) fees for clearing and settlement services within the SNCT. These fees fund the operation of the national payment infrastructure. The company also provides business intelligence, legal advisory, and technical support services to member entities.
2. Value-Added Services to Member Entities: STMP promotes and manages value-added services for financial entities including plazox (installment payments), xelmon (domestic payment scheme), ViaT (electronic toll), and gasóleo bonificado (discounted fuel). Revenue is derived from transaction fees on these services and fees from scheme management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

STMP manages the Sistema Nacional de Compensación de Tarjetas (SNCT), Spain's national card payment clearing and settlement system, processing multilateral net positions across 113 financial entities. Building on this infrastructure, the company promotes plazox, a card-based BNPL installment service that allows cardholders to split purchases into 3, 6, or 12 monthly payments at point of sale, distributed exclusively through 68 partner banks. STMP also operates payment schemes including xelmon (domestic Spanish scheme), ViaT (electronic toll), and gasóleo bonificado (subsidized agricultural diesel).

Product overview

Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago (STMP) operates as the manager of Spain's national card payment infrastructure, offering a portfolio of interconnected payment products and services. At its core is the SNCT (Sistema Nacional de Compensación de Tarjetas), the national card payment clearing and settlement system that processes millions of transactions between participating financial entities. Building on this infrastructure, STMP promotes plazox, a buy-now-pay-later installment service allowing cardholders to split purchases into 3, 6, or 12 monthly payments at point-of-sale terminals. The company also manages payment schemes including xelmon (a domestic Spanish card scheme), gasóleo bonificado (subsidized fuel cards for agriculture), and ViaT (automatic toll payment). Additional value-added services include business intelligence analytics and legal advisory support for member entities. The portfolio integrates with major e-commerce platforms (Magento, PrestaShop, WooCommerce) and payment processors (Redsys, Cecabank) to enable plazox installment payments across the Spanish retail ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• plazox: Payment installment service of Spanish banks allowing card payments to be split into 3, 6, or 12 monthly installments at point of sale.
• xelmon
• ViaT
• Gasóleo Bonificado

