Payment in Argentina Mapped Whitespaces Report

Potential Whitespaces

1. Inflation-Resistant Financial Products Integrated with Payments

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Persistent high inflation erodes purchasing power, driving demand for value-preserving mechanisms.
    • Consumers actively use installment plans and juggle multiple accounts (CBU/CVU) to mitigate inflation's impact and preserve cash flow, despite high interest rates on revolving credit.
    • Merchants suffer from eroding real-term revenue from fixed fees and delayed settlement liquidity issues.
    • Explicitly identified as "Value-Preserving & Flexible Payment Options (Inflation Hedging)" unmet need.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Incipient offerings of crypto-related products (e.g., stablecoins) by some fintechs as a way to hedge against inflation.
    • Potential for inflation-indexed digital accounts, stablecoin-pegged wallets, and automated investment tools integrated within payment apps.
    • Growth in fintech innovation, including crypto offerings and investment tools, indicating capability to develop such products.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 172 billion to AR$ 887 billion

2. Comprehensive & Affordable Digital Solutions for Micro-Merchants and the Informal Sector

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Significant informal economy (~36% of retail spend in cash) limits electronic payment adoption.
    • Strong need among SMEs for low-cost acceptance solutions (MDR ≈3-6% plus POS rental is a pain point) and hardware-light options.
    • Demand for inclusive on-ramps for informal and underbanked segments, including street vendors and gig economy workers.
    • Digital inclusion of cash-dominant segments is an identified behavior change.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Active promotion and deployment of SoftPOS and Tap-to-Phone solutions by players like Getnet.
    • Existing digital wallet providers (e.g., Mercado Pago with QR) have a strong base but solutions can be further tailored for micro/informal segments.
    • Potential for bundled merchant services (payments, inventory, e-invoicing) on low-cost platforms.
    • Wallets leveraging government ID rails for simplified KYC-lite onboarding are emerging.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 9.9 billion to AR$ 156 billion

3. Universal Interoperability Beyond Basic QR (Pull Payments, Loyalty, Refunds)

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Persistent "interoperability hiccups" despite Transferencias 3.0 advancements for QR push payments; users and merchants desire more seamless experiences.
    • Consumers now expect broader interoperability for pull payments, loyalty programs, and refunds, moving beyond basic QR.
    • Merchants seek streamlined multi-rail integration to avoid managing multiple PSP contracts and reconciliation processes.
    • The BCRA's continued regulatory push for deeper interoperability is a strong signal.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Transferencias 3.0 has laid the groundwork for QR push payment interoperability.
    • The BCRA aims to extend interoperability to include pull payments and tokenized credentials.
    • Potential for "super-apps" or payment orchestration platforms to provide a unified interface.
    • Development of a universal alias directory and Open Banking APIs are seen as enablers.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 9.5 billion to AR$ 67.3 billion

4. Data-Driven SME Financing Embedded in Payment Services

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Significant funding constraints for SMEs, exacerbated by high local interest rates (>110% annual) and limited access to traditional credit.
    • SMEs struggle to finance POS terminal purchases, inventory, or other working capital needs.
    • Broader demand for flexible financing options in an inflationary environment.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Emerging potential for data-driven lending solutions that use merchant transaction history for credit scoring and underwriting.
    • POS financing or leasing programs can be integrated into acquirer/PSP offerings.
    • Some larger payment players are beginning to offer credit facilities, though not yet widespread or deeply integrated for smaller SMEs.
    • Fintech innovation already includes BNPL and other credit-related services, indicating technical capabilities.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 60 billion to AR$ 134.4 billion

5. Advanced AI-Powered, User-Centric Security & Fraud Prevention as a Service

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Alarmingly high card-not-present (CNP) fraud rate in Argentina, at 0.13% of value, double the LATAM average, creating significant losses and distrust.
    • Increased security threats lead to higher chargeback volumes for merchants and operational costs for acquirers and schemes.
    • Strong unmet need for robust yet user-friendly fraud protection that doesn't create excessive friction for legitimate users.
    • Heightened consumer expectations regarding security and privacy in digital transactions.
    • Ongoing signal of increased investment in fraud mitigation technologies, particularly AI.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Emerging potential for sophisticated AI-driven real-time fraud detection, behavioral biometrics, and risk-based adaptive authentication.
    • Proposals for shared fraud intelligence platforms or negative databases among industry players.
    • The BCRA’s conclusion in the Value Chain Report mentions scaling fraud-mitigation AI.
• Potential Addressable Market (for AI Security Services):
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 11 billion to AR$ 43 billion

