(Reuters) – MercadoLibre is now offering transactions using its payment processors in Argentina through Pix, the Brazilian instant payment system, as Brazilian tourists flock to the neighboring country for vacation, MercadoLibre told Reuters on Tuesday.
MercadoLibre’s payment processors, run by fintech arm Mercado Pago, have become ubiquitous for Argentines on the go and are popular for merchants looking for instant payments instead of waiting on credit cards to clear while their money depreciates.
The central-bank-developed Pix, meanwhile, has taken up a similar position for Brazilians and is now residents’ favorite way to pay over cash and cards.
“Brazilians adopted Pix as their preferred payment method due to its practicality, costs and speed,” said Priscila Faro, a Mercado Pago executive in Brazil, in a statement. “Now, we’re bringing this convenience to tourists visiting Argentina.”
Brazilians in recent years have made Argentina one of their top travel destinations, taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate from the country’s real currency to the peso. In December, 22% of international tourists into the country were from Brazil, according to statistics agency INDEC.
Travel trends have shifted in recent months, however, as Argentines empowered by a stronger peso vacation in Brazil, where the real has plummeted.
In Argentina, storefronts tout their acceptance of Mercado Pago and often offer a discount if clients pay using the app or with cash.
That popularity is due to Argentina’s once-chronic inflationary situation, which last April hit near 300% annually. In the time it took credit card processors to clear payments, stores would receive far less value than what they had charged for just weeks prior.
Inflation has since come down to a more digestible, but still high, double-digit rate.
On Buenos Aires’ busy Calle Florida, where tourists trade in their dollars on the black market for a more-favorable exchange rate, some stores and restaurants now accept Pix too, looking to benefit from the trend.
Mercado Pago’s tie-up with Pix, according to the firm, hopes to boost consumer spending in Argentina while cutting out the need for Brazilian tourists to exchange their hard-earned reais.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; editing by Diane Craft)
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