Mercado Pago Without a DNI: Account or QR Payment?

Peanut does not create a Mercado Pago account or wallet. Mercado Pago decides whether an applicant passes its own registration and identity checks, and its public information does not confirm one passport-only route for every foreign applicant. What Peanut can do is different: after verifying your Peanut account, you can pay a supported Mercado Pago merchant QR in Argentina without owning a Mercado Pago wallet.

Can You Create a Mercado Pago Account Without DNI?

There is no responsible universal yes-or-no answer. Mercado Pago runs its own signup and identity validation. Its current privacy information says that personal data are required to use its services and that it may collect a valid identification number, a photo of an identity document, and biometric information.

Those official pages do not say that every foreigner can open an Argentine account with a passport. They also do not establish that DNI is the only document accepted in every registration case. Eligibility, document acceptance, and any additional requirements belong to Mercado Pago. Check the current signup flow or contact Mercado Pago for a decision about your application.

Peanut cannot approve that application, issue a Mercado Pago account, or give you a Mercado Pago balance. If your real goal is to pay a shop's QR rather than hold a Mercado Pago wallet, the next section covers the separate Peanut flow.

What Peanut Lets You Do Without a Mercado Pago Wallet

Peanut supports merchant QR payments on the Mercado Pago network in Argentina. You scan a supported merchant QR in Peanut, review the merchant, amount in Argentine pesos, amount from your digital-dollar balance, and exchange rate, then confirm. The merchant receives ARS through its normal Mercado Pago merchant flow.

This is payment access, not account access. It does not register you with Mercado Pago, create a wallet in your name, or place a Mercado Pago balance under your control. Receiving is a separate flow, and withdrawal to your own Mercado Pago account requires Argentine verification; both are outside this merchant-QR guide, and the QR never becomes a third-party account transfer. For the screen-by-screen payment flow, use the Mercado Pago merchant QR guide.

Only supported Mercado Pago merchant QR codes are in scope. Peanut does not support MODO or Cuenta DNI QR codes. Check the payment network before confirming rather than assuming that every QR displayed at a checkout is compatible.

Verify Peanut With Your Passport

Peanut runs its own identity check. You can use a valid passport, national identity card, or residence permit issued by any country, then take a selfie. Most automated checks finish in a few minutes. If the check needs manual review, it may take several business days.

The document verifies your Peanut account; it is not submitted as an application for a Mercado Pago wallet. That distinction matters when a search result promises to “create Mercado Pago with a passport.” Peanut does not make that promise.

Limits depend on how your Peanut account is verified. A user paying a foreign QR without local verification has a USD 2,000 per-transaction limit. A locally verified user in Latin America has a USD 2,000 monthly combined limit across deposits, withdrawals, and QR payments. These are different rules, not two versions of the same cap. Check the limit shown in the app or ask support before a large purchase. Do not split a payment to work around a limit.

Before You Pay a Mercado Pago QR

Confirm that the checkout displays a Mercado Pago merchant QR and that your Peanut balance covers the amount. After scanning, compare the merchant name and ARS amount with the till or bill. Peanut shows one all-in exchange rate and the digital-dollar amount before you confirm, then locks that quote at confirmation. There is no separate flat QR-payment fee.

The merchant receives pesos, while your payment result appears in Peanut. A completed payment is final. If a payment fails or becomes stuck, Peanut automatically returns the amount. If the merchant and your app show different results, keep both confirmations and follow the QR troubleshooting guide.

Official Mercado Pago Sources

• Mercado Pago's privacy overview explains that it processes personal data to provide its services.
• Its identity-data notice lists a valid identification number, identity-document images, and biometric validation among the data it may collect.
• Its QR payment help describes Mercado Pago's own customer QR flow. It does not establish who can open a Mercado Pago account.