Pay with Mercado Pago in Argentina Using Peanut
Scan QR codes at 1M+ merchants. Cripto dólar rate — 5-8% better than cards. No local bank account needed.
Mercado Pago is how Argentina pays. Over 1,000,000 merchants accept it — from supermarket chains to street food carts. With Peanut, you can scan any Mercado Pago QR code and pay in pesos without an Argentine bank account or DNI. Your digital dollars convert at the cripto dólar rate, which gives you 5-8% more pesos per dollar than the MEP rate your credit card uses. Most cards also charge 3-20% above mid-market on top of that worse rate. Peanut charges no fees.
Whether you arrived in Buenos Aires yesterday or you've been living in Mendoza for six months, Peanut removes the ID barrier that locks foreigners out of local payments. You pay the way locals pay — same QR codes, same merchants, same instant confirmation — just without the DNI.
What Is Mercado Pago?
Mercado Pago is a QR-based payment system operated by MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), the largest e-commerce and fintech company in Latin America. It is the dominant QR payment standard in Argentina. Merchants display a QR code at checkout — either a printed sticker at the register or an on-screen display — and customers scan it with their payment app. The merchant receives pesos instantly.
Over 1,000,000 merchants across Argentina accept Mercado Pago QR. MODO and Cuenta DNI are other Argentine QR systems, but they use different, incompatible QR formats. Peanut reads Mercado Pago QR codes directly.
How to Pay with Mercado Pago Using Peanut
- 1
Find the merchant's QR code
Look for the Mercado Pago QR sticker at the register, on the table, or displayed on a screen. Both static (printed) and dynamic (screen-generated) QR codes work.
- 2
Open Peanut and tap Pay
Open the Peanut app and tap the Pay button to activate the QR scanner.
- 3
Scan the QR code
Point your camera at the merchant's QR code. Peanut reads the Mercado Pago QR directly and pulls the payment details — merchant name, amount in ARS.
- 4
Review and confirm
You'll see the merchant name, the peso amount, the dollar equivalent at the current cripto dólar rate, and the exchange rate itself. The rate locks at this moment — no slippage after you confirm. Tap to pay.
- 5
Done — merchant gets pesos instantly
The merchant receives pesos immediately in their Mercado Pago account. They see a normal Mercado Pago payment — Peanut is invisible on their end. You get a confirmation screen with full transaction details.
The whole process takes seconds. No signature, no PIN, no fumbling with cash or cards. The merchant doesn't know or care how you funded the payment — from their side, it's business as usual.
Where You Can Pay
Mercado Pago QR codes are everywhere in Argentina. Over 1,000,000 merchants accept them across the country:
- Supermarkets: Carrefour, Dia, Coto, Jumbo
- Restaurants and cafes — sit-down restaurants, counter service, food courts
- Street food vendors and kiosks — empanada stands, choripan carts, sidewalk cafes
- Clothing and electronics stores
- Pharmacies
- Transportation — some taxis and ride services
You'll find Mercado Pago QR codes in every major city — Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Bariloche, Salta, Ushuaia — and throughout smaller towns across the country. If a merchant displays a Mercado Pago QR code, Peanut works there.
Requirements
To pay with Mercado Pago through Peanut, you need:
- A Peanut account with identity verification. Verify with your passport or national ID card from any country. The process takes under 2 minutes for most users — upload a photo of your ID and take a quick selfie. Your documents are handled by Persona (SOC 2 Type 2 certified, GDPR-compliant) and Peanut never sees or stores them.
- A funded balance. Deposit digital dollars from any exchange or wallet, or send money via bank transfer (SEPA from Europe, ACH or wire from the US). All deposits are free — gas fees covered.
- No Argentine DNI needed. No local bank account. No CBU. No CVU. Just your passport and your Peanut balance.
Info
If you're based in Latin America, your monthly limit is $2,000 USD combined across all payments and withdrawals. Users in the US and Europe have no hard limit. Limits can be increased with additional documentation — contact support.
Fees & Exchange Rate
Payment fee: Free. Peanut charges nothing for Mercado Pago QR payments. No transaction fee, no foreign exchange fee, no hidden charges.
Exchange rate: You get the cripto dólar rate — a direct digital-dollar-to-ARS market conversion that bypasses the regulated MEP rate. This gives you 5-8% more pesos per dollar than your credit card.
Here's why the rate is better: credit cards convert through two steps — digital dollars to USD to ARS via the MEP rate, which is regulated and artificially lower than the free market rate. Peanut converts digital dollars to ARS directly at the market rate in one step. Same dollars in, more pesos out.
On top of the rate gap, most cards and bank exchanges charge 3-20% above their stated mid-market rate. Peanut doesn't. The rate you see on the confirmation screen is exactly what you pay.
Rate lock: The exchange rate locks at the moment you confirm the payment. No slippage, no post-transaction adjustments. If the rate changes while you're reviewing, you'll be re-quoted with the updated rate before you confirm.
Savings examples:
| Expense | Credit card cost | Peanut cost | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50 dinner | ~$59 | ~$50 | ~$9 |
| $500 tourist week | $543-$667 | $500 | $43-$167 |
| $2,000/month nomad | $2,170-$2,500 | $2,000 | $170-$500/mo |
Good to Know
To send funds to a person, share a Peanut Link. Mercado Pago QR scanning is for merchant payments. If you want to send money to a friend, pay your landlord, or settle up with someone, create a Peanut Link — they receive a link via WhatsApp, text, or email, claim the funds, and can withdraw to their Mercado Pago account, bank, or cash out at an ATM. Instant, no app required on their end.
Only Mercado Pago QR is supported. MODO and Cuenta DNI use different, incompatible QR formats. If you see a QR code at a merchant, check that it has the Mercado Pago logo. Most merchants in Argentina display Mercado Pago QR codes; MODO and Cuenta DNI QR codes are less common.
Rate locks at payment. The exchange rate you see on the confirmation screen is final. If you cancel and re-scan later, you'll get the rate at that moment (which could be slightly different).
Instant settlement. The merchant receives pesos immediately in their Mercado Pago account. No delay, no pending status. From the merchant's perspective, your payment looks like any other Mercado Pago payment.
Transaction limits. Users verified in Latin America have a $2,000 USD monthly limit (combined across QR payments, cash ATM withdrawals, and bank transactions). Users in the US and Europe have no hard cap, though transactions above $100,000 may trigger additional review. Contact support if you need a higher LATAM limit.
