Mercado Pago and Revolut to obtain banking licenses in Argentina

Mercado Pago and Revolut will obtain licenses to operate as banks in Argentina before the end of 2026, according to Bloomberg Línea, which reported it on September 29, 2026. Juan Curutchet, director of the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA), anticipated this during the 12th edition of the 'Nuevo Dinero' conference. The move will make MercadoLibre's platform the first to win a license from scratch in more than six years, while Revolut entered the market after acquiring the local unit of BNP Paribas.

Obtaining a banking license allows Payment Service Providers to go beyond the current limits of their usual operations. This includes the ability to take deposits from the public and use them to fund loans, and to offer payroll accounts to employees on the payroll and to monotributistas (registered self-employed workers), competing directly with traditional banks.

The announcement comes amid a complex financial backdrop for the local market. According to Infobae, which reported it on September 28, 2026, Argentine stocks fell as much as 8% on Wall Street, the S&P Merval index dropped 3.3% in its seventh consecutive session of losses, and the BCRA's international reserves fell below US$48 billion, hitting a two-month low, while the country risk indicator compiled by J.P. Morgan rose to 628 basis points.

For its part, MercadoLibre reported in the second quarter of the year a 50% increase in revenue to US$10.2 billion and a net profit of US$466 million, according to data released by Bloomberg Línea. In addition, the company placed US$1 billion in dollar-denominated bonds maturing in 2036, at a spread of 130 basis points over U.S. Treasury securities.