The ‘Argentina Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2029' report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Argentine cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including cash, card, credit transfer, direct debits, and cheques during the review-period (2021-25e).
The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2025e-29f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.
The report brings together the analyst’s research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.
The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2025e-29f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.
The report brings together the analyst’s research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.
The ‘Argentina Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2029' report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Argentine cards and payments industry, including:
- Current and forecast values for each market in the Argentine cards and payments industry, including debit, credit and charge cards.
- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfer, cash, card, direct debits and cheques. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.
- Ecommerce market analysis.
- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Argentine cards and payments industry.
- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.
- Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.
- The competitive landscape of the Argentine cards and payments industry.
Key Highlights
- In a significant step towards increasing financial flexibility, the BCRA introduced Communication “A” 8180, in January 2025, which permits businesses to accept payments via US dollar debit cards. According to this new regulation, effective February 28, 2025, financial institutions, digital wallets, acquirers, aggregators, and acceptors, are required to facilitate US dollar debit card payments for merchants wishing to adopt this method. This will allow customers with linked US dollar savings accounts to choose US dollars as their payment currency at the point of transaction. These measures by the BCRA are intended to provide businesses with greater access to US dollars, and offer consumers an alternative payment choice amid economic volatility.
- The high tax burden on small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) has posed a significant obstacle to digital payment adoption. To address this issue, the government introduced Law 27,743, Palliative and Relevant Fiscal Measures, in July 2024. The key objective of this new legislation is to reduce tax withholdings on electronic collections from small taxpayers. According to the revised regulation, businesses and individuals with monthly electronic collections of up to ARS10.5 million ($11,468.18) are no longer eligible for automatic tax deductions on transactions conducted through debit cards, credit cards, and other digital payment methods. The bill aims to expedite the use of credit cards, and the digitalization of payments among smaller enterprises, by alleviating the tax burden.
- The increasing use of contactless technology is driving card adoption. In January 2025, the Buenos Aires subway system implemented contactless payment technology. This allows users to conveniently purchase tickets at turnstiles using contactless debit, credit, and prepaid cards, as well as digital wallets that support NFC. Similarly, in November 2024, the city of Mendoza's light rail system, Metrotranvía, also introduced contactless payment options. This feature allows passengers to use payment cards or NFC-enabled smart devices, such as watches and phones, in addition to SUBE cards, to purchase tickets while onboard. These developments reflect a broader trend, indicating that contactless payments will soon become a common and essential aspect of daily life.
Scope
- Card market size in terms of number of cards, value and volume of transactions in Argentine along with detailed card segmentation of debit, credit and charge cards available in the country.
- Market sizing and analysis of major payment instruments including credit transfer, cash, card, direct debits and cheques.
- Payment market trends and growth for both historical and forecast period
- Competitor analysis with detailed insights into leading card issuers and schemes.
- Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.
- A detailed snapshot of country's key alternative payment brands.
Reasons to Buy
- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Argentine cards and payments industry and each market within it.
- Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Argentine cards and payments industry.
- Assess the competitive dynamics in the Argentine cards and payments industry.
- Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Argentina.
- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Argentine cards and payments industry.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary2. Market Overview
3. Payment Instruments
4. Card-Based Payments
5. Merchant Acquiring
6. Ecommerce Payments
7. In-Store Payments
8. Buy Now Pay Later
9. Mobile Payments
10. P2P Payments
11. Bill Payments
12. Alternative Payments
13. Payment Innovation
14. Job Analysis
15. Payment Infrastructure and Regulation
16. Appendix
List of Tables
- Key facts, 2025
- Benchmarking of payment cards, 2025e
- Payment instrument transaction values (LCU), 2021-29f
- Payment instrument transaction values ($), 2021-29f
- Payment instrument transaction volumes (units), 2021-29f
