Payments/AR
Argentina
ISO AR · 3 schemes
Summary
- Transferencias 3.0 interoperable QR (BCRA)
- MODO 35+ bank coalition
- Mercado Pago 4.7M+ users
- 50%+ growth first week launch
- 0.8% cap merchant commission
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA)
- Website: https://www.bcra.gob.ar/
- Role: Monetary policy, payment standards
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banco de la Nación | State | BNA+ |
| 2 | Banco Galicia | Private | Galicia Move |
| 3 | Banco Santander | International | Santander App |
| 4 | BBVA Argentina | International | BBVA App |
| 5 | Banco Macro | Private | Macro App |
Market Structure
- MODO: 35+ bank platform
- Mercado Pago: Fintech leader
- CBU/CVU: Account identifiers
- High inflation: Economy context
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transferencias 3.0 | BCRA | Interoperable QR | Active |
| MODO | Bank Coalition | P2P/QR | Active |
| Debin | BCRA | Direct debit | Active |
| COELSA | Banks | ACH | Active |
Transferencias 3.0
- BCRA launched Nov 2021
- Universal QR interoperability
- Any wallet, any QR
- 25-second settlement max
- 0.8% merchant commission cap
MODO Platform
- 35+ financial institutions
- December 2020 launch
- Account-to-account transfers
- In-store QR payments
- Bank account integration
QR code standards
BCRA Interoperable QR
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard | Transferencias 3.0 |
| Regulator | BCRA |
| Launch | November 2021 |
| Settlement | 25 seconds max |
QR Interoperability
- Universal wallet acceptance
- Any app reads any QR
- Merchant-agnostic
- Instant crediting
- Commission regulated
Major QR Providers
| Provider | Users | Merchants |
|---|---|---|
| Mercado Pago | 4.7M+ | 1.5M+ |
| MODO | 35+ banks | Growing |
| BNA+ | Bank users | 5,200+ locations |
Mobile payment apps
| App | Provider | QR | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercado Pago | MercadoLibre | Yes | Full wallet |
| MODO | Banks | Yes | Multi-bank |
| BNA+ | Banco Nación | Yes | Banking |
| Cuenta DNI | Banco Provincia | Yes | State bank |
Mercado Pago Dominance
- Pioneer in QR payments
- 4.7M+ active users
- 1.5M+ merchants
- E-commerce integration
- Lending services
Growth Statistics
- 50%+ growth first week
- 52.58% transaction increase
- $78B market by 2025
- POS still 69% of sales
Schemes
| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transferencias 3.0 | Interoperable QR | BCRA | National | transferencias-3-0 |
| MODO | Multi-bank QR | Coalition | 35+ banks | modo |
| Mercado Pago | Proprietary | Fintech | 4.7M+ | — |
Sources
- BCRA - Transferencias 3.0
- Transfi - Argentina Payments
- El Cronista - QR Growth
- Bloomberg Línea - Launch
Full country report
Schemes
Standards
Primary · 3
Mentioned · 1