Products and services

• SNCT (Sistema Nacional de Compensación de Tarjetas) The national card payment clearing and settlement system that aggregates card transactions across all participating PSPs and calculates multilateral net positions for settlement in the SNCE. Processes transactions across Visa, Mastercard, and domestic schemes.
• plazox A card-based installment payment service offered through 68 Spanish banks that allows cardholders to split purchases into 3, 6, or 12 monthly payments at the point of sale (physical or online), without additional paperwork or registration.
• xelmon A Spanish domestic card payment scheme designed to ensure payment sovereignty and reduce dependency on international schemes (Visa, Mastercard). Supports physical cards, virtual cards, mobile wallets, and cobadging.
• Gasóleo Bonificado (Fuel Card Scheme) A card payment scheme for subsidized diesel targeted at the agricultural sector, enabling farmers to pay for fuel at authorized service stations with detailed consumption tracking and simplified tax refund processing.
• ViaT (Electronic Toll Payment) An automatic toll payment scheme that enables cashless toll payment without stopping, serving both individual drivers and fleet operators on Spanish highways.
• SNCE (Sistema Nacional de Compensación Electrónica) The electronic national clearing system managed by Iberpay where multilateral net positions from the SNCT are settled, including the new TARGET-RTGS D settlement subsystem implemented by STMP in 2024.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over €208 billion in card transactions compensated in 2025
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Iberpay (Gestora de Medios de Pago)coreTechnology or IntegrationIberpay is the manager of the SNCE (Sistema Nacional de Compensación Electrónica), the electronic national compensation system through which STMP settles multilateral net positions from SNCT card transactions. This is the fundamental infrastructure partnership enabling all STMP clearing operations. In 2024, STMP implemented TARGET-RTGS D settlement procedures through Iberpay, becoming the first in Europe to do so for card transactions.
• 68 Spanish banking entities (plazox issuers and acquirers)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor68 Spanish banks, including BBVA, Santander, Caixabank, Banco Sabadell, Unicaja, Banco Cooperativo Español, Kutxabank, Bankinter, Abanca, Cajamar, Ibercaja, Laboral Kutxa, Cecabank, Wizink, Banca March, Deutsche Bank, and others, distribute plazox to both card holders and merchants. Banks activate plazox on POS terminals and cards, manage consumer financing, and handle customer support. This channel partnership covers the entirety of the Spanish banking market.
• 113 PSPs participating in the SNCTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner113 payment service providers (banks, payment institutions, e-money institutions) participate directly or indirectly in the SNCT. These include retail banks, cooperative banks, and specialized payment institutions. They rely on STMP for clearing, settlement, risk management, business intelligence, legal support, and access to payment schemes (xelmon, ViaT, gasóleo bonificado). Governance is shared through the Technical Committee and Operational Committee of the SNCT.
• Eurosystem (European Central Bank and Bank of Spain)coreOthersSTMP operates under the oversight of the Eurosystem, having been designated as manager of a Payment System of Prominent Importance (PIRPS). This recognition from the ECB and Bank of Spain defines STMP's role in the Spanish and European financial ecosystem and imposes reinforced governance, risk management, and operational resilience requirements.
• European Card Payment Association (ECPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTMP participates in the ECPA, a European industry association of card payment schemes and processors. Juan Carlos Martín, CEO of STMP, serves as Chairman of ECPA. The association advocates for European payment sovereignty and publishes research on card payment trends. ECPA's 2025 white paper 'Safeguarding Europe's Financial Future' highlighted the importance of European card schemes for economic sovereignty.
• European Card Payment Cooperation (ECPC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTMP participates in ECPC, a European cooperation body for card payments that works on harmonization and interoperability of card payment schemes across Europe.
• European Payment Stakeholders Group (EPSG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTMP participates in EPSG, a European forum for payment stakeholders including PSPs, processors, merchants, schemes, and technology providers to discuss and advance European payment infrastructure.
• SEPA EspañaminorOthersSTMP collaborates with SEPA España, the Spanish national group for the Single Euro Payments Area, contributing to the development and adoption of SEPA payment standards in Spain.
• Redsys and Cecabank (Virtual TPV providers)coreTechnology or Integrationplazox is integrated with Redsys and Cecabank virtual TPV (payment gateway) platforms, which serve the majority of Spanish e-commerce merchants. This integration enables automatic plazox activation for online merchants using these processors, with no additional development required from STMP's side.
• Down Madrid (Fundación Down Madrid)minorOthersSTMP and plazox collaborate with Down Madrid in corporate social responsibility activities, including sponsorship of the 21st Down Madrid Solidarity Padel Tournament and participation in the XV Carrera Down Madrid. These partnerships support social inclusion and diversity initiatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Klarna: Leading global BNPL provider — competes indirectly with plazox in the Spanish installment payments market. Klarna operates with a fintech lender model, whereas plazox is bank-funded, but both target the same consumer behavior of spreading purchases over time.

Direct peers

• Splitit: Card-based installment payment provider — the closest international BNPL comparable to plazox. Both enable cardholders to split purchases into installments at POS without new credit applications, though Splitit operates globally while plazox is Spain-only.
• Redsys: Spanish payment processor and virtual TPV provider owned by Spanish banks, integrated with plazox for installment payments and serving the majority of Spanish e-commerce merchants. Operates adjacent infrastructure for transaction acceptance and processing.
• Iberpay: Manages the SNCE (Sistema Nacional de Compensación Electrónica), the electronic national clearing system where STMP settles multilateral net positions from SNCT card transactions. Iberpay is the closest functional peer — both operate national Spanish payment clearing infrastructure in a tightly coupled relationship.

Broad incumbents

• Nets (Nexi Group): Nordic payment processor and acquirer serving banks and merchants with card processing and payment scheme infrastructure. Comparable pan-European payment infrastructure operator post-Nexi consolidation.
• Adyen: Global payment processor providing unified acquiring, processing, and payment infrastructure for enterprise merchants. Comparable at the technology layer (payment processing infrastructure) though targeting different customer segments.
• Cartes Bancaires (CB): French national card scheme, structurally analogous to STMP's xelmon and SNCT. Operates a domestic card network and clearing infrastructure under French regulatory oversight, providing a useful benchmark for European national payment scheme economics.
• Worldline: Major European payment processor and acquirer serving merchants and banks across multiple countries. Operates broadly in the same payment infrastructure space as STMP but at much larger scale and with international footprint.
• SIBS: Portuguese payment processor managing MULTIBANCO network and national card infrastructure — a direct functional analog for STMP across Portugal. Provides cross-border Iberian payment infrastructure comparable in scope.
• Girocard: German national debit card scheme managed by the German banking industry. Operates domestic card scheme and clearing infrastructure comparable to STMP/xelmon in another major EU economy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plazox_es
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLoc4iiZmvdvoaL_rZVpPfg
• Facebookfacebook.com/plazox
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sistemapay
• Instagraminstagram.com/plazox

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago