
Argentina · Mobile wallet
Works with Moreta Pay
Pay Mercado Pago codes without a Argentine bank
Yes. Moreta Pay lets visitors pay Mercado Pago codes in Argentina without a Argentine bank account. Add money from the bank or card you already have, scan the Mercado Pago code at the counter and slide to pay in Argentine peso. The merchant is paid the same way as when a local scans it.

The network
What is Mercado Pago?
Mercado Pago is the payments and wallet arm of Mercado Libre, and its QR codes sit on counters all over Argentina. Since the country’s QR codes became interoperable in 2021, any registered wallet or bank app can pay them.
- Country
Argentina
- Currency
- Argentine peso (ARS)
- Type
- Mobile wallet
- Run by
- Mercado Libre
- How locals pay
- They open the Mercado Pago app and scan the code
- With Moreta
- Pay it from your Moreta balance

How to spot it
A Mercado Pago QR code on a small stand or sticker at the till.
Can tourists pay Mercado Pago?
Mercado Pago is built for people who live in Argentina: signing up takes local ID or a local bank account, and usually a Argentine phone number. A card from home can’t pay the code on the counter, and opening a local account takes paperwork a visit rarely leaves time for.
Moreta closes that gap. It pays the Mercado Pago code itself, from a balance you top up with your own bank, card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and converts at the live rate at the moment you pay. One flat fee, shown before you slide to pay.
Card or cash
- A foreign transaction fee on most cards
- Your bank's rate, or the terminal's worse one
- ATM fees from your bank and the operator
- Leftover Argentine peso to change back
Moreta
- One flat fee, shown before you slide to pay
- The live rate at the moment you pay
- No ATM and no card to hand over
- What you do not spend stays for the next country
How to pay a Mercado Pago code
Set Moreta up once, at home or on the plane. After that, paying a Mercado Pago code in Argentina is a scan and a slide.
Costs, limits and tips
Paying in Argentina
- Transaction fee
- 1.5%per payment, at the live rateEvery fee
- Exchange rate today
- 1,646.05ARSfor 1 USDLive rate, updated recentlyCompare rates
- Max payment
- 4.35MARSabout 2,640 USD
- Weekly limit
- 8.7MARSabout 5,290 USD
The app always shows the live rate and the exact cost before you pay.
Guide updated
Local tips
- Look for the Mercado Pago or MODO code. Interoperable QR means one sticker serves every wallet.
- Prices move with inflation, so the live rate at the moment you scan is the right rate to pay.
- Keep a few small peso notes for buses in smaller towns and the odd cash-only kiosk.
Keep exploring
Other ways to pay in Argentina
UaláMobile wallet
MODOMobile wallet
Cuenta DNIBanking app
BNA+Banking appThe Argentina guideFees, tips and every network in Argentina
Mercado Pago questions
What visitors ask before paying Mercado Pago in Argentina.
Showing 6 of 10 questions