6. Offline and Connectivity-Resilient Payment Solutions for Rural & Underserved Areas

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Significant infrastructure gaps, with 4G coverage at only 66% in rural areas like Patagonia and NEA, limiting adoption of QR codes and other online-dependent digital payments.
    • Explicit unmet need for payment solutions that function reliably with limited or intermittent data connectivity in these regions.
    • Merchants in non-urban areas struggle with POS investment and usage due to unreliable connectivity.
    • Broader goal of digital inclusion for cash-dominant and rural segments.
    • Ongoing focus on expanding rural connectivity and closing the digital divide.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Recommendations to prioritize rural connectivity initiatives, including satellite POS and offline QR codes.
    • Potential for offline QR code solutions, satellite-enabled POS terminals, and possibly USSD-based payments.
    • Global availability of such technologies, but limited deployment and adaptation for the specific needs of rural Argentina.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 8.5 billion to AR$ 89.6 billion

7. Cross-Border Payment Solutions Tailored for Argentinian SMEs and Freelancers

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Growth of e-commerce (USD 26.7 billion in 2023) implies an increasing volume of international transactions for businesses.
    • Implicit demand from the rise of the global freelance economy and SMEs seeking international markets, facing complexities with existing cross-border payment mechanisms.
    • Significant challenges for businesses navigating Argentina's capital control policies and FX regulations.
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Potential for fintech solutions utilizing Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)/blockchain for faster and cheaper remittances and B2B cross-border payments.
    • Opportunity for multi-currency digital wallets offering transparent FX rates and lower fees.
    • Current market offerings are fragmented, often relying on global platforms not fully optimized for Argentina's specific regulatory nuances or the needs of SMEs and freelancers.
    • Processors like dLocal are active in emerging markets, including Argentina, specializing in cross-border payments.
    • Identified as a significant future opportunity.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 65.2 billion to AR$ 1,298.6 billion

8. Payment-Linked ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Solutions

• Market Signals Identified:
  • Demand Side Signals:
    • Emerging trend of ESG-conscious purchasing and consumer preference for merchants offering traceable, tax-compliant payments, signaling a desire for transparency and social responsibility.
    • Merchants are beginning to use digital payment acceptance (QR/A2A) as a signal of transparency and formality.
    • Identified as a potential niche for "Sustainable and ESG-Conscious Payment Solutions".
  • Offer Side Signals:
    • Potential for payment platforms to enable consumers to track the carbon footprint of their purchases or make micro-donations to environmental or social causes at checkout.
    • Opportunity for payment solutions that support transparent and traceable supply chains, particularly relevant in sectors like agribusiness.
    • Currently, such offerings are very incipient or non-existent in the mainstream Argentinian payments market.
• Potential Addressable Market:
  • Annual Revenue: AR$ 580 million to AR$ 9.7 billion

References

• Value Chain Report on the Payment Industry in Argentina. (User Input / Knowledge Base)
• Payment in Argentina Current Pains Analysis. (User Input / Knowledge Base)
• Payment in Argentina Consumption Trends Analysis. (User Input / Knowledge Base)
• Payment in Argentina Niche and Emerging Markets Analysis. (User Input / Knowledge Base)
• Payment in Argentina Current and Future Opportunities Analysis. (User Input / Knowledge Base)
• Ongoing Changes Signals Analysis. (User Input / Knowledge Base)
• Infobae. “Fuerte cambio en los medios de pago: las transferencias inmediatas de dinero aumentaron casi 50% en 2024.” https://www.infobae.com/economia/2024/12/19/fuerte-cambio-en-los-medios-de-pago-las-transferencias-inmediatas-de-dinero-aumentaron-casi-50-en-2024/
• Americas Market Intelligence. “E-commerce en Argentina: estadísticas y datos 2023.” https://americasmi.com/es/blog/e-commerce-argentina-estadisticas/
• Economía Solidaria. “Argentina aumentó a casi 200 millones de cuentas CBU+CVU en 2024.” https://www.economiasolidaria.com.ar/noticias/economia-solidaria/argentina-aumento-a-casi-200-millones-de-cuentas-cbu-cvu-en-2024
• Banco Central de la República Argentina. Sistemas de Pago. https://www.bcra.gob.ar/SistemasDePago/Sistemas-de-pago.asp
• Banco Central de la República Argentina. Medios de pago electrónico. https://www.bcra.gob.ar/PublicacionesEstadisticas/Medios_pago_electronico.asp
• BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA. Comunicación BCRA “A” 7769/2023. https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/287697/20230517
• BCRA. EXTERIOR Y CAMBIOS Texto ordenado al 10/02/2025. https://www.bcra.gob.ar/Pdfs/TexOrds/t-extyc.pdf
• International Trade Centre (ITC). “Driving Economic Growth in Argentina Through Digital Transformation.” https://www.intracen.org/news-and-events/news/Driving-economic-growth-in-Argentina-through-digital-transformation/