Dollar Payments: How the Modality That Comes Into Effect on February 28 Works

Starting February 28, businesses across the country will be able to accept payments in dollars with debit card, thanks to a new provision by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA).

The measure aims to advance the implementation of currency competition, allowing dollars to coexist with pesos in everyday transactions.

The new system doesn't involve a currency exchange operation, as dollars are transferred directly from the customer's account to the business's account, in the same way a payment in pesos works.

How businesses can charge in dollars

Acquiring companies operating payment terminals, such as Payway and Fiserv, already have the system ready for businesses to start operating with payments in dollars. To enable this function, merchants must follow these steps:

• Open an account in dollars at the same bank where they already operate with their peso account.
• Register their dollar account with the acquiring company (Payway, Fiserv, PosNet, among others).
• It is not necessary to reprogram the POS terminals, as they will be automatically updated after registration.
• Payments in dollars will be credited to the business's account with the same fees and terms as in pesos.
• In the case of ecommerce, if the business uses Payway's checkout, no update will be needed, but if it uses its own platform, it must adapt it.

How to pay in dollars with a debit card

For a user to make payments in dollars with their debit card, they must meet these requirements:

• Have a dollar account and verify with their bank if their card is already associated or if it needs to be linked.
• Have a balance in dollars deposited in the linked account.
• The POS terminals are enabled for chip payments, magnetic stripe, NFC, and contactless, for both in-person and online payments.
• Select the currency: when making the payment, the business must choose the "Dollars" option on the POS terminal before entering the transaction amount.

Impact on the market and first sectors to adopt the measure

The tourism sector will be one of the first to implement this new modality. According to Lucas Gracia, Head of Product at Payway, tourism operators will start operating with this system in the coming days, as offering payments in dollars will allow them to attract more customers and optimize their operations.

Meanwhile, Fiserv, another of the country's main acquirers, implemented the system since mid-February in its PosNet, Clover, and ecommerce platforms.

Juan Ignacio de la Torre, SVP & General Manager of Fiserv for Southern Latin America, highlighted to Infobae that the expansion of this modality will depend on how attractive both businesses and consumers find the dollar payment scheme.

toward a more bimonetary market

The enablement of dollar payments with debit card marks a new advance in the informal dedollarization of Argentine commerce, allowing dollars to circulate without needing to go through conversions to pesos.

With the infrastructure ready and businesses preparing for this new modality, the impact on the market will depend on how many businesses decide to adopt the operation and the response of consumers.

However, the possibility of making transactions directly in dollars represents a significant step toward a more flexible and bimonetary economy.