How international travelers, nomads & expats can pay with QR codes in Peru
Ceviche in Lima, a market in Cusco, a colectivo to the Sacred Valley: in Peru the purple Yape sticker and the Plin logo are on every counter. Moreta Pay scans them for you, funded from your own bank or card, so you pay in soles without a Peruvian account.
Yape
Plin
Costs, limits and tips
Paying in Peru
Guide updated
What it costs
- Transaction fee
- 1.5%
- Exchange rate today
- 1 USD = 3.30 PENLive rate, updated recently
Limits
- Max payment
- 10,000 PEN
- Weekly limit
- 20,000 PEN
The app always shows the live rate and the exact cost before you pay.
Local tips
- Look for the Yape or Plin mark. At markets the code is often a laminated card by the scales.
- Carry small sol notes for combis, remote villages and trails where there is no signal.
- Altitude towns can have slow data, so top up the wallet in Lima or Cusco first.
Why QR code is the best way to pay in Peru
QR codes are how people pay in Peru: hold up a phone, scan the code on the counter, done. Peruvians pay with Yape and Plin, the two wallets almost everyone carries, and since they became interoperable one code on the counter takes both. Restaurants, bodegas, taxis, pharmacies and market stalls show it, and many small sellers have no card machine at all.
Moreta gives you the same thing as a visitor. A scan is contactless, so there is no card to hand over and no cash to carry, and each payment costs one flat fee at the live rate instead of a foreign transaction fee and a marked-up rate from your bank at home.
The problem with paying abroad as a tourist, expat or nomad
Paying abroad with the card in your wallet is easy until it is not. Your bank may block the first charge as suspicious. When it goes through, most cards add a foreign transaction fee and convert at a rate of their choosing, and some terminals offer to charge you in your own currency at a worse one.
Cash is no better. ATMs stack your bank's withdrawal fee, the operator's fee and a poor rate, and you still end up carrying more Peruvian sol than you need and changing the rest back at the airport. Paying by QR from a wallet you fund yourself skips all of it: one fee, the live rate and no plastic.
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 Peruvian sol 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 Moreta Pay works
Moreta is a wallet on your phone that pays Yape and Plin codes as if a local had scanned them. Set it up once, at home or on the plane, and it is ready before you land in Peru.
01Verify your identity
Download Moreta, scan your passport and take a selfie. Verification usually takes a few minutes, and your account can move money as soon as it passes.
- 02
Load funds to your Moreta Pay wallet
Link a US bank through Plaid, or send a SEPA, Faster Payments, Interac or PayID transfer. Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and USDC work too, and you can top up from the road.
- 03
Scan QR codes at local shops & restaurants
Tap Scan and point your camera at the Yape and Plin code on the counter. Moreta reads it the way a Peruvian bank app would.
- 04
Get seamless payments on the go
Check the amount in Peruvian sol, what it costs in your own currency and the fee, then slide to pay. The merchant sees the payment in their own app the moment it clears.
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
Why Moreta Pay is better than alternatives
No local bank account required
Pay from the bank or card you already have. Nothing to open, nothing to close when you leave.
Seamless integration with Yape & Plin
Yape and Plin are Peru's two big wallets, and their QR codes now work across each other and across the banks behind them. Moreta pays those codes directly, showing the amount in soles and in your own currency before you confirm.
Designed for international travelers, expats & nomads
A two-week trip or a year abroad, it works the same, and what you do not spend stays for the next country.
Several accepted payment types
Top up by bank transfer in US dollars, euros, pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, or with a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or USDC.
Lower fees compared to cash or card alternatives
One flat fee per payment, shown before you confirm. No ATM fees, and most banks add no foreign transaction fee.
Instant, contactless QR payments
Scan, check, slide. Nothing to hand over, and the merchant is paid in seconds.
Real exchange rates
Every payment converts to Peruvian sol at the live rate at the moment you pay.
See today's rate
Frequently asked questions
What travellers ask before paying by QR in Peru.
Showing 6 of 9 questions
Guides for Peru
ATM fees & rates5 min read
Yape Is Purple, Plin Is Turquoise, and You Can't Download Either One
Peru runs on Yape and Plin QR codes that tourists can't sign up for. Here's how visitors can skip ATM fees, counterfeit-bill stress, and bad rates anyway.
Read more
How to pay6 min read
Everyone Told You Peru Runs on Cash. Lima Stopped Listening Years Ago.
Yape and Plin QR codes are everywhere in Peru, but visitors can't open either. Here's how travelers actually pay like locals in Peru without cash or a Peruvian bank account.
Read more
Expat life6 min read
What Is Yape, and Why Does Everyone in Peru Keep Asking If You Have It?
Expats in Peru face the same wall: Yape and Plin run daily life, but visitors can't sign up. Here's how to pay at markets, taxis, and menú spots anyway.
Read more
More ways to pay
Activate your Moreta Pay account before your trip
Set up Moreta, add money and land in Peru ready to scan. No cash to change, no card to worry about, and one flat fee at the live rate on every payment.
Also works in 
Brazil, 
Argentina, 
Bolivia, 
Colombia, and 10 more countries