The agreement between Mercado Libre's fintech arm and Pix aims to boost consumption in Argentina and prevent Brazilian tourists from having to exchange their reals.
MercadoLibre is now offering transactions using its payment processors in Argentina through Pix, the Brazilian instant payment system, as tourists from the South American giant flock to the neighboring country on vacation, Mercado Libre told Reuters on Tuesday.
Mercado Libre’s payment processors, run by fintech arm Mercado Pago, have become ubiquitous to Argentines and are popular with merchants looking for instant payments rather than waiting for credit cards to clear while their money depreciates.
Pix, developed by the central bank, has taken a similar approach for Brazilians and is now the preferred way for residents to pay over cash and cards.
"Brazilians have adopted Pix as their preferred payment method due to its convenience, cost and speed," said Priscila Faro, executive of Mercado Pago in Brazil, in a statement. "Now, we are bringing this convenience to tourists visiting Argentina."
In recent years, Brazilians have made Argentina one of their top travel destinations, taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate between the real and the peso. In December, 22% of international tourists entering the country came from Brazil, according to INDEC.
Travel trends have changed in recent months, however, as Argentines, buoyed by a stronger peso, take vacations to Brazil, where the real has plummeted.
In Argentina, merchants promote their acceptance of Mercado Pago and often offer discounts if customers pay with the app or in cash.
This popularity is due to Argentina's inflationary situation, which reached almost 300% annually last April. In the time it took for credit card processors to clear payments, stores received much less value than they had collected just a few weeks earlier.
Inflation has since fallen to a more palatable, though still high, double-digit rate.
On the busy Florida street in Buenos Aires, where tourists exchange their dollars on the informal market for a more favorable exchange rate, some shops and restaurants now also accept the Pix to benefit from the trend.
According to the company, the agreement between Mercado Pago and Pix aims to boost consumption in Argentina and prevent Brazilian tourists from having to exchange their real currency.
