An Argentine wholesaler gets paid faster by giving each type of customer the method that suits it and then removing the delays around the invoice. Argentina's national payment system, overseen by the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA), offers transfers, immediate debits, direct debits, cheques and electronic cheques, card payments, electronic credit invoices and interoperable QR payments. Each has a place in wholesale; none removes the need for clear terms and active credit control.
Customers outside Argentina are a separate case. A sale abroad is an export, and the proceeds are subject to the BCRA's Exterior y Cambios rules on bringing in and settling foreign currency, so international collections need their own design.
| Method | Best for | Main advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Large domestic B2B invoices | Low cost and familiar to finance teams |
| Interoperable QR | Smaller customers and counter sales | Paid and confirmed while the customer is present |
| Direct or immediate debit | Repeat customers with predictable invoices | Removes manual chasing |
| Card | New customers, deposits and urgent orders | Convenient for the buyer |
| Payment link | Remote or occasional buyers | Sent with the invoice |
| ECHEQ | Customers buying on commercial credit | Digital, endorsable, no paper handling |
| Electronic credit invoice (FCE MiPyME) | SMEs selling to large companies | A receivable that can be traded or financed |
| International USD route | Overseas distributors and retailers | Foreign customers pay in a major trade currency |
| Open-account terms | Strong repeat customers | Wins larger orders and loyalty |
The limitation of each:
The method decides how money moves once the customer pays; the terms decide when the customer pays. A wholesaler that switches every customer to an instant method but leaves 60-day terms in place gets paid no sooner. Treat the two separately: choose the cheapest reliable method for each customer type, and set terms as a credit decision.
Most wholesalers serve several customer segments. Writing a default method and terms for each into the onboarding process removes most negotiation over how to pay.
| Customer type | Default method | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Small retailers and counter sales | Interoperable QR from account money | Paid on collection |
| Regular mid-sized retailers | Direct debit or transfer | Short terms, reviewed annually |
| Large chains and distributors | Transfer on their payment run, or FCE MiPyME | Agreed terms, monitored monthly |
| Customers buying on credit | ECHEQ within the credit limit | Maturity priced into the terms |
| Overseas buyers | Export collection through a local bank | Deposit or letter of credit on first orders |
For substantial domestic B2B invoices, a bank transfer is usually the most economical and familiar method. Transfers are a core retail instrument of the national payment system, cleared electronically, and they fit the approval controls of large customers' treasury teams.
The weak point is initiation: the customer decides when to send it, and invoices can sit in an approval queue. Learn each large customer's payment calendar and the documents its accounts-payable team needs, so the invoice reaches the next payment run.
Argentina has a mature QR payment market. Interoperable QR codes can be read from the apps of other wallets and banks, and the customer pays from the money in its account, with the payment confirmed while it is still at the counter.
Commissions differ sharply by how the customer pays. Mercado Pago, for example, publishes these rates for QR collections, before VAT and subject to provincial taxes:
| Customer pays with | Money available | Mercado Pago commission |
|---|---|---|
| Account money in a wallet or bank | Immediately | 0.8% + VAT |
| Debit card | Immediately | 1.35% + VAT |
| Debit card | In 2 days | 0.85% + VAT |
| Credit card | Immediately | 5.99% + VAT |
| Credit card | In 10 days | 4.19% + VAT |
On a wholesale margin, the gap between 0.8% and 5.99% decides whether a sale is profitable. Steer QR customers to account-money payments, and compare the cost with a bank transfer for larger invoices.
Cards are convenient for buyers and useful for deposits, first orders and urgent purchases. At wholesale values they are expensive, because the fee is a percentage of the invoice and chargebacks can reverse a payment after the goods have left.
| Illustration at a 4.19% rate | Cost |
|---|---|
| ARS 100,000 order | ARS 4,190 |
| ARS 1,000,000 invoice | ARS 41,900 |
| ARS 10,000,000 invoice | ARS 419,000 |
The figures are arithmetic on the published credit-card rate above, before VAT. Ask the acquirer for its rate on B2B volumes and set a value above which card payment is not offered.
Wholesalers can collect QR and card payments through a wallet provider or through their bank. Mercado Pago publishes its commissions by payment method and settlement time. Banks offer acquiring to their business customers: Santander's collection services, for example, cover counter sales with QR payments through MODO, e-commerce, telephone sales, automatic debits and a wholesale-to-retail service, accepting credit, debit and prepaid cards.
Direct debit and immediate debit are part of Argentina's payment system, and banks offer collection services that pull payment from the customer's account on the due date under a mandate. Santander's collection services for businesses, for example, include automatic debits for fixed or variable recurring charges and a wholesale-to-retail collection service within a business network. For repeat customers on predictable invoices, this removes manual chasing and makes cash flow forecastable.
