Has anyone used the new financial app Peanut to send Mercado Pago payments in Argentina?

[MikeYoung]

I signed up for an account but have not used it yet. I plan to in a few months when I'm back. It might be helpful since I can't open up a bank account there since I do not have a DNI. Is it still impossible to open up a bank account without having residency there? I tried several banks and was not successful.

No you can't open up a bank account without having your DNI. I too tried a few banks. A friend swore to me that he was able to open one with just his CDI number but when he tried to withdraw money it wouldn't work. It says his account is in review. He has been stuck like this for over a month.

 

[Betsy Ross]

A few friends have tried Peanut and it seems like an ok option if you don't already have a local account here. If so you can simply use your own account. My friends who signed up are Americans that don't have access to Mercado Pago. They transferred money into it from their Coinbase account. Favorable exchange rates from dollars to pesos. Then they pay using QR codes as others mentioned.

 

[Dick]

A few friends have tried Peanut and it seems like an ok option if you don't already have a local account here. If so you can simply use your own account. My friends who signed up are Americans that don't have access to Mercado Pago. They transferred money into it from their Coinbase account. Favorable exchange rates from dollars to pesos. Then they pay using QR codes as others mentioned.

Looks like you need an invite code. Can you send me one @Betsy Ross?

 

[Nasdaq]

I finally used the app to withdraw cash directly from certain ATMs, so I decided to test it myself and share how it works.

There are some ATMs in the city (brand: Red ATM) that let you withdraw cash using a Mercado Pago QR code instead of a debit card. You can find their locations here: https://www.red-atm.com.ar



I tried one inside a Carrefour and can confirm it still works. The ATM lets you withdraw up to 500,000 ARS per transaction. It simply displays a Mercado Pago-style QR code on the screen, which you scan with the app.

I used the Peanut app to scan and pay, and it worked without any issues. The exchange rate I received was the “crypto dollar” rate, which was better than the blue dollar rate at the time.

For example:

• I withdrew 100,000 ARS
• The ATM fee was 1,800 ARS
• Total received: 101,800 ARS
• Total cost: $68.11 USD
• Effective exchange rate: 1 USD = 1,494.47 ARS

For those unfamiliar:

There are some newer “digital bank / crypto-like” apps becoming popular in Argentina. One example is Peanut.me. It doesn’t require a DNI (Argentine ID) because it’s designed for global users, so people of any nationality can sign up.

The app lets you convert USD to ARS and pay using Mercado Pago QR codes at the crypto exchange rate because it technically holds funds in USDC (a dollar-backed crypto token).

I’m not deeply into the technical side, and I wouldn’t recommend putting all your money into any app. But I’ve really liked using it like a prepaid card. It’s cheaper than Western Union fees and much more convenient for people without a DNI.

If anyone has tried the DNI-only apps, I’d be curious how those compare.

It seems like these “crypto for people who don’t want to deal with crypto” apps are partly filling the gap created by Argentina’s banking problems.