In ecommerce, every point of friction at checkout costs sales. And for Samsung Colombia, the local subsidiary of one of the world's largest technology manufacturers, that friction carries extra weight: its online store is the country's strongest direct channel, within a Technology segment that accounted for 17.3% of the value transacted in Colombian ecommerce in 2025, with industry-wide sales of $145.4 billion.

With Cobre as its infrastructure partner, Samsung's online store now accepts Bre-B, the country's instant payment system, in its digital store. 

This makes buying easier for the Colombian shopper, and gives a push to the country's entire instant payments ecosystem.

Why did the absence of instant payments limit Samsung Colombia's digital conversion?

Bre-B surpassed 5 million daily operations in May 2026, with more than 782 million transactions since its full activation in October 2025.

But this option wasn't available to shoppers on Samsung Colombia's online store, because its checkout didn't offer it.

The underlying problem was one of integration: connecting an emerging (though already massive) payment method to the infrastructure of a global ecommerce operation requires an intermediary that masters both the technical and local regulatory sides.

Bre-B requires certified participation in Banco de la República's interoperable network, management of unique keys per transaction, and real-time confirmation.

Doing it right, without affecting Samsung's user experience or system stability, wasn't trivial.

The main limitations of the previous model were:

• Without Bre-B at checkout, Samsung was left out of Colombia's fastest-growing payment method.
• Shoppers who preferred instant payments had to turn to other channels or abandon their purchase.
• Integrating Bre-B independently would have required direct technical certification and ongoing maintenance of the connection to Banco de la República's network.
• Manually generating payment keys per transaction was unfeasible without a specialized infrastructure layer.
• The lack of real-time confirmation increased friction for the buyer and uncertainty for Samsung's operations team.

How does the Bre-B integration with Samsung's checkout work through Cobre?

Cobre acts as a direct Bre-B participant and provides Samsung with the infrastructure layer that makes instant payment possible within its online store.

The integration works via API: at checkout, Samsung requests a unique payment key from Cobre for that transaction; Cobre generates it and returns it in real time; the buyer uses it from their bank's app or portal to complete the transfer; and Cobre confirms the payment back to Samsung instantly.

The entire flow happens without the user ever leaving Samsung's website or being routed through an external gateway.

This architecture shifts to Cobre the technical and regulatory responsibility of maintaining the certified connection to the Bre-B network, managing key generation, and processing real-time confirmations

Samsung gets the functionality without having to build or maintain that infrastructure in-house. The result is a cleaner checkout for the buyer and a more efficient operating model for Samsung.

Features enabled by the API integration to Cobre:

• Automatic generation of unique Bre-B keys per transaction at the moment of checkout.
• Real-time payment confirmation, with no redirects or intermediate screens.
• Compatibility with all banks and wallets connected to the Bre-B network in Colombia.
• Automated reconciliation: every payment is logged and traceable from Cobre's dashboard.

"That a global brand like Samsung trusts Cobre to power its checkout with Bre-B speaks to where enterprise payments stand in Colombia today. We've spent years building the infrastructure that makes integrations like this possible, and cases like this confirm the country is entering a new stage in how people and businesses relate to money." José Vicente Gedeón, CEO and Co-founder — Cobre

What are the benefits of Samsung Colombia's operating model with Cobre's infrastructure?

• Greater checkout reach. With Bre-B available as a payment method, Samsung’s Colombian filial now reaches the more than 34 million users linked to the network, who already use instant payments in their daily lives. That directly expands the pool of potential buyers on Samsung's online store.
• Frictionless purchase experience. Payment is completed from the buyer's banking app, without leaving Samsung's site, with no redirects and instant confirmation. Fewer steps at checkout translate directly into less cart abandonment.
• Zero operational load for Samsung's technical team. Bre-B certification, key management, and the connection to Banco de la República's network are all handled by Cobre. Samsung operates the payment method without maintaining the underlying infrastructure.
• Real-time traceability and reconciliation. Every transaction is automatically logged and reconciled. Samsung's operations team accesses payment history without manual closing processes.
• Brand positioning. Samsung becomes the first major consumer technology brand to activate Bre-B on its direct ecommerce channel in Colombia, a signal of modernity in a market where instant digital payments are already part of everyday consumer behavior.

Why did Samsung Colombia choose Cobre for its infrastructure?

Frequently asked questions about Bre-B instant payments in ecommerce

What is Bre-B and why does it matter for ecommerce in Colombia?

Bre-B is the interoperable instant payment system launched by Banco de la República in Colombia. It allows money to be transferred between any banking institution in seconds, using a unique key (phone number, email, ID document, or account number).

By May 2026, it had already surpassed 5 million daily operations and had more than 34 million linked users, making it the fastest-growing payment method in the country.

How does paying with Bre-B work on samsung.com/co?

At checkout, the buyer selects Bre-B as the payment method. Cobre generates a unique key for that transaction and displays it to the user. The buyer opens their bank's app or web portal, completes the transfer using that key, and the payment is confirmed in real time.

All of this happens without leaving Samsung's site or passing through any external gateway.

Which banks and digital wallets are compatible with this payment method?

Any institution connected to the Bre-B network in Colombia. That includes the country's major banks and the digital wallets that operate as certified participants in the network.

The buyer uses the app they already have on their phone, with no need to register on any additional platform.

What's needed to integrate Bre-B into an ecommerce store through Cobre?

The integration happens through Cobre's API. The ecommerce's technical team connects its checkout to Cobre's key-generation and payment-confirmation endpoints.

Cobre, as a certified Bre-B participant, manages the entire relationship with Banco de la República's network.  

The implementation doesn't require the company to obtain its own certification or maintain the connection to the country's payment infrastructure.