Automation does not solve insufficient funds or disputed deliveries. Keep credit limits in place, confirm delivery before the debit date and review rejected debits within a day.
Electronic cheques (ECHEQ) remain part of Argentine commercial practice. They are digital, can be endorsed to pay the wholesaler's own suppliers, and avoid the handling of paper cheques.
A future-dated ECHEQ is still credit: the wholesaler finances the customer until it matures, and discounting it with a bank turns it into cash at a cost. Price that cost into the terms, set limits by customer, and treat a rejected ECHEQ as an overdue invoice.
The electronic credit invoice (Factura de Crédito Electrónica MiPyME) is listed by the BCRA among the retail instruments of the national payment system. For an SME wholesaler selling to a large company, it turns the invoice into a receivable that, once accepted by the buyer, can be traded or financed.
Confirm with your accountant whether the regime applies to each customer, and use the accepted invoices as a source of working capital rather than waiting for the due date.
A sale to a customer outside Argentina is an export. The proceeds must be brought into Argentina and settled in the official foreign exchange market within the deadline for the product, under the BCRA's Exterior y Cambios rules, or held in the wholesaler's USD account at a local bank under one of the exceptions.
The guide to how Argentine exporters receive USD payments sets out the rules, and our guide to USD business accounts compares the accounts.
Most late payments start at onboarding or invoicing, not after the due date. A reminder three days before the due date does more than one sent ten days after it.
Every peso of unpaid invoices is capital the wholesaler has lent to its customers. USD 200,000 equivalent of receivables is that much of the balance sheet not available for stock or growth.
Where the gap between paying suppliers and collecting from customers is the constraint, finance bridges it. The guide to trade credit for importers and exporters explains the options.
A wholesaler with hundreds of trade customers receiving by transfer, QR, debit and ECHEQ needs daily reconciliation, or unmatched receipts accumulate and overdue reports become unreliable. Use invoice references on every payment request, connect bank and wallet statement feeds to the accounting system, and resolve unmatched items the same day.
Publish payment details only on the invoice and customer portal, and confirm any request to change bank details by phone on a number already on file.
In a high-inflation economy, every day a peso receivable is outstanding reduces its real value. Payment terms set in pesos therefore carry a cost beyond the financing itself, and the cost is highest on long terms and large invoices.
Compare the discount offered with the cost of discounting the same receivable at the bank, and use whichever is lower.
When the gap between paying suppliers and collecting from customers is the constraint, receivables can be turned into cash before they fall due.
Compare the annual cost of each facility with the margin on the sales it funds before relying on it.
Helm, the firm's own business account and payments platform, is relevant to wholesalers that pay overseas suppliers for imported stock or sell to customers abroad. It provides payout and collection accounts in the currencies the business trades, conversion through licensed providers and the documents attached to each payment, used beside the wholesaler's Argentine bank, which executes FX market operations under BCRA rules.
For a purely domestic wholesaler, the local bank and QR provider cover the need. Wholesalers that import stock should read our guide to how Argentine importers pay overseas suppliers, and the firm's trade payments service sets up the cross-border corridors.
Bank transfer is usually the default for large domestic invoices, interoperable QR for smaller customers and counter sales, and debits for repeat customers on predictable invoices.
Usually not. Mercado Pago, for example, publishes 5.99% plus VAT for immediate credit-card QR collections, against 0.8% plus VAT when the customer pays from account money.
Yes for smaller invoices and payments at the counter. Interoperable QR codes can be paid from other wallets and banks, from the money in the customer's account.
No. A future-dated ECHEQ finances the customer until it matures, and discounting it with a bank turns it into cash at a cost.
Agree terms at onboarding, invoice on delivery, remind three days before the due date, monitor days sales outstanding and enforce credit limits.
Through a local bank that handles export collections, because export proceeds must be brought into Argentina and settled, or held in a local USD account under a BCRA exception.
Buckingham Capital Consulting arranges collection accounts, supplier payment routes and foreign exchange for wholesalers, importers and exporters in Argentina and across Latin America through licensed partners, and has obtained payment and e-money licences for firms including Nexpay, Global Send and Dzing Finance since 2013. Its trade payments service sets up the cross-border corridors a wholesaler needs around the BCRA rules.
Speak to an expert: WhatsApp +44 7563 115980, Telegram @buckinghamcapital or info@buckinghamcapitalconsulting.co.uk.
This article is general information, reviewed against the regulator’s published requirements on the date shown. It is not legal advice; the regulator’s current publications take precedence.