- Payment cards in circulation by type (units), 2021-29f
- Volume of payment card transactions (units), 2021-29f
- Value of payment card transactions (LCU), 2021-29f
- Value of payment card transactions ($), 2021-29f
- Debit cards in circulation (units), 2021-29f
- Debit card transaction volumes, 2021-29f
- Debit card transaction values (LCU), 2021-29f
- Debit card transaction values ($), 2021-29f
- Debit cards in circulation by scheme (units), 2021-25e
- Debit card transaction values by scheme (LCU), 2021-25e
- Debit card transaction values by scheme ($), 2021-25e
- Debit cards in circulation by issuer (units), 2021-25e
- Debit cards transaction value by issuer (LCU), 2021-25e
- Debit cards transaction value by issuer ($), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge cards in circulation (units), 2021-29f
- Credit and charge card transaction volumes, 2021-29f
- Credit and charge card transaction values (LCU), 2021-29f
- Credit and charge card transaction values ($), 2021-29f
- Credit and charge cards in circulation by scheme (units), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge card transaction values by scheme (LCU), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge card transaction values by scheme ($), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge cards in circulation by issuer (units), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge cards transaction value by issuer (LCU), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge cards transaction value by issuer ($), 2021-25e
- Credit cards in circulation (units), 2021-29f
- Credit card transaction volumes, 2021-29f
- Credit card transaction values (LCU), 2021-29f
- Credit card transaction values ($), 2021-29f
- Credit cards in circulation by scheme (units), 2021-25e
- Credit card transaction values by scheme (LCU), 2021-25e
- Credit card transaction values by scheme ($), 2021-25e
- Credit cards in circulation by issuer (units), 2021-25e
- Credit cards transaction value by issuer (LCU), 2021-25e
- Credit cards transaction value by issuer ($), 2021-25e
- Charge cards in circulation (units), 2020-29f
- Charge card transaction volumes, 2020-29f
- Charge card transaction values (LCU), 2020-29f
- Charge card transaction values ($), 2020-29f
- Charge cards in circulation by scheme (units), 2021-25e
- Charge card transaction values by scheme (units), 2021-25e
- Charge card transaction values by scheme ($), 2021-25e
- Prepaid cards in circulation (millions), 2021-29ePrepaid card transaction values (LCU), 2021-29e
- Prepaid card transaction values ($), 2021-29e
- Merchant acquiring transaction volumes (units), 2021-29f
- Merchant acquiring transaction values (LCU), 2021-29f
- Merchant acquiring transaction values ($), 2021-29f
- Acquirers’ transaction volumes (units), 2021-25e
- Acquirers’ transaction values (LCU), 2021-25e
- Acquirers’ transaction values ($), 2021-25e
- Retail outlets and card-accepting merchants (units), 2021-29f
- Debit card average interchange fees (%), 2021-25e
- Credit and charge card average interchange fees (%), 2021-25e
- Debit card merchant service charge and interchange fee (%), 2021-29f
- Credit and charge card merchant service charge and interchange fee (%), 2021-29f
- Retail market by product categories (LCU), 2021-29f
- Retail market by product categories ($), 2021-29f
- Retail market by service categories (LCU), 2020-24
- Retail market by service categories ($), 2021-24
- Inflation rate
- GDP growth rate
- Payment instruments transaction value and volume
- Instant payments transaction value and volume
- Card penetration
- Card payments by value
- Debit card frequency of payments and average transaction value
- Debit card schemes transaction value and volume
- Debit card issuers by number of cards and transaction value
- Credit card frequency of payments and average transaction value
- Credit card schemes transaction value and volume
- Credit card issuers by number of cards and transaction value
- Credit card debt
- Prepaid Cards: Market Sizing and Forecasting
- Contactless card holding and usage in detail
- E-commerce transaction value and ecommerce breakdown by mobile vs. desktop/laptop
- Ecommerce market by product and services
- Ecommerce market by paymnet tools
- Factors driving in-store payments and In-store transaction value by payment method
- In-store transaction value by products and services
- BNPL service used in the last six months and Preferred BNPL brand/tool for in-store payments
- BNPL online transaction value and transaction volume
- BNPL share of overall ecommerce transaction value and preferred BNPL brand/tool for online payments
- Mobile wallet holding and use by demographic
- Mobile wallet funding methods, mobile wallet preference by product/service and mobile wallet ownership by brand
- Domestic and international P2P money transfers
- Paymnet tool preference for bill payment and bill paymnet frequency
- Active jobs intensity in the country
- Number of POS terminals and ATMs
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Banco de la Nacion
- BBVA
- Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
- Santander
- Banco Galicia
- Banco Macro
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
- Banco Credicoop
- HSBC
- Banco Ciudad de Buenos Aires
- Banco Patagonia
- Banco de Cordoba
- Banco Supervielle
- Banco Santa Fe
- Banco de Servicios Financieros
- Banco Hipotecario
- Banco Comafi
- Banco Entre Rios
- Banco del Chaco
- Banco Santiago del Estero
- Credito Regional Compañía Financiera
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Tarjeta Naranja
- Cabal
