“Can BCP's merchant-acquiring arm own every payment method a Peruvian SMB needs while pulling them deeper into the Credicorp banking and lending ecosystem?”
Culqi began in 2013 as an independent Peruvian online payments gateway, then was acquired by BCP (Credicorp group) and rebuilt as the merchant-acquiring arm of Peru's largest bank. Its product surface expanded from online card acceptance to a full omnichannel stack — POS (CulqiFull), Yape wallet acceptance, PagoEfectivo cash vouchers, payment links, subscriptions, and Cuotéalo BCP installments — increasingly leveraging the BCP balance sheet for same-day settlement, working-capital loans, and sales advances.
Culqi discloses Banco de Crédito del Perú (in-house, parent bank) as its banking provider, with Banco de Crédito del Perú as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Culqi does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Banco de Crédito del Perú.
Culqi processes payments through Culqi (self-operated), Culqi Checkout (self-operated) and Culqi 3DS (self-operated).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Culqi's stack: Payments / PSP (Culqi (self-operated), Culqi Checkout (self-operated) and Culqi 3DS (self-operated)); Banking / BaaS (Banco de Crédito del Perú (in-house, parent bank)); Lending (Cuotéalo BCP (consumer BNPL/installments), Adelanto de ventas (merchant cash advance) and Capital de trabajo BCP (1% rate reduction for Culqi clients)); Sponsor bank (Banco de Crédito del Perú).
Culqi is founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Isidro, Lima, Peru.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Culqi